Brumbies GM following familiar path to Wallabies as contract race heats up

The club's general manager will follow in the footsteps of father and current Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson in being named to the crucial role in the national team.

Chris joins a growing Wallabies operation, with Laurie Fisher and Mick Cron named as assistant coaches for new boss Joe Schmidt.

The appointment caps a steady rise for the ACT GM following an injury-enforced retirement in 2014.

Since then he has worked for the Melbourne Rebels, Fijian Drua and World Rugby before returning home to Canberra to work with the Brumbies.

The move to the Wallabies comes after Phil spent eight years as Australian manager in the glory years of the early 2000s.

Chris has worked hard to forge his own path outside the shadow of his father and has emerged as one of the most respected figures in Australian rugby.

Now he's ready to step up to help the Wallabies return to their former glory.

"I want to be part of the solution," Thomson said. "There's things we can do that improve the quality of the Wallabies environment and performances on the field and Joe and Peter [Horne] are putting a good team together.

"Having been involved in a number of national programs across other countries, I've always wanted to work with the Wallabies and I've seen what Phil was exposed to with a home World Cup in the glory days of the Wallabies."

The move, however, will trigger a mid-season departure, with Chris set to join the Wallabies in late April, leaving ACT without a contracting boss at a crucial point of the year.

The Brumbies are currently deep in negotiations with a host of stars, with officials eager to finalise their roster for 2025.

An offer has been made to Tom Hooper, with talks also progressing with Noah Lolesio, Corey Toole and Charlie Cale.

While the Brumbies will look to replace their general manager, Phil will take over contracting when his son departs.

The duo is confident the change won't affect the negotiations with Chris eager to lock down the big names before his departure.

"Working closely with Steve, the coaches and Phil, the squad list for 25 and beyond is in a good place," he said. "There are four critical negotiations happening at the moment and hopefully by the end of April they're completed which leaves the squad for 25 in a stable and competitive place."

Rugby has been in the family's blood for decades, with Phil representing the ACT as a player before transitioning to off-field roles.

He was the inaugural manager of the Brumbies from 1996-2001 before transitioning to the Wallabies job. He eventually returned to Canberra and has been the franchise's chief executive since 2018.

Chris started playing in under sevens, with Phil his coach, and has been involved in the sport since.

"Rugby's been our family's life," Phil said. "I've been involved in rugby for over 50 years so rugby was part of our family and Chris has always had a strong interest. He had aspirations of being a player, which he achieved, and a smart rugby brain as well so he's got the skills to be an accomplished administrator.

"He started his journey with the Brumbies in 1996 as the ball boy, so the Brumbies have been a big part of all our lives and it's great he's been back here for nearly two years and made a great contribution.

"We're all very proud of him, he's worked hard to put himself in the position to take on the role and we're very confident he'll do an excellent job."