White got a taste of Wallabies camp on Tuesday when he made a brief visit to Sydney to join the squad's preparation for the British and Irish Lions series.

He will return to Canberra on Wednesday to rejoin the Brumbies and their pursuit of a drought-breaking finals appearance.

There are still six spots up for grabs in the Wallabies squad for the three Test series against the Lions and White is a leading candidate.

But with no guarantees, the Brumbies' No. 9 is making team success his priority.

White is one of the leading candidates to be interim captain after five senior Brumbies joined the Wallabies.

The Brumbies can all but secure their place in the finals for the first time since 2004 if they beat the Melbourne Rebels with a four-try bonus point on Friday night. White will go head-to-head against former Brumbies scrum-half Luke Burgess, who will make his return to Super Rugby after two years in France.

Before joining French rugby, Burgess played 37 Tests for the Wallabies and 56 Super Rugby games, but this is the first time he will square off with White.

White and Burgess are both vying for Wallabies selection, but White is not buying into the one-on-one battle. ''I'm excited about it, he was a guy I looked up to at school but I'm thinking about a win more than any personal battle,'' he said.

The Queensland Reds are the only Australian team capable of knocking the Brumbies out of finals contention, but that would require the Brumbies losing their way in the final two games against the Rebels and Western Force.

But after last year's meltdown while on the verge of the playoffs, the Brumbies are not getting ahead of themselves.

White will play a major role in stabilising the finals bid and his form has prompted Wallabies legend George Gregan to back him for the Lions series.

Brumbies coach Jake White will name his new captain on Wednesday with regular skipper Ben Mowen being unavailable on Wallabies duties.

The coach has plenty of options, with Pat McCabe, Peter Kimlin, Scott Fardy, Matt Toomua and Dan Palmer all able to step up.

''There are a number of guys who will step up as leaders this week and we'll do it as a group, the onus is on the whole group and everyone has a role to play,'' White said.