Nothing lasts forever. That's why departing lock Rory Arnold has vowed to leave nothing left in the tank as his ACT Brumbies career comes to an end.
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Arnold will be one of nine players farewelled after the Brumbies' clash against the Durban Sharks on Saturday night in a knockout quarter-final.
But the players will be hoping they can extend their Canberra careers by at least one more week and potentially another clash in the capital if results go the Brumbies' way.
It's been just five years since Arnold exploded out of obscurity, where he was bagging sugar to becoming one of the most dangerous locks of Super Rugby. The 29-year-old never thought he'd be given a chance to launch his rugby career, let alone play finals footy.
He will join French club Toulouse at the end of the season, but before he leaves he wants to repay the Brumbies with a premiership.
"Canberra has been my home for the last five years and they've given me the opportunity to play Super Rugby which I never thought I'd have so for that I'm grateful," Arnold said.
"I can honestly say the Brumbies have made me a better person.
BRUMBIES NEWS
"It's just that family culture at the Brumbies have. It's unique. It's not the biggest city or the biggest town so all the boys get around each other. I'll miss that about this group and it will always hold a special place in my heart."
It's been an emotional start to the Brumbies finals campaign after Christian Lealiifano added his name to the long list of departing players.
The Brumbies have been coming to terms with a changing of the guard after Arnold, David Pocock, Henry Speight, and Sam Carter announced they would be leaving the capital at the end of the season.
"All good things must come to an end, but obviously one door shuts and another opens," Arnold said.
"So I'll be looking forward to this not being my last weekend of playing footy in Canberra, hopefully it can roll on for a few more.
"It would be nice to keep it rolling and keep getting a few more wins, and you never know where it could take us.
"The boys leaving will have that in their mind, I know I will, so I'm looking forward to it. Nothing lasts forever and rugby is the same."
The Brumbies are on the verge of their longest single-season winning streak in club history after defeating the Queensland Reds 40-27to secure their sixth win in a row.
Carter, who will move to Ireland at the seasons end, said team will leave their emotions behind and set their sights on the silverware.
"We had a pretty emotional week, we did an in-house farewell for the guys that are leaving, and then we went out and played some pretty good footy on Saturday night," Carter said.
"For us, it has been a long season but we feel like we're just getting started. It's been building, and we've just got to keep it rolling."
The third-placed Brumbies are considered the form team of the competition after winning eight of their past 10 games and dominating the Australian conference. The winning streak comes after a slow start to the season where they lost four out of their six opening matches.
Arnold believes the Brumbies have the right motivation and attitude to keep the momentum rolling and break their 15-year premiership drought.
"We didn't start the season as well as we would have liked to," Arnold said.
"The turning point for us was against the Reds, we went up there and put in a performance we weren't happy with. We had a bit of an honest and hard review, and since then it has been pretty good. It's nice to be back in the mix for finals."
SUPER RUGBY QUARTER-FINAL
Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Durban Sharks at Canberra Stadium, 8.05pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
