The sports studies students are working with the team to improve performance as part of their honours year at the University of Canberra

Mr Tredinnick, of Isaacs, is researching players' ability to run short sprints with little recovery, to improve understanding of the specific fitness levels required for different positions. Using the Brumbies' GPS tracking software, he is recording how many high- and low-speed accelerations players in each position perform throughout a game.

''It will give us a better indication of the physicality of rugby and what specific fitnesses and what training can be used to get all the players, each position, to their ultimate peak fitness for the game,'' he said.

Mr Tredinnick will crunch the numbers over the next few months and hand in his thesis in October, which he hopes will be published.

''There is a lot out there in terms of positional data … but where the gap in the research is in repeat sprint efforts,'' he said.

Mr Hopkinson, of Evatt, is analysing every team and every game in the 2013 Super Rugby championship to find out which attacking strategies from the defensive half are most successful.

On Brumbies match days he films the game from the sidelines to get a different view to that offered by the television crews.

''I'm trying to find strategies that work better for teams that are winning,'' he said.

Both students grew up in Canberra as Brumbies supporters.

''It was absolutely amazing, so surreal at first just being there and seeing all the players that I'd seen growing up,'' Mr Tredinnick said.