But Mowen said Speight did not lift De Jongh and there was "pushing and pulling" at every breakdown. Speight grabbed De Jongh and pulled him sideways, but the Stormers skipper was flipped in the process and landed on his head. Mowen said the Brumbies had plenty of cover for Speight if he does get suspended, labelling utility Robbie Coleman's season as "outstanding" and he also felt James Dargaville has had an impressive debut year. "I think [Henry's chances of getting off] are good. I can't believe that's a red-card offence," he said. "Every cleanout in and around the breakdown there's pushing and pulling ... and he certainly didn't lift the bloke.

"He grabbed him around the shoulders and swung him. I think the fact the Brumbies went without him for that last little period was probably punishment enough." The Brumbies are one of the most penalised teams in Super Rugby and were the same when Mowen, who now plays in France, captained the Brumbies to the Super Rugby final in 2013. They finished their qualifying final against the Stormers with 13 men, with flanker Scott Fardy sin-binned for a professional foul just after Speight was sent off. Mowen said the Brumbies' discipline had improved since he was in charge - they were more selective about when to attack the breakdown and stayed on their feet more.

He said pushing the limits of the rules was a trademark of the top teams in recent years. "All sides that have been successful have that aspect about them - they want to push the boundaries," Mowen said. "When the [Waikato] Chiefs won it they were doing things that year that were essentially illegal, but they were getting away with it and doing it quite well. "The [Canterbury] Crusaders have done it for many years. "The Brumbies have been a team that's happy to put their head over the ball - that makes them a team that's difficult to play and also means the man in the middle has to make some decisions and that's what you want."

Under Mowen's leadership, the Brumbies came within 20 minutes of winning the title two years ago, only to be over-run by the Chiefs. It came after an inspirational win over the Pretoria Bulls in South Africa in the semi-final. There are similarities with what the 2015 Brumbies face this weekend - returning from a tough win in South Africa before heading across the ditch to face the best Kiwi side. Former Brumbies and Wallabies coach Rod McQueen also knows how tough it is to win a final in New Zealand - he coached the Brumbies when they lost the 1997 decider to the Auckland Blues. He said the experience of the current side led by Stephen Moore would be invaluable and he liked their chances of beating the Hurricanes.

"People that have been in the finals make a big difference. You've got some old heads there [at the Brumbies] that are going to be really good and their coach [Stephen Larkham] has been there himself when he was playing," McQueen said. "He'll know what to say so I think from that perspective I don't think that's going to be an issue at all. "They're going to go across [to Wellington] fairly confident and if they play at their best they're a good chance." SUPER RUGBY SEMI-FINAL Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes at Wellington, 5.35pm. TV Time: Live on Fox Sports 2.