The ACT Brumbies have been warned not to rely on Wallabies experience to win games, despite boasting more than triple the amount of international caps than they had two years ago.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Brumbies will start this year's Super Rugby campaign with 11 Wallabies in their starting side for the clash against the Queensland Reds on Saturday night.
It's a massive turnaround from the Brumbies roster which had just four Test players in a 35-man squad at the start of 2012.
The Brumbies now have 347 international caps compared to the 105 they had in 2012. The Brumbies team which started as an unknown force two years ago will now be a prized scalp in the competition after making the Super Rugby final last season.
But Wallabies forward Scott Fardy, who made his Test debut last year, said Test experience ''counts for nothing''.
''Across the board we've got a number of Wallabies, but that doesn't mean anything when we come to the game,'' Fardy said.
''We're confident we did things last year that got us not quite there and we want to do things this year to make sure we go all the way.
''If we can do everything 5 per cent better we can put ourselves in a good position to contend for the title.''
Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie will be in the stands at Canberra Stadium to watch a clash between Australia's best two teams of the past two years.
It will be a good indicator as Test players go head to head. Scrum-halfs Nic White and Will Genia battled for the Test No.9 spot last year while playmaker Matt Toomua will take on incumbent Wallabies fly-half Quade Cooper.
Brumbies locks Fardy and Sam Carter will team up against the Reds' Wallabies duo of James Horwill and Rob Simmons.
The Reds have 12 Wallabies in their starting XV for the match against the Brumbies.
''I'm looking forward to the year ahead, I'm excited about what this Reds team can do,'' Horwill said.
''We've worked very hard at trying to manipulate the way we play so we can do things differently.
''I'm open-minded about what this team can achieve … there was a period of time when we didn't beat the Brumbies but we're on level pegging now.''
Fardy said the Brumbies were intent on turning Canberra back into a fortress.
The Brumbies lost just one of their eight games in the capital last year.
''You have to have a fortress at home and that's what we hope to create,'' Fardy said.
''The routine of playing in Canberra is something we look forward to, it's going to be a massive game to start.''
