Hard work recognised as Kemeny reaps the rewards at Saints

And if he and his team-mates can find a way to win in Cardiff on Saturday, it really would be the icing on the cake for the Australian flanker.

Kemeny was recently named coaches' and players' player of the season at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens, with his hard work recognised by those around him.

"I'm obviously proud of that (winning the awards)," said Kemeny, who joined Saints from Melbourne Rebels last summer.

"I've always tried my best to be a consistent trainer and performer so it was nice to be recognised by the coaches.

"Everyone does (pride themselves on hard work). You only reap the rewards of how much you put in."

So how does Kemeny reflect on his first season at Saints so far?

"It's been good," he said.

"Nothing's been perfect, but I wouldn't really change the way that it's gone.

"I've learned a lot, developed a huge amount, which was a big reason as to why I joined the club.

"It's been about the level I've been coached here. It's really opened my eyes to finer details and little things you can put in when you're super fatigued and when the game gets tough to live at a high standard so that's been good.

"The thing I really like about it is that no matter who we're playing or what the week is, we've got a plan, we stick to it every single week.

"Obviously there's little tweaks here and there but we're confident in what we do and that's reflected in the coaching and the buy-in from the players."

That was emphasised when Saints claimed a stunning win against Leinster in Dublin earlier this month.

And Kemeny said: "It was so special, and those games are a big reason why I wanted to make the move to come over here.

"It was so pleasing to see us play to our ability and really kick the door in."

He scored his sixth try in 20 appearances in the win against Saracens last weekend.

And Kemeny is now setting his sights on the huge Investec Champions Cup showpiece at the Principality Stadium this weekend.

"The start of last weekend's game was a bit disappointing in some facets but maybe it was a good way to blow some of the cobwebs off and set ourselves up for a good performance this week," Kemeny said.

"It was really special to get the win in the 80th minute, like, wow, beat Sarries, it was great.

"I'm really excited to tee it off this week."

With Juarno Augustus out, Kemeny moved from six to seven last weekend.

"I've played a bit of seven in my time and the way our make-up's gone, I'm not necessarily playing a strict seven role," he said.

"I've still got some responsibilities I had when I was playing six but I love it.

"It's a new challenge and I'm enjoying it."

Now it's all about producing another huge performance in the Welsh capital this weekend.

So how are the Saints players coping with the pre-match nerves?

"There's no denying it's a massive occasion and there's no denying we feel it," Kemeny said.

"I definitely feel it. I feel the pressure, the nerves, everyone does. We spoke about it during the prep week.

"But whatever those feelings are, it's important we acknowledge them, step into them, as we did in Dublin a few weeks ago.

"We need to grab it by the horns.

"If we let them dictate things then it'll be their game, but I'm not going to do that."