Wallabies outside centre Tevita Kuridrani has called on the ACT Brumbies' senior players to revive the club's Super Rugby campaign by showing leadership to end a mid-year slump.
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The Brumbies title hopes were hit with another blow when they lost to the Auckland Blues 18-12 on Sunday.
It was their third consecutive defeat and the first time since the disaster season of 2011 that the Brumbies had lost three games in a row.
But Kuridrani is confident the new-look Brumbies can overcome a mid-season rut to still force their way into championship contention.
The Brumbies still hold a lead at the top of the Australian conference but their lead could be slashed if the NSW Waratahs beat the Blues this weekend.
The Brumbies have already lost more games this season than they did last year with six matches left in the regular season, including a trip to Port Elizabeth and Buenos Aires.
How they bounce back after losing to the Blues will determine how much their championship hopes have wobbled.
"We've got a lot of young guys in the team and there's a lot to do, but this is new territory for a lot of us," Kuridrani said.
"But we have to see it as good learning, go away for the bye and then come back refreshed for the next challenge. We have to get ourselves back together and the senior guys will lead that.
"We didn't finish our opportunities against the Blues ... we've just got to fix a few things up.
"We're trying to bring in that attack this year so we'll keep doing that because we'll back our [defence] to get the job done for us."
Kuridrani is still working with the Brumbies and the ARU to finalise a new deal to keep him in Australian rugby in the coming years.
It is believed the powerful No. 13 is keen to stay in Canberra but negotiations are dragging on while the ARU attempts to sort out the future of its Super Rugby franchises.
Kuridrani is one of a host of Brumbies who will use the next four games to impress Wallabies coach Michael Cheika ahead of the three-Test series in June against Fiji, Scotland and Italy.
But the immediate focus is getting the Super Rugby season back on track after a struggling to heat top gear for the past three weeks.
The Brumbies have failed to score a try in their past 120 minutes of rugby. It's a massive turnaround from piling on 43 points against the Queensland Reds less than a month ago.
The silver lining is that the Brumbies will still be at the top of the Australian conference at the end of the week despite the Waratahs having a chance to catch them.
"We hit the Lions and then on to South Africa and Argentina before we play the Rebels, so we've got four games in a row," said coach Stephen Larkham.
"Everything is still in our favour moving forward. We just have to make sure we're nice and rested when we come out of this break so we're energised to play the Lions.
"It's the execution in crucial moments [that's letting us down], that's your composure. That wasn't quite there when the pressure was on [against the Blues]. But I think we're improving as a team."
