The shattered Brumbies are desperate to end their nightmare tour of South Africa with a season-saving win over Super 14 cellar dwellers the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Sunday morning (AEST).

Already reeling from back-to-back defeats in the Republic, the Brumbies' on-field troubles were placed in harsh perspective when back-rower Shawn Mackay suffered devastating injuries when hit by a car in Durban after the side's 35-14 loss to the Sharks last Sunday.

Mackay remains in hospital after suffering serious neck, head and leg injuries but his Brumbies teammates were buoyed by news on Thursday night that the 26-year-old had emerged from an induced coma and was communicating by blinking.

"It's fantastic news," Brumbies coach Andy Friend told the Canberra Times.

"We've all been hanging out for something and this is just the tonic everyone in the camp needed.

"You could just see a sense of relief immediately among the group. There is still a long way to go but the small steps that need to be happening are happening.

"It's been a tough week but we are now starting to think the tide is turning for us."

Despite Mackay's plight, Brumbies captain George Smith said the side was pulling together and aware of the importance of beating the last-placed Cheetahs to keep their playoff hopes alive.

"The training sessions throughout the week have been good and the boys are looking forward to this match," Smith said on Friday.

"It's a huge game for us. We've lost two games over here in South Africa; the game against the Sharks we turned up and wanted to play, but we didn't execute the way we wanted to."

The Brumbies are sitting 10th at the halfway point of the tournament, nine points adrift of the top four, and accept they cannot afford any more slip-ups.

Friend, though, is wary of the Cheetahs, who are playing at home the first time this campaign following a winless five-match stint in Australasia.

"They'll be full of emotion," he said.

"Their crowd has a big expectation on them to start their season against us, so it's going to be a tough opening exchange and hopefully we'll battle through that and get a win on the road.

"Like all teams, home crowds can give you a real advantage but if we can keep the scoreboard at nil-nil, or our way, for a lengthy chunk of the time early on, that will just add more pressure on them. So that's a focus of ours.

"This is massively important. We've had two losses in a row now. We don't want to make it a third loss.

"We know that we need to be winning games if we want to be contending for the top four.

"That's what we intend to do, so I'm assuming and hoping that we're going to get an attitude out there which shows that."

In a major boost for the Brumbies, Wallabies captain Stirling Mortlock will make a welcome return to the centres after missing the Sharks loss with a cork.

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