Wallabies Joe Roff and Jeremy Paul today joined the competition leading ACT Brumbies' growing injury list ahead of the most important clash of the Super 12 season.

Coach Eddie Jones expects only six players at training tomorrow after the Brumbies received the damage bill from their dramatic 38-32 win over Queensland last night. Jones said fullback Roff (thigh) and hooker Paul (ankle) were both "extremely doubtful" for Friday night's clash with the Crusaders in Christchurch while reserve back Graeme Bond (knee medial ligament) was ruled out for the rest of the competition.

It was another sickening blow for the Brumbies (41 points), who must beat the second-placed Crusaders (38) in Christchurch on Friday night to claim the minor premiership and home-ground advantage should both win their home semi-finals. The Brumbies were already without Wallabies David Giffin, Owen Finegan and Brett Robinson for the match.

The only good news was the confirmation lock Justin Harrison would be available for the Crusaders' clash after returning from injury ahead of schedule.

"These things are just part and parcel of the game but we have to deal with it and we're confident with the squad we have available," Jones said.

The Brumbies certainly aren't feeling as bad as Queensland, which all but crashed out of contention with the loss at Bruce Stadium. The Reds can still make the semi-finals but they'd need a huge dose of luck, which has been a scarce commodity in their 2000 campaign.

The Reds are in seventh place on 25 points, thrown out the back of an intriguing race for third and fourth places. New Zealand teams dominate the race, with the Highlanders (31 points) third ahead of the Blues (29), Hurricanes (28) and South Africa's fast-finishing Cats (27).

The Highlanders escaped with a nail-biting 42-40 result against the winless Bulls early this morning, while the Cats stayed in touch with a 34-27 win over the Blues.
The Chiefs' 44-31 win over the Sharks in Durban had no effect on the finals race, with the teams in the also-ran category with New South Wales, who crashed to the Crusaders 22-13 last Friday night.

The Reds seem headed the same way even if they beat the Blues at Ballymore next Saturday night to complete a shattering season. After losing in the final minutes to the Cats last weekend, the Reds were gutted by the sight of Brumbies flyhalf Stephen Larkham plunging over for a last-minute try.

Veteran coach John Connolly labelled the disappointment "as much as I've ever felt" in his 12 seasons in charge of the Reds. Connolly said the Reds had played just as well as last season, when they claimed the minor premiership, but they will probably have nothing to show this year after winning just five of their 10 matches.
Larkham's killer blow came after the Reds had clawed back from a 28-9 half-time deficit in a game of contrasting halves. Larkham again stood tall, for once staying free of injury while his teammates fell around him.

Stirling Mortlock (ankle), Rod Kafer (shoulder) and Andrew Walker (foot) will also miss training tomorrow but the trio should be fit for next weekend. The Brumbies trio were desperate to boost their Wallaby hopes against the Reds, but few clear winners emerged in the tussles.

But Reds halfback Sam Cordingley should have booked his first Wallaby reserve jumper after an impressive display while Brumbies backrower Jim Williams enhanced his Test claims with a damaging performance.

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