Because talking rugby can often be the last thing the ACT Brumbies hooker wants to do when he comes home from training.

But establishing those rules is not as easy as it may seem, especially when your girlfriend is about to make her debut for the same club.

Ellie Brislane is on the verge of a maiden Super W appearance for the Brumbies against Western Australia at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.

Just a few hours later it will be McInerney's turn to lace up the boots as the Brumbies look to continue their unbeaten start to the Super Rugby season against the Otago Highlanders.

But don't expect them to sit down and analyse their games once they get home later that night.

"If I come home from training and I have a question or need to explain something, he's just like 'no, not tonight'," hooker and flanker Brislane said.

MORE RUGBY

Same goes for when she asks him to mull over some game footage and pass on a few pointers.

"I might watch it but it might be a job for tomorrow," McInerney said.

"We should probably get some rules in place, just about keeping a lid on it. It works out alright, we both love it so it's not that much of a chore.

"It's tough because we both play rugby and tend to talk about it. It's pretty hard to find a girlfriend who understands what you're going through and who understands the actual game.

"We actually do chat a fair bit about it. We talk about about it to an extent, but we both get it.

"We both get pretty burnt out at times, so it's just a normal relationship after that."

Brislane's journey from her Ireland home to the Brumbies' Super W squad has been anything but orthodox.

She came to Australia for a gap year and wanted to build on her lone season of rugby, which eventually lured her to Eastern Suburbs - where McInerney was playing in a Shute Shield stint.

Before long Brislane fell in love with the lifestyle so she stayed another year ... "and then another year, and now I've been here for nearly three years".

Then the Brumbies came calling for McInerney when injuries to Josh Mann-Rea and Robbie Abel sparked the club's hunt for a tenacious rake.

He thought he had fallen so far off the radar the initial call from Brumbies coach Dan McKellar was a pocket dial, so he didn't bother calling back.

Then a text from McKellar confirmed it - the Brumbies wanted to bring McInerney home, leaving Brislane with a decision to make.

"We basically lived together in Sydney and I decided I didn't want to live in Sydney anymore," Brislane said.

"Con moved back here for Brumbies and suggested me maybe moving too. I was happy to, because I was considering going home because I didn't want to stay in Sydney."

It was a move that opened doors for Brislane's rugby career - helped partly by McInerney putting his recruitment cap on.

"Ellie was injured for the [Super W] trials, she was in the initial squad for 2018 heading into 2019, but she couldn't try out," McInerney said.

"I just gave the coach a ring and said 'she's a good player, you should consider her'. It just went from there and she played with Royals in club rugby.

"She earned it, the coach was able to watch her and she proved herself that way."

SUPER RUGBY ROUND THREE

Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Otago Highlanders at Canberra Stadium, 7.15pm.

SUPER W ROUND ONE

Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Western Australia at Canberra Stadium, 4.35pm.