If McKellar hadn't scrolled past the Nigerian lottery scams, he might not have ended up in Japan preparing to take the ACT Brumbies' head coach reins for the first time on Saturday. He might not be in Super Rugby at all.

To understand how McKellar got to the Brumbies job, you have to rewind five years when he was in Japan and had spent 12 months away from his wife and children.

He was keen to coach, but not so keen on spending time away from his family. He wrote an email to his former boss to ask to return to his old orthopedic sales job, but before he could send it a junk email changed everything.

"I typed the email to my old boss to give coaching away ... It was too much being away from Carla and the girls, I thought it wasn't worth it," McKellar said.

"Before I sent it, and this is no word of a lie, I went and checked my junk email and I still don't know why. In there was a note from Laurie Fisher.

"It said: 'what's your contract situation, would you come back to Canberra?' I was on the phone straight away and said, 'where do I sign'.

"It's not all roses, it is tough on your family. My family has stuck around me ... without Carla, Amelie and Maya, I wouldn't be here."

McKellar's first task will be guiding the Brumbies to victory against the unpredictable Japan Sunwolves in Tokyo on Saturday.

He has the unenviable job of filling the shoes of Stephen Larkham - a Brumbies legend as a player, an Australian World Cup hero and the man who has led the club to three finals appearances in a row.

McKellar is unfazed, even if he has taken the road less travelled to get an opportunity to chase his goals.

The former Queensland Reds prop played 150 premier games for Souths in Brisbane, and had playing and coaching stints in Scotland, Ireland, Canberra and Japan.

He carved a career in orthopedic sales, selling screws, nails and fixations and then sitting in operating rooms telling surgeons how far to drill or what measurements they needed to repair broken bones and joints.

He was coaching on the side and his family moved with him to Canberra when he became the Tuggeranong Vikings coach.

It all came to a head after he moved to Japan and spent an extended period away from his family.

At the same time, Jake White quit the Brumbies and left Larkham and Fisher to become co-coaches.

They needed an offsider and McKellar was the man. What Larkham and Fisher didn't know was that McKellar was about to walk away.

"He struck me as a very, very good coach ... Dan got his teeth into it and hasn't looked back," Fisher said, who's now McKellar's assistant.

"Dan is a career coach. Your first step into a genuine professional environment, you tread lightly. But Dan is very confident, he understands how he wants the game played and letting others have their say. He balances all of that quite well."

McKellar has a no nonsense approach to his rookie season. He wants to win games, score more tries and hopefully play an entertaining style to lure Brumbies fans back to the game.

It's an approach that has resonated with the Brumbies playing group. No gimmicks, just action.

"Yeah, I'm stepping into the shoes of a legend [in Larkham]," McKellar said.

"Some of the best coaches I've come across weren't necessarily great at their sport. Stephen was an exception. But coaching is so different to playing.

"I've done it for a long time and it is daunting at first, but as long as you always look to improve your knowledge, I've never had a concern.

"I want to win games. Right now, all I'm worried about winning is the first one against the Sunwolves."

SUPER RUGBY ROUND ONE

Saturday: Japan Sunwolves v ACT Brumbies at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo, 3.15pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports.

Brumbies: 15. Tom Banks, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Kyle Godwin, 11. Chance Peni, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Joe Powell, 8. Isi Naisarani, 7. Tom Cusack, 6. Rob Valetini, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Richie Arnold, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. Josh Mann-Rea, 1. Ben Alexander. Reserves: 16. Robbie Abel, 17. Faalelei Sione, 18. Les Leuluaialii-Makin, 19. Rory Arnold, 20. Lachlan McCaffrey, 21. Matt Lucas, 22. Wharenui Hawera, 23. Lausii Taliauli.

Sunwolves: 15. Jason Emery, 14. Lomano Lemeki, 13. Timothy Lafaele, 12. Ryoto Nakamura, 11. Hosea Saumaki, 10. Robbie Robinson, 9. Yutaka Nagare, 8. Willie Britz, 7. Pieter Lappies Labuschagne, 6. Kazuki Himeno, 5. Grant Hattingh, 4. Sam Wykes, 3. Jiwon Koo, 2. Shota Horie, 1. Keita Inagaki. Reserves: Java Bregvadze, 17. Craig Miller, 18. Asaeli Ai Valu, 19. James Moore, 20. Ed Quirk, 21. Fumiaki Tanaka, 22. Hayden Parker, 23. Sione Teaupa.