'It's hard': Solomone Kata's family in NZ inspires Waratah demolition

The three people he cares about most are in a country he can't get to without spending 14 days in quarantine, and they would have to do the same if they wanted to come to Canberra. So scoring two first-half tries against the NSW Waratahs in a 47-14 demolition was nice.

But being able to send a message to his family was the most important thing as he waits to find out when he will be reunited.

"My missus and my baby are in New Zealand at the moment," an emotional Kata said.

"It's hard. It's pretty hard to be away from the people you love. My little girl is a daddy's girl. It's been too long, I haven't seen them [in a month]. I'll keep praying, hopefully sometime soon I get to see them again."

The New Zealand government has introduced travel restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus concerns. Anyone arriving in the country will spend two weeks in quarantine. The Australian government has imposed the same restrictions. So even if Kata's family comes to Australia, they will be in isolation.

Adding to the pain is hearing his former New Zealand Warriors teammates are in the same boat, stranded in Australia to ensure the NRL season continues.

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You wouldn't have known any of those thoughts were filling Kata's head if you saw the way he overpowered the Waratahs.

He has now scored five tries in six games, helping the Brumbies notch 104 points in the past two games while conceding just 28.

The team has won five of the first six and they've scored 31 tries so far this year, giving them a remarkable attacking record as the season prepares go into a suspension period.

"We don't know what's going to happen now. But whatever the decision is from the people running Super Rugby, you've just got to go with it," Kata said.

"Everyone is just turning up to get the job done. We don't really worry about the outcome ... the tries will come if we do everything at training really well."

The Brumbies have unearthed a star in Kata, but Tom Wright and Andy Muirhead are giving Brumbies coach Dan McKellar a selection headache.

Wright also scored a double after he came on to replace Kata, while Muirhead set up the last try of the game and has been impressive with every opportunity.

Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa will have an X-ray to determine if he has broken his arm after being forced to leave the field in the first half.

The front-rower left Canberra Stadium in a sling and is expected to miss a yet to be determined period.

But if ever there was a good time to be injured, surely now is it.

The Brumbies would be without Alaalatoa and Scott Sio (hand) - two Wallabies props - if they had to play next week.

Test rake Folau Faingaa (toe) is also struggling to overcome injury.

The trio would have left a gaping hole in the Brumbies' squad for a trip to New Zealand this week. Instead, the Brumbies now have time to plan for their recovery.

The Brumbies have five players in their leadership group, which is probably why the referee's head was spinning on Sunday.

Alaalatoa's absence led to Joe Powell stepping into the captaincy role before Tom Cusack took charge when Powell was taken off the field.

"It's different," Powell said. "I've been in the leadership group for a while now so I guess taking on a bit more responsibility now."

It's a shame the Super Rugby competition is on hiatus and no one knows if it will come back because the Brumbies are playing like champions.

The 33-point win against the Waratahs lifts them to their equal best start to a season in 16 years.

In fact, every season they've won five of their first six games they've gone on to either make a grand final or win the championship.

They are outright second on the overall standings, but could technically be top given the Sharks have played one more game.

AT A GLANCE

ACT BRUMBIES 47 (Solomone Kata 2, Tom Wright 2, Caderyn Neville, Joe Powell, Tom Banks tries; Noah Lolesio 4, Ryan Lonergan, Tom Banks conversions) bt NSW WARATAHS 14 (Rob Simmons, Mark Nawaqanitawase tries; Will Harrison 2 conversions) at Canberra Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge. Crowd: 8167