The ACT Brumbies will turn to a "silent assassin" to fill a gaping void left by the heartbeat of the club as Sefo Kautai steps into Allan Alaalatoa's boots.
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Every Brumbies player quizzed about captain Alaalatoa this week says the tighthead prop is a massive loss heading into a must-win Super Rugby quarter-final against the Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
But incumbent Test captain James Slipper - who is in line to become Australia's most-capped player as he closes in on a new deal - is confident a quiet achiever can plug the gap left by Brumbies star Alaalatoa, whose name has been floated in Wallabies captaincy discussions.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham will name his team on Thursday, with Kautai and Rhys Van Nek prepared to step up again after a calf injury kept Alaalatoa sidelined for the final game of the regular season.
"Of course we're going to miss Allan, his leadership. He's such a figure for us and our team, and I'd say Allan is probably the heartbeat of the Brumbies," Slipper said.
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"It's a huge loss but I'm confident Sef can do the job. He's a silent assassin. He's been unreal for the club. He's a quiet achiever. He goes about his work similarly to Allan."
The Brumbies head into a home final as the outsiders - though the odds on the Hurricanes are not as short as punters will find for other New Zealand-based outfits.
The Chiefs, Crusaders and Blues all enter the quarter-finals as near unbackable favourites against the Queensland Reds, Fijian Drua, and NSW Waratahs respectively.
But the Brumbies have been here before. It has been little more than 12 months to the day since the Hurricanes arrived in Canberra for another quarter-final. The Brumbies prevailed on that night to advance to a semi-final across the Tasman.
However Slipper says last year's exploits count for little this time around.
"You can look back and gain confidence from that, but in the big picture, it's do or die," Slipper said.
"It's what you do on the night, and that's what really matters. Whatever has happened in the past has happened in the past, and it's not going to help you out there in those 80 minutes.
"To play at home in a finals game, that's what you want. That's the ultimate prize when you play in the season, it would have been nice to get a semi there but not to be. We've obviously got a job to get through the quarters first before we look forward.
"To play the 'Canes, it's going to be tough game. They've got All Blacks throughout their squad. Both teams know what's on the line to progress further into the finals."
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Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports journalist for The Canberra Times.
