The ACT Brumbies have their man to fill the Schoupp-sized hole in the squad, as pressure builds to crack down on discipline issues for a home Super Rugby final against the Highlanders in Canberra next Saturday.
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In an "inconsistent" and "mixed performance" - as described by coach Stephen Larkham - the Brumbies sealed their spot in the finals with an end-of-regular-season 24-19 win over the Western Force on the weekend.
Unfortunately, it came at a price, with Wallabies star Blake Schoupp reinjuring his shoulder after two minutes.
Schoupp's 2024 campaign is most likely over after the setback, and veteran James Slipper (calf) is touch-and-go for next weekend too.
But skipper Allan Alaalatoa isn't concerned. He believes 23-year-old prop Harry Vella is the man to seamlessly step into Schoupp's role, and shore up the scrum.
"Vella has been around for a couple of years and has experience, so we expect him to come in and do a good job," Alaalatoa said.
"[Schoupp] will get a scan, but he was in a bit of pain, so I can't see him featuring next week.
"It's just next man up. There's no time to feel sorry for people. [Schoupp] is a massive loss, same as Slipps, but we have to move on as a team."
Alaalatoa wasn't sure if Slipper would be fit to play next weekend, but didn't doubt he'd be pushing for a return.
"Slipps wants to be involved in every game, and especially the finals, so he'll be trying to give himself every chance to feature," the captain said.
Apart from their injury woes, the Brumbies also have a glaring discipline issue that will need addressing in their finals tilt.
Larkham was unimpressed in his post-match press conference about the Brumbies giving away 12 penalties to the Force, but it's not a new problem.
Over the past five games the Brumbies have conceded 65 penalties and had six yellow cards, and the whole squad know it's not going to fly in the finals if they want to be Super Rugby champions in a few weeks' time.
"If we're better around the contact areas, we can get less penalties against us. That's what as leaders and coaches we're looking at because we know we can't afford to give that many away in finals," he said.
"I thought that a couple against the Force we were hard done by, but it's still a big area of improvement for us."
From here everything goes up a notch for the Brumbies, and overcoming rival New Zealand teams will be their biggest challenge, but Alaalatoa believes they've got the goods to deliver.
"The finals feeling just hits different," he said.
"Our combinations have been around for a few years, it's [Larkham's] second year, and boys have had experience playing finals over in New Zealand as well. That's definitely going to help us in this finals series.
"It's going to be tough, but we have to take our chances and especially against Kiwi teams we haven't done that. So when the moment counts we've got to take it and there's total belief there that we can do it.
"All eyes are on the Highlanders now for finals footy.
"The intensity of training is going to lift through the week, but it's going to be a good vibe being back in Canberra probably for the last time this year."
Super Rugby Quarter-Final
Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Otago Highlanders, 7.35pm at Canberra Stadium.