Wallabies and Northampton flanker Josh Kemeny could not hide his excitement about the prospect of playing at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in the PREM Rugby Final.
Kemeny, who arrived at Franklin’s Gardens ahead of the 2024/25 season, has been a revelation on the blindside and helped play his part in the Saints making the final.
While he wasn’t among the try scorers in Northampton‘s 45-31 semi-final victory against Leicester Tigers on Friday, he has been a threat all season in that department.
Kemeny has also been a reliable line-out option and carrier, which was evident in the win that booked the Saints’ ticket to the PREM Rugby final and a tie with Exeter.
Excited
It’s the opportunity to play on the Twickenham turf that is most exciting Kemeny, who will be eager to win his first silverware for the Saints since moving to England.
“All these games are the reason why I came here and it’s my first time going into Twickenham so I’m excited,” the Australian back-row told the Northampton Chronicle.
“Everyone knows Twickenham and I couldn’t be more excited to be honest.
“We don’t need to approach the week too differently and we need to build for Saturday.”
Tom Litchfield (3), Tommy Freeman, George Furbank (2) and Archie McParland crossed for Saints in their semi-final win as they came out on top over their local rivals.
It was a match played at a frenetic speed that was hugely physical and Kemeny admits it was a tough test but one that was more than worth the pain due to the result.
“I’m a little bit battered and bruised but good,” he said.
“I’m excited and happy. It was physical, it was fast – it felt like 100 minutes, but it was electric.
“Especially a team like Leicester, we saw the performance they put out against us last time and they did it for 80 minutes so we knew what they were going to come with. Respect to them.
Improvements
“I don’t think we did anything differently or planned anything differently, it was just execution and a higher level of physicality.
“We probably improved our breakdown, our set-piece – the boring stuff that allows us to play the way we play.”
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He added on the tightness of the game: “I’m pretty sure it was a one-score game for most of it. They were knocking on the door the whole time, and we were too, so we’re really pleased to come out on top.
“It was the perfect example of home game advantage and how much that can feed your team. I absolutely love it.
“I played in some decent games since being here, but these ones at home are my favourite.”