Vaea simply shrugged his shoulders, popped it back into place and told the club doctor to tape it so he could keep playing.

That's the type of determination the Brumbies will draw on in Bloemfontein on Sunday morning as they attempt to end their South African tour on a high and put a week of turmoil behind them.

Vaea made the 20-hour trek to South Africa this week to join the Brumbies ahead of their clash against the Free State Cheetahs.

Off the field the Brumbies have been embroiled in an ugly administration battle that led to the board standing down chief executive Michael Jones before a case in the ACT Supreme Court saw Jones win a temporary injunction to return to work.

The drama will be the furthest thing from the players' minds when they run on to the field. Vaea is just focused on playing after being forced out of action for the past two weeks.

And after missing two years of rugby with life-threatening blood clots, a dislocated finger that required surgery is just a blip on the radar.

"My finger was dislocated and the bone burst through the skin, so I popped it back in on the field and I didn't realise how much damage I did to it," Vaea said.

"The doctor said I was lucky I didn't break the end of my finger. I had surgery, they cleaned it out. I was in a breakdown, you know what it's like - you just put everything on the line in a breakdown and I got up and my finger was facing me to be honest.

"I looked the other way and popped it in. It was good. In the end it was a good decision by the doctor to go off, I could have done some more damage."

The Brumbies face the biggest test of their season against the Cheetahs, desperate to win to ensure their fast start to the Super Rugby campaign isn't eroded by a South African disaster.

The Brumbies lost their first game of the year last weekend, falling to the Cape Town Stormers in a controversial clash at Newlands.

Injuries and suspension have prompted the biggest team shuffle of the season so far, with Vaea being injected straight into the starting side and Robbie Coleman replacing Henry Speight on the wing.

Hooker Robbie Abel is set to earn his first Super Rugby cap from the bench while Ruan Smith also gets his first opportunity of the season as the back-up tighthead prop.

Vaea will add midfield punch to the Brumbies after versatile Jordan Smiler stepped into the No. 8 role last week when Jarrad Butler injured his knee.

The hard-hitting and hard-running Vaea has settled back into life as a Super Rugby player after making a shock comeback to the Brumbies roster last year when he was cleared to return to the game following a heart condition that kept him out of action for two years.

"I'm just focused on getting myself back on track, I'm ready to play against the Cheetahs so my job is just to be ready when I'm needed," Vaea said.

"I'm really comfortable at the Brumbies, I've never been uncomfortable. I've just been excited to be back and training again. Injury is something that happens, you have to deal with that.

"But I just wanted to get healthy and fit again so that when my time comes to get back out there I'm ready to go."

SUPER RUGBY ROUND FIVE

Sunday: Free State Cheetahs v ACT Brumbies at Bloemfontein, 12.05am. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2.

Brumbies: 15. Aidan Toua, 14. Robbie Coleman, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Toomua, 11. Joseph Tomane, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Tomas Cubelli, 8. Ita Vaea, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Rory Arnold, 3. Ben Alexander, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Robbie Abel, 17. Allan Alaalatoa, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Tom Staniforth, 20. Jordan Smiler, 21. Michael Dowsett, 22. James Dargaville, 23. Nigel Ah Wong.