A Super Rugby franchise is on the brink and Wallabies flyers peeking over the fence to see if the grass is greener on the other side.
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Few things have been certain for Australian rugby in recent years amid financial turmoil and the lure of contracts overseas and in the NRL, but at least ACT fans have always had this: the Brumbies being the country's best Super Rugby team.
But are they still?
Stephen Larkham's troops entered the season widely regarded as the only Australian team with a genuine chance of snatching the Super Rugby trophy from across the Tasman.
But after three rounds the Crusaders - who have won every fully integrated Super Rugby competition since 2017 - are winless, the Queensland Reds and under-fire Melbourne Rebels are in the top four, while the Brumbies and NSW Waratahs round out the top eight.
Within three weeks we have seen the Crusaders stunned by the Waratahs and Fijian Drua, the Chiefs belt the Brumbies, and the Reds hold off the Waikato-based franchise a week after pushing the ladder-leading Hurricanes to extra-time.
Super Rugby has a pulse. Admittedly with a small sample size, predictability seems to have gone out the window. The thought of a Kiwi team wiping out an Australian side did little to entice fans to buy tickets or tune in from the couch.
Now Australian teams are standing up - and even if the Brumbies are clinging onto a spot in the eight ahead of a trip to New Zealand to face the Highlanders this weekend, fans should be rejoicing.
Rugby fans are now specialists in cautious optimism - but they're desperate for a reason to believe in the future of Australian rugby.
"As you saw with the Waratahs beating the Crusaders, there's plenty of talent there," Ikitau said in the midst of Australian teams' bright start. "It's good to see the Super Rugby clubs doing well."
The Reds look most likely to challenge the Brumbies for the crown of Australia's best Super Rugby team with Harry Wilson and Fraser McReight leading the charge.
"Where the Reds shone [in the win over the Chiefs] was around their effort," Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said.
"It struck me in the pre-season and the first few games that they've got something going right in their environment.
"People are prepared to get off the ground and scramble for each other and make it hard for others to earn points. It's positive signs, the sort we've seen in our group over the past few seasons."
With new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt bound for Brumbies headquarters this week, you can bet a few players will put up their hand to impress the new boss as they prepare for the Highlanders.