Connal McInerney says he won't think twice about standing in front of a Wellington freight train as the ACT Brumbies fight to live another day in the Super Rugby title hunt.
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The Brumbies hooker has tweaked his tackling technique after spending a chunk of the season on the sideline following a series of head knocks earlier this year.
The 28-year-old has grappled with concussion concerns in recent years but the former Wallaby spent his time off breaking down footage and visualising areas of improvement.
Now McInerney is confident he has buried any lasting demons as the Brumbies prepare to face Ardia Savea's Hurricanes in a quarter-final at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
"I don't even think twice about my head or anything now, it's just about choosing the right weapon at the right time, whether it's a low tackle or a high tackle," McInerney said.
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"I had a couple of months off there. I had the chance to try to tweak a few things. It's pretty hard when you're 28 years old to change too much regarding technique. To be honest, [I did] a lot of visualisation stuff during that time off, and watching a few tackles where I went wrong.
"I was probably dipping too early for those low tackles ... So I'm trying to dip a bit later and also bring a higher tackle into my game, so there is less chance of copping a hip or something.
"The last four games since I've been back have been really good, I haven't even had a buzz. I'm in a really good way at the moment."
The Brumbies are bracing to be without captain Allan Alaalatoa as they chase a semi-final berth in the sudden-death finals format, but loosehead prop James Slipper and flyhalf Noah Lolesio are set to return to the fold in a major boost for Stephen Larkham's side.
"It is a big loss, and there's no hiding that, that Allan is out," McInerney said.
"There's plenty of leaders and experience around, having Slips back is really important. Sefo Kautai has done a really good job, coming in there, he's like for like. He's a workhorse around the field, makes heaps of tackles and scrums really well."
The Brumbies - the highest ranked Australian team in the competition - were on the wrong end of a five-point defeat when they travelled to Wellington to face the Hurricanes in round 10.
There were fears their season had stalled on the road to the finals, but forward Luke Reimer is adamant the Brumbies are ready to rise to the challenge with no second chances left.
"Big time. I think everyone has come to that realisation. We're not in a comp where you do get a second chance if you're up the top of the ladder. It's do or die," Reimer said.
"We've come this far, to lose this weekend would be really disappointing. Everyone is pretty around the whole idea of do or die.
"They're a quality side, they put a lot of phases together. We just need to stay composed when we're on defence and really execute when we're on attack.
"We know we've got a job to do, this is really the pinnacle of it. We're pretty excited to get out there on Saturday and put a job on."
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Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
