Wayne Smith | May 18, 2009

Less than a month ago, Brumbies coach Andy Friend was questioning how much more Stirling Mortlock had to give, but now he has no doubt the warrior centre is still the man to lead the Wallabies.

The worst game in Brumbies history, the 56-7 Anzac Day loss to the Hurricanes in Wellington, coincided with the worst performance Mortlock has played in the Brumbies jersey.

Although Friend subsequently came to realise a viral infection the previous weekend had drained Mortlock of all energy, not the shape to be in when confronting All Blacks battering ram Ma'a Nonu, it took all of his self-restraint in the immediate aftermath of that record defeat not to dump the Wallabies captain.

In the end, he retained him in the side but nonetheless switched him from the midfield to the wing.

"It was a very un-Stirling-like performance from him against the Hurricanes," said Friend, no doubt referring to Mortlock's five missed tackles.

"But since that day Stirling has shown what a phenomenal character and inspirational leader he is.

"And I said to him yesterday my respect for him as a person has grown immeasurably in recent weeks. It's not my call, of course, but in my opinion he still has the desire and the ability to play and lead at the top level."

All of Mortlock's post-Hurricanes performances seemingly built towards his towering game for the Brumbies against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday.

What transpired at Waikato Stadium wasn't the scenario the Brumbies had crossed the Tasman seeking. Pre-match rain all but ended their hopes of playing the expansive game they hoped would deliver them the bonus-point win needed to qualify for the Super 14 play-offs and instead plunged them into a slugfest against the Chiefs.

That's when Mortlock came storming to the fore, both with his crunching defence and irrepressible ball carries. The Brumbies might have matched the Chiefs with one try apiece but they spent almost the entire second half in desperate defence and ultimately saw their finals hopes terminated by a late Stephen Donald penalty goal. Mortlock's rugged game epitomised the Brumbies' heroic efforts and Friend had every reason to feel proud of his side's parting contribution to the Super 14 season.

"We tried very hard but we just weren't good enough," he said.

Friend's debut season as a head coach in Super rugby is one that will haunt him forever because of the death of Shawn Mackay. But by any normal standards 2009 represented a very solid start under the new coaching regime and one that augurs well for the seventh-placed Brumbies to seriously challenge for the title next year.

Certainly the recruitment of star halves pairing Matt Giteau and Josh Valentine should add a new dimension to the Brumbies' attack next year.

"I'm obviously wrapped in those two signings," Friend said. "You need people at nine and 10 who know the game and how to control it."

Yet even working with what they already have, the Brumbies' coaching staff has done well, scrum coach Bill Young most especially. Certainly the improvement of the ACT based side's set piece has been one of the most pleasing features of the season, and it was music to Friend's ears after the Hamilton match when his Chiefs counterpart, Ian Foster, congratulated him with the words: "What the hell have you been doing to your scrum?"

The other significant development made this season was in deprogramming the Brumbies from their traditional approach of playing to preordained phases. "You don't necessarily play to a pattern but to where the space is," he said. "We've made good progress on our set pieces and our defence and also on an attacking structure that doesn't have some of the constraints of the past."