The finals inch ever closer, and with Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa cleared to now return to the side, the Wallaby veteran is hungry to make up for lost time on the sidelines.
Front of mind for the star prop is breaking the Hurricanes’ winning streak and giving his side the best possible chance winning a third Super Rugby title.
Watch the SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific finals live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
Speaking fresh off the Thursday training session, Alaalatoa revealed he didn't know for certain that he was back until he was cleared earlier this morning.
"I just had to get through the whole session and the unit work at the end," Alaalatoa told reporters.
"I'm very pleased with that. I've had a really good week off the back of a good couple of weeks of trying to push it to see how far I can go.
"I've given myself every opportunity to go out there and to perform on Saturday. Thanks to the rehab team as well."
Despite the realistic chance ACT could already have their semi finals spot secure by the time they take the field in Canberra, Alaalatoa admitted he would rather the time back in the saddle regardless of other external results.
"There wasn't a thought of not playing," Alaalatoa said candidly.
"I even wanted to play last week. I'm just grateful to be able to be back, especially in finals footy. This is what you want to be a part of.
"Something that you work towards all pre-season, all season, is to give yourself the opportunity to be where we're at today. If you do have the opportunity to play, I want to take it with both hands. I was always trying to push to play this game."
Momentum is a key thing the Brumbies can grab from a win this weekend, especially against the red-hot Hurricanes.
However, there’s an extra impetus to down the men from Wellington following a 35-29 loss to Clark Laidlaw’s side in Round 11.
"I could tell the feeling after we versed them was pretty flat, from not only the backs but just from across the board, especially around that tackle completion," Alaalatoa said.
"During the week we do everything we can to prepare well to put in a good performance on Saturday. Take the learnings from last week and understand where we can grow.
"We spoke at the end of that game and a lot of it was around our tackle completion. They challenged us around the ruck with the likes of [Cam] Roigard. They got quality outside backs who pride themselves around skill and dominant ball carry.
"We understand their threats. They've got threats over the ball as well. Physicality and collision is probably going to be a massive part of the game, something that we've spoken about throughout the week.
"The best thing about rugby is that you've got the opportunity to play this team again.
"I'm sure those boys will be keen for Saturday."
