(Reuters) -ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham sought to temper expectations after his side moved into pole position in the Super Rugby Pacific standings on Saturday with a 24-14 win over the Queensland Reds in Canberra.
The Brumbies climbed above the Waikato Chiefs with two weeks left of the regular season but, with his team not in action this weekend and due to face the Canterbury Crusaders a week later, Larkham was remaining rational ahead of the season's climax.
"It's going to be short-lived, there's games next week and we've got the bye," he said of the Brumbies move into first place. "The most important thing for us was to get a win out of that game, a very physical game.
"I thought it was one of our best defensive efforts out there. Likewise I thought the Reds were pretty good defensively, so it was a very physical game.
"Puts us in first place, but we know that we've still got a game against the Crusaders and that's going to determine where we finish on the ladder."
The Brumbies won the clash between the two best-placed Australian teams in this year's Super Rugby standings and, while the result saw Larkham's side go top, the Reds remain in fourth and in contention for a place in the finals series.
Les Kiss' team have matches against the Wellington Hurricanes and Fijian Drua remaining as they look to secure the top six finish required to take them into the playoffs.
"I know the result is the main thing, but we will also make sure that we take the positives out of a lot of good things we did there," said Kiss.
The Brumbies "are the team that keeps standing up. They're the team we're trying to catch, so full credit to them. We did put them under pressure a lot. They got the crucial points that they needed to at the right time in the right way."
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by W)
