You can tell Tamati Tua is the type of guy who likes to let his rugby do the talking.
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His answers are short and sweet when quizzed about his ACT Brumbies debut and an impending clash against his old team, the Auckland Blues, in Super Round this week.
And then his eyes light up. Who's his direct opponent in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon?
"Roger," he says with a grin. If ever there was a chance to stake his claim as the Brumbies' No.12 and show the Blues what they're missing, this is it.
Tua will go head-to-head with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and the all-star Blues backline in a Super Rugby semi-final rematch this weekend.
The game carries extra weight for most of the Brumbies squad, who were left heartbroken when they lost the finals clash last season.
It carries more weight for Tua, who packed up his life and moved to Canberra for a chance after playing just three games in three years for the all-star Blues.
"Just a chance to prove myself at Super Rugby level," Tua said. "That's the main reason for coming over here."
Does playing against the Blues add feeling to this week? "It does put a bit more meaning in it. I know a lot of those boys for a long time so it should be good to meet them out there."
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How has he found fitting into the Brumbies' back line? "The boys are really good dudes. Pretty easy to get along with so that makes stuff on the field a lot easier."
The Brumbies returned to training on Monday after claiming a round-one win against arch-rivals, the Waratahs.
It gave them a perfect platform to launch into their first trans-Tasman game of the season, and they were put on notice after the Blues demolished the Highlanders 60-20 last week.
Connal McInerney has been ruled out this week as he goes through return-to-play concussion protocols, meaning 37-year-old John Ulugia will play again after training for just three weeks in the pre-season.
Ulugia, who last played for the Brumbies in 2010 and Super Rugby in 2013, was thrust into the round-one team when Lachlan Lonergan was ruled out on game day.
With Billy Pollard (broken hand) still out of action, the Brumbies will turn to Ulugia again in a side expected to have minimal changes for round two.
"That was a magnificent effort and he didn't shirk his work," said Brumbies' defence coach Laurie Fisher.
Fisher expects the Blues to present a completely different challenge to the derby showdown in round one.
The ball was in play for about 30 minutes in a physical Brumbies-Waratahs clash. The Blues-Highlanders game had the ball in play for 40 minutes.
Tuivasa-Sheck, Beauden Barrett, Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane are the backline masters, and Akira Ioane leads the monster forwards.
"We made 15 turnovers [last weekend], that's probably five too many," Fisher said.
"We have to limit those because of their capacity to force turnover and play off turnover ball.
"We'll need to kick, but if you give Beauden Barrett and the like space, then they'll hurt you. It's a totally different picture to what we encountered last Friday.
"The ball is in play 25 per cent more of the time [in New Zealand games in round one].
"Last year's gone, you can't win those games from last year. But what we can do is make a statement about what our capacity is in 2023."
Lonergan returned to training on Monday and will partner Ulugia in the hooker role this week, while Corey Toole is expected to keep his place on the wing after a stunning Super Rugby debut.
Head coach Stephen Larkham is keen to stick with combinations in the rest of the starting XV, but Nic White and Noah Lolesio are pushing their case for starting duties after beginning the season on the bench.
Tua knows exactly what the Blues are capable of and says the Brumbies are ready to step up.
"It wasn't the pretty performance from us [last week], but we got the result," Tua said.
"Across the board there were a lot of mistakes where we need to tidy up. But there were also good parts where we showed some good stuff.
"The Blues sent a message out to all the clubs. We're focusing on what we can do ... I think any team can take [the win] on the day. It's whoever turns up.
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