Jesse Mogg still has trouble comprehending his rapid rise to rugby's heights.
Two season ago he was just another local player running around the suburban paddocks of Canberra.
Now he's a Wallaby and 80 minutes away from helping the Brumbies to their first title in nine years.
"Who would have thought that two years later I'd be playing in a Super Rugby grand final," said Mogg on Wednesday.
While the 24-year-old has trouble believing his dramatic elevation, there's no such problem for Brumbies backs coach and Wallabies great Stephen Larkham.
"You look at the skills he has and you'd say it would have had to happen at one stage," Larkham said.
"He reads the game really well, it was just a matter of time."
Mogg will be pivotal for the Brumbies against defending champions the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday night.
His try in the semi-final against the Bulls last weekend not only set up an early 10-0 lead, but silenced the hostile Loftus Versfeld crowd.
And while his teammates nickname him Greyhound for his explosive pace, it's Mogg's booming left boot that has perfectly complemented coach Jake White's territory-based game over the past two seasons.
In fact, it was the World Cup-winning coach who threw Mogg his rugby lifeline.
Living off youth allowance and having all but given up on a rugby career in Canberra, Mogg was considering returning to Brisbane when White spotted him in a club game for Wests.
So rapid has his development been since, that many pundits labelled his debut performance for the Wallabies in their disastrous third Test loss against the British and Irish Lions as the match's only silver lining.
Saturday's final will be Mogg's last game to impress new Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie before the Rugby Championship kicks off with the first Bledisloe Cup clash on August 17.
Having made McKenzie's 40-man squad, he's in the running to nab a second Test cap.
"I'm one of the only left-footers in the squad so it gives you that point of difference," Mogg said.
"I just want to do a good job (at the Brumbies) and hopefully that brings personal success later on.
"I'm still learning new things, and I assume I'll learn a few more things Saturday night."
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