"Sometimes it's laughed upon or not look upon as if I'm telling the truth," the emerging ACT Brumbies scrumhalf said.

But Albert's Maori roots can be traced back to a small town near Taupo, to the Ngapuhi tribe. His father Rau was one of eight kids in a Maori family.

Which is why Albert was among a group of Brumbies with Pasifika heritage on hand in the city centre this week, teaming up with Fair Canberra to provide drinks and Pasifika-themed food for those in need.

"I want to get a bit of a perspective of my background and how it makes me who I am today," Albert said.

MORE RUGBY UNION

"Stuff like this, being around the other boys and hearing about their backgrounds, especially Jahrome [Brown] and Reece Tapine, who share similar roots, that really helps as far as understanding where my family has come from.

"Obviously being the natives of New Zealand, constantly you hear things and you understand things. They had things for 40,000 years they did, similar to the Aboriginals, as their daily ritual.

"Nowadays it's sort of neglected. When you actually embrace it, it gives you a connection back to where you come from."

The Brumbies have worked tirelessly to embrace the Pasifika culture within the squad in recent years, from themed jerseys to club days designed to educate and improve connections.

While the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman contenders arrived in Hamilton to face the Waikato Chiefs on Saturday - with about 100 of Albert's extended family members in the stands - he was in Canberra.

Albert laced up the boots for the Wests Lions in a gripping 28-28 John I Dent Cup draw with his housemate Billy Pollard' Uni-Norths at ANU North Oval, as Wests missed a last-gasp penalty.

AT A GLANCE

John I Dent Cup round five: UNI-NORTHS OWLS 28 (Stuart Sellar, Sam Thomas, Siave Seti, NA/ tries; Jordan Thompson 4 conversions) drew with WESTS LIONS 28 (Matt Toward, Fiu Gibson, Declan Meredith tries; Meredith 2 conversions; Meredith 3 penalties) at ANU North Oval.

QUEANBEYAN WHITES 27 (Michael Rademaker, Zane Hogan, Zane Marolt tries; Liam Richman 3 conversions; Richman 2 penalties) bt CANBERRA ROYALS 18 (Ben Johnston, N/A tries; N/A conversion; N/A 2 penalties) at Campese Field.

TUGGERANONG VIKINGS 50 (Maika Ravouvou 2, Rodney Iona, Brendan Le Galludec, Jack Evenden, Nigel Ah Wong, Patrick Maka, Seamus Smith tries; Iona 5 conversions) bt GUNGAHLIN EAGLES 21 (Oscar Cunningham, Sam Hyland, Isaac Crowe tries; Joey Caputo 3 conversions) at Nicholls Enclosed Oval.