Reds skipper James Horwill vows to KO Brumbies in Super Rugby heavyweight fight Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie says Quade Cooper wasn't worried by his omission from the Wallabies squad and backs the No.10 to take on the Lions. UP FOR IT: Reds skipper James Horwill. Picture: Dew Annette Source: The Courier-Mail JAMES Horwill cut through the coaches' sideshow to declare the Reds primed to show they are Australia's best "big game, big moments" team. The forthright Reds captain all but dared the ACT Brumbies to "match us if you can" tonight on the season's biggest stage with the Suncorp Stadium crowd expected to nudge 40,000. "Games of this magnitude are the ones we most want to play, with the big crowds and the big situations," he said. During the Ewen McKenzie era, the Reds have won playoff games, beaten reigning champions three times, twice knocked off competition leaders away from home and have beaten the Crusaders three times. They are the ones we've learnt to play. We can close out games that need to be closed out," Horwill said. The little skirmishes between the coaches are good for selling tickets. If Horwill needed a nudge, it came yesterday as Queensland great Mark Loane told him face-to-face to "rip in" and get the job done of rising to No.1 in the Australian Conference. Loane said Horwill was a lock-in for Wallabies skipper to face the British and Irish Lions, a status that was on shaky ground last month because of his lengthy injury battles. Horwill is the restoked engine room of the Reds' title drive, as halfback Will Genia readily revealed this week when he said: "The captain is really back." Last weekend's excellent effort against the Chiefs was Horwill's first 80-minute display in 11 months and the confidence has spread not just through his teammates but also the towering lock himself. "I always said there'd be no substitute for playing footy for fitness and confidence when I finally came back and getting better every week is how I feel," Horwill said. For the first time, Horwill revealed his frustration during his injury dramas. "I just got to the dressingroom and smashed a plastic container with my fist," Horwill said of turning his ankle at training in February just as he was ready to return from a hamstring injury. He barely acknowledged the pot-shot from Brumbies coach Jake White who claimed that the Reds were Australia's dirtiest team because of their foul play penalties. It was a calculated return of serve after McKenzie advised the referee to police the ruck-killing ways of the Brumbies. ACT captain Ben Mowen said the niggle between the coaches was "hilarious." "It's part of the theatre," Mowen said. Everything's been covered from refereeing to offside lines but no one has spoken about what sort of underwear Georgey Smith is going to wear yet. The Reds will have to be at their best to make sure they are not blindsided tonight. Neutralising wild-haired steamroller Fotu Auelua, halfback Nic White, flanker supreme George Smith, scrum force Dan Palmer and Jake White's coaching brain will be the keys.