Brumbies players and staff will leave the safety of the ACT for the first time in six weeks on Wednesday when they fly to Perth to kickstart their Super Rugby AU title defence.
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Coach Dan McKellar and his squad have been stationed in the COVID-free confines of Canberra for most of 2021, having been instructed by Super Rugby officials during the offseason to stay put in the territory and minimise the effect of ever-changing border restrictions across the country.
SANZAR has directed the Brumbies to leave for Perth on Wednesday ahead of Friday's season opener with the Western Force. They will return Saturday, presuming there are no logistically complicating COVID-19 flare ups in the west.
McKellar is expected to take a squad of up to 25 players, which would include his matchday 23 plus two reserves should he be required to make a late alteration.
A lack of available flights would make it almost impossible to fly in another player at the last minute.
The Brumbies enter this year's competition with the rare distinction of not having been required to lock down at any stage during the offseason thanks to Canberra's dearth of COVID-19 cases.
A northern-beaches flare up prior to Christmas plunged that area of Sydney into a lockdown over the festive period.
Brisbane endured a snap lockdown in early January, Perth suffered the same fate a month later and Victoria is about halfway through a five-day lockdown which forced the Melbourne Rebels to relocate to Canberra last week.
Brumbies players are looking forward to a change of scenery after an exhaustive preseason, but flanker Tom Cusack admitted he and his teammates would head west with a nagging trepidation in the back of their minds.
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"In all honesty it's hard not to, especially in Perth," Cusack said.
"You have of the cases when you fly over and whilst you're in the air they make an announcement that if you're in Perth this time, or wherever it may be, you have to quarantine.
"Obviously that's in the back of your mind but you have to actually remove everything completely, try and come into your own little bubble as a team as a 23 or as a 25 that travel over...and just remove yourself from all external factors.
"It's going to be something different flying to a game rather than busing it to a game, having a few nights over there as well.
"I've never actually played over in Perth, I've never played the force in a Super Rugby format. That's pretty exciting itself, a lot of boys in the same boat there."
Friday's clash with the Force is one of four straight for the Brumbies before their first bye.
Their second bye falls on the last round of the regular season, meaning they will not play a match for three weeks should they finish first and qualify for the decider.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
