Smoke, fire, thunder, lightning, rain and now illness. It's hard to believe we're less than a month into Super Rugby given what has already happen.

But sometimes you learn more about yourself and your team when things go wrong. Like an outbreak of mumps sweeping through the squad.

It's fair to say no one saw this curveball coming when we started planning for the 2020 season and our first four opponents.

Most of the players affected are back in action, but there were a few days of confusion when the virus started to spread.

Having players in quarantine is hardly the ideal preparation for playing against the ladder-leading Waikato Chiefs on Saturday.

Some would use the bizarre events of the past week as an excuse. We're using them as motivation.

Everything we do at the Brumbies is built around resilience. It's one of the five "pillars" we have, which define who we are and what we do.

It's easy for teams and players to have buzzwords, but I'm a strong believer that you have to live it to believe it.

Our backs have been against the wall since we had to move our pre-season away from Canberra because of the dangerous smoke haze in January.

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Having resilience as a focal pillar resonates with everyone. It doesn't have to be spoken about, we just understand we're in it together and we'll get through it together.

Resilience is about having no excuses. It's about knowing we've done the work and we trust each other's ability. Whatever we're confronted with, we believe we can perform at the highest level.

When it comes to the mumps, resilience is needed on a few different levels. For the individuals affected it means knowing the best place for you is to be quarantined.

For players who haven't been in the team, it's making sure your level of detail and preparation is where it should so that you can be thrown straight into the side.

That was the case last week, with players withdrawing on game day and others being called in with just a few hours notice. But we didn't lose against the Highlanders because of the mumps, we lost because of a few crucial moments we'll learn from and be better at next time.

So while we haven't won in Hamilton in 13 years, or in New Zealand in six years, we're unfazed about statistics or who is still sick.

The team left Canberra with one goal: to win. We can't change history, but we can move forward. Resilience is something that binds a group together, because we're working together.

I've been slowly returning to training after being concussed in round two. I am symptom free and confident I'll be available for selection for our next game against the Japan Sunwolves.

Before then, we've rescheduled our fan day for March 1. It doubles as my birthday, so make sure you get to the University of Canberra between 2-4pm to meet the players and celebrated me getting another year older.

SUPER RUGBY ROUND FOUR

Saturday: Waikato Chiefs v ACT Brumbies at Hamilton, 5.05pm.

Brumbies: 1. James Slipper, 2. Connal McInerney, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Caderyn Neville, 5. Murray Douglas, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Will Miller, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Joe Powell, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Solomone Kata, 15. Tom Banks. Reserves: 16. Lachlan Lonergan, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Tom Ross, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Lachlan McCaffrey, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Bayley Kuenzle, 23. Toni Pulu.

Chiefs: 1. Aidan Ross, 2. Bradley Slater, 3. Atu Moli, 4. Michael Allardice, 5. Mitchell Brown, 6. Luke Jacobson, 7. Sam Cane (c), 8. Pita Gus Sowakula, 9. Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 10. Aaron Cruden, 11. Sam McNicol, 12. Alex Nankivell, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 14. Sean Wainui, 15. Damian McKenzie. Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Reuben O'Neill, 18. Ross Geldenhuys, 19. Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20. Mitchell Karpik, 21. Lisati Milo-Harris, 22. Kaleb Trask, 23. Quinn Tupaea.