Rod Macqueen was coaching what were supposed to be the also-rans - a team of Canberra locals and interstate rejects.
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Within two years he had taken the ACT Brumbies to a grand final, and the club "will always hold a very special place" in the heart of it's first ever coach.
Upon the foundation of the Super 12 in 1996, he connection the Brumbies made with Canberra was almost instant.
Further to the point, the pathway it opened up was also responsible for much of the Wallabies' success in the late 1990's and early 2000's.
Macqueen says culling the Brumbies would have huge ramifications for ACT rugby, an outcome that long-time administrator Geoff Larkham says would make the local game "wither and die".
"It's become in a lot of ways part of Canberra tradition," Macqueen said.
"I think the fact that we had a lot of homegrown players there too [when the competition started], it gave them a great opportunity to go on to bigger things.
"In our first two years our sole objective was to see how many players we could get into the Wallabies, and it gave a lot of opportunities to those locals that wouldn't have had those opportunities before.
"Players like Rod Kafer, George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, they all benefited from that."
Macqueen says it would be "extremely disappointing" if the Brumbies are axed as SANZAAR considers a Super Rugby overhaul that could see three teams chopped from the competition.
One Australian and two South African teams are expected to be cut and ongoing speculation has the Brumbies in the firing line.
It is all despite the Brumbies sitting on top of the Australian conference following a record ninth consecutive derby win.
Macqueen says it is "pretty hard to argue" with on-field results, highlighting the club's two championships - more than any other Australian franchise - as further proof of why the Brumbies should have a Super Rugby presence.
"I think at the start when the Brumbies came around and they were saying we couldn't afford to have another side, and within a couple of years the Brumbies were supplying the majority of the Wallabies," Macqueen said.
"Things go around and you're always going to be questioning those things, but I think it's in the best interests of Australian rugby to have as many players playing at the top level as we can."
At this stage it remains speculation - the Australian Rugby Union might not lay a finger on the Brumbies.
If Macqueen has it his way, the ARU won't touch any of the nation's existing clubs.
"My personal thoughts on it are that I would hope that we don't drop any team, because I think we can sustain five teams," Macqueen said.
"I think the competition itself is too big, but having said that it's hard to speculate but you'd certainly hope the Brumbies wouldn't be affected."
Macqueen hasn't had much official involvement in rugby since his coaching stint at the Melbourne Rebels ended in 2011, and admits he is unaware of the politics going on behind the Super Rugby scenes.
But he, just like many others, is getting frustrated with discussions being drawn out which has allowed speculation to grow.
"Obviously we're in negotiations with other countries so that makes it hard, but it would be nice to think for the sake of the clubs that it's resolved as soon as possible," Macqueen said.
"I'm like everyone else, waiting to see the result and hoping that no team gets dropped."
