Back-rower Josh Kemeny believes that the Rebels need to improve their red-zone execution if they wish to break their slump and book their place in the finals.
The Rebels have failed to record a win since Round Five, falling to the Reds and Force at home.
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Despite this, Dave Wessels' men still control their destiny as they sit in third spot, needing wins over the Brumbies and Waratahs to ensure their place in the finals.
However, if they wish to book their finals place for a second consecutive season, they must improve their execution in the final 22 according to Kemeny, starting with Sunday's clash with the Brumbies at AAMI Park.
The stats seem to back this sentiment up, with the club scoring a comp-low eight tries across their six games, tied with the Force.
Speaking in Wallabies camp during the week, Kemeny believes that their current slump can be put down to their inability to finish their attacking opportunities.
"I think we’re creating a lot of opportunities, I think something we need to do is executing when we get into those danger zones into the 22," he told the media.
"If we can do that I think we’re defending well, we’re sticking to our plans as well. So I think coming against the Brumbies this week, if we stick to our plan and we execute and come away with points when we create those opportunities, that’ll put us in good stead."
The call-up for Kemeny caps a remarkable rise for the Sydney Uni product, joining the Rebels at the end of 2019.
The 22-year-old admits that added familiarity and confidence at the Super Rugby level has allowed him to play his best football and push for International selection.
"I think just confidence," he suggests.
"Last year was my first year in a Super Rugby program, I’m still relatively young but getting a few games under my belt and kind of understanding what needs to be done, how to prepare, the kind of micro-skills you need to hone in on at this Super Rugby level and even international level potentially, just preparing physically, preparing mentally, at those levels, has helped me put my best foot forward this year.
"Hopefully I can keep building on that and improving on those things too."
Whilst he admitted that the selection was a shock, Kemeny is hoping to build off it with strong performances in the coming weeks in order to book his spot in the squad for the France series.
"On the Wallabies front, I‘m not just happy to be here," he said.
Now that I’m here I’d like to take the opportunity with both hands, if that means that I can get into the Test squad and get a green-and-gold jersey this year that would be great.
But I think that comes from going back to club and performing over the next nine weeks, and getting some good wins and some good performances under my belt.
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Sunday afternoon Rugby is back in Melbourne this weekend when the Rebels take on the Brumbies at AAMI Park, kicking off at 2:00pm AEST, the home side will look to keep their finals hopes alive following a narrow loss to the Force last weekend. You can catch all the action LIVE on Stan Sport,click here to purchase tickets.
