Brumbies fans took a lot of joy from beating the Waratahs 40–31 in the final round of 2018, as this prevented the Waratahs from finishing 2nd on the overall table. Daryl Gibson, head coach of the Waratahs, exclaimed that his side "was not focused on the job at hand, and getting ahead of itself in terms of already being in next week". Brumbies fans got additional joy from Gibson's post-match press conference, where he (incorrectly) claimed that the result did not affect the Waratahs' playoffs picture.