Brumbies heroics rewarded with a... trip across the ditch?!

Welcome to off-field review, where we'll wrap up the Super Rugby Pacific round in hopefully quicker time than it takes the TMO to rule on foul play!

THANK YOU BLUES, BRUMBIES FOR TURNING A POTENTIAL FIZZER INTO A BANGER

Cold, wet and an absolute drubbing. The Crusaders 30-12 win over the Reds to open the weekend no doubt had competition organisers nervously twiddling their thumbs as thoughts of just how dull the upcoming weekend of fixtures could be. Insert Josh Beehre and his after-the-siren try and an engaging to-and-fro battle between the Brumbies and Hurricanes and you've got yourself an elimination finals weekend to remember.

While the Reds failed to even land a punch against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday evening, Saturday night's events more than made up for the one-sided display. With the potential of both Saturday night games coming to nothing due to their second chance nature, the Blues need to be thanked for delivering a performance we'd been waiting all year to see, to turn the weekend on its head and suddenly turning the Brumbies-Hurricanes clash into a no-holds barred elimination final in Canberra.

All season people had been waiting for the Blues to finally hit their straps, and while the last two rounds gave us a glimpse of their return, it was their staunchness in defence and never-say-die attitude that saw a furious finish and an unlikely qualifying final win. While Beehre will go down in the scoresheet for scoring the decisive try, Hoskins Sotutu could have just as easily found himself the hero of the night if not denied by the TMO moments earlier. The Chiefs, meanwhile, will be left to wonder 'what if' after they squandered several first-half opportunities and allowed the Blues back into a game they had dominated for much of the proceedings. Chiefs coach Clayton McMillion staunchly denied there was any complacency from his side with the knowledge they had a second chance in the bag, but given their fade away in the final 15 minutes only a resounding win next weekend will bury the complacency tag.

Meanwhile, for the Hurricanes and Brumbies, they were given just minutes before kick-off to wrap their heads around the fact their seasons were now on the wire. For the Brumbies, the news came across the stadium loudspeaker as they warmed up, but if the sudden change in calculations had an impact, it hardly showed. Maintaining control despite an early Rueben Love score, the Brumbies kept their sights on the bigger prize, routinely turning down shots at goal and instead relying on their tight five to get the job done. Four of their five tries came from their front-row while Tom Wright dotted down the highlight reel try of the night, but it was their gallant defence -- especially in the dying seconds -- that won them the game and was in vast contrast to what we had witnessed in Hamilton just hours earlier.

BRUMBIES HEROIC WIN REWARDED WITH ... A TRIP ACROSS THE DITCH?!

It was one of their classiest performances of the year and came at exactly the right time with the Brumbies clash against the Hurricanes switching from a double chance qualifier to a do-or-die clash within the blink of an eye following the Chiefs' final second loss to the Blues at home.

The Brumbies reward? A trip to Hamilton to take on a wounded Chiefs side and a horror record that spans over 25 years.

Not one Australian team has ever won an elimination final in New Zealand with the Reds the latest to fall victim across the ditch, smashed 32-12 by the Crusaders on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Chiefs, who were given home ground advantage, and a second chance, will be given a third advantage this weekend. Something doesn't add up.

While this column praised the new look competition last week -- as it should given the drama and intrigue we have seen through the season -- this is one area the competition has got wrong.

Finishing top of the table, the Chiefs were rewarded two advantages, but to drop the qualifier at home should mean more than just a one place drop in seedings. It's Super Rugby's version of double-dipping, instead of rewarding winners, the loser gets the benefits.

Asked postmatch about the finals system, Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham waded carefully through his answer, "there needs to be a reward for a team that finishes first, otherwise, they're just like everyone else in the qualifying finals. They've been outstanding all year", but no doubt thoughts of his team's last three exits across the ditch won't have escaped him.

OUT WITH A WHIMPER, REDS KISS SEASON GOODNIGHT

If there was hope of the Queensland Reds putting to bed Australia's horror finals run in New Zealand, it was quashed very, very quickly in their drubbing on Friday night. Just minutes in and conceding five penalties, the Reds looked apathetic as they dropped balls, their scrum collapsed, and their season sank like the Titanic after they struck the iceberg that was the Crusaders in the wet at Christchurch.

Reds captain Harry Wilson wasn't wrong when he said "we didn't fire a shot until the last ten minutes" postmatch after the side managed to score two late consolation tries to give some respectability to the scoreline, but it was too little too late. Christchurch is no happy hunting ground for Australian sides, but the ill-disciplined Reds were their own worst enemies as they opened the door for the Crusaders to walk through. First Joe Brial lost the ball at the Crusaders' line, before Josh Canham spilled the ball within the Crusaders' redzone. Fraser McReight fumbling the ball on his own line for Scott Barrett to pick up and score was another low moment, alongside Josh Flook's kick straight into a teammate instead of touch. It must be said, the loss of playmaker Tom Lynagh to a concussion early in the first half had its impact, but it was the lack of firepower up front and a set-piece that went backwards that ended the Reds season.

BLUES GET EXTRA PUSH FROM HOSPITAL BED

As the Blues sneaked in a final second try to shock the Chiefs in Hamilton, teammate Cameron Suafoa was cheering them home from his hospital bed as he continues to recover from major surgery following a recent cancer diagnosis.