Canberra smoke forces Brumbies and Raiders to relocate

Newcastle was the Brumbies' destination, while the Raiders are investigating options in either Northern NSW or on the Sunshine Coast.

Smoke from the NSW bushfires has made conditions in the ACT toxic and dangerous for athletes to train in as their respective Super Rugby and NRL seasons quickly approach.

The Canberra Times revealed the Brumbies have shifted their training base to the University of Newcastle for a 10-day camp - although that could be extended if Canberra's air quality doesn't improve.

They have just 18 days until their pre-season trial against the Melbourne Rebels in Albury, with their season opener against Queensland a week later.

The smoke has wreaked havoc with ACT sport with the Canberra Cavalry, Canberra Capitals and Canberra United all forced to cancel home games over the weekend, while Tennis ACT packed up the Canberra International and moved to Bendigo.

Now the Brumbies have been forced to relocate - the day before they were due to return to training following their Christmas break.

"Asking players to train in the conditions we have in Canberra wouldn't be the right thing by them," Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said.

"We've monitored the air quality closely, had advice from our doctor, and worked closely with Rugby Australia, who have been outstanding in their support.

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"At some point you've got to make the decision. We don't have a crystal ball.

"Our thoughts are first and foremost with the people who are having to deal with the terrible situation we're in, both in our region and over Australia.

"The small changes we've had to make are not even a drop in the ocean compared to what some people are going through at the moment."

The Raiders were also due to return for pre-season on Monday and had planned to run at Mt Stromlo.

But Canberra coach Ricky Stuart will instead meet with their club doctor on Monday morning to decide what's safe to do.

They'll also decide where they'll shift to to escape the smoke.

"It's just such a hazardous climate to do any type of work in," Stuart said.

"Really there's no decision to be made because it's dangerous to your athlete and very important to take the welfare of the individual into account.

"That's what we're doing on advice from our doctor Greg MacLeod.

"We're going to reconvene again tomorrow to discuss what type of training we can do tomorrow and also keep putting into place plans to move out of town to a training camp in another part of Australia."