Flanker Tom Cusack became a father in February and says it has been tough, as the Brumbies face their longest time away from their families this year.
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The Canberra side will have spent about 19 days in New Zealand, following their three matches on the road for the Trans-Tasman Super Rugby series.
Solomone Kata knows it all too well, as he was separated from his family for 10 months last year during COVID-19 border closures.
Being the first long stint away from his daughter and wife, Cusack said it had been tough at times for himself and other young dads in the squad. Especially since the biggest stint the side faced in the competition pre-Covid was 14 days.
"It's been tough at times.
"You joke around saying 'you're gonna get a good night's sleep' and look yeah I've had a few good nights sleep," he joked.
"But you're still calling home constantly and you try and do the best you can from afar.
"A lot of the boys are young fathers and I think Irae's [Simone] partner is due any moment now, so that's a thing in itself."
Following a 0-2 tally for the side so far, the 28-year-old said his side were not happy with their physicality or intent when it came to the 40-19 defeat at the hands of the Chiefs.
"We had a long stint on the road and I think it's 19 odd days and ... the longest when it was Super Rugby was only 14 days," Cusack said.
"So to go into a three week tour, not having travelled for a long time, it gets difficult. But look, we're excited about this challenge on the weekend. We're up for it, we're ready and we're looking forward to rectifying this tour."
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Despite the time away from his family, Cusack will look to source inspiration ahead of his 50th Super Rugby game on Saturday when the Brumbies face the Blues at Eden Park.
The vice-captain said his 50th game for Canberra was shaping up to be pretty special.
"I've never played at Eden Park. So that's another added excitement around that as well," he said..
"It's a bit of a cauldron, one that you hear about a lot. Some great, great test matches between the All Blacks and the Wallabies, so to be out at my 50th game at Eden Park, yeah, it's pretty special."
The 2016 Rio Olympian may have to spend some more time away from his new family this year, as he is expected to make himself available for rugby sevens Olympic selection following the conclusion of the Trans-Tasman series.
Meanwhile, the Western Force have poached four Brumbies players for next season with Reesjan Pasitoa, Bayley Kuenzle, Reece Tapine and Isaak Fines all set to head to Perth for season 2022.