ACT Brumby Ryan Lonergan boosted by Australia's Super Rugby plans

Ryan Lonergan should be packing his bags and heading to Japan for the Brumbies' final match of the Super Rugby season.

Instead the 22-year-old scrumhalf finds himself starting the season from scratch, with Rugby Australia close to finalising the competition's return.

The Brumbies had their first training session as a group of 20 on Monday and will advance to contact work later this week.

Lonergan hasn't seen most of his teammates since the coronavirus changed the world. But the pleasantries were cut short when he arrived at Brumbies HQ and it was back to business with the infamous Bronco test.

Lonergan went neck-and-neck with fellow scrumhalf Joe Powell and edged him out by a second, clocking 4.30 for the 1.2 kilometre run.

The real test will be how the Brumbies pull up on Tuesday morning, having also done their first session with tackle bags.

"It wasn't the greatest run because it was pretty windy and that held us back a bit," Lonergan said.

"There were a couple of boys out so I don't know how long I'll hold the record for.

"It's just been good to be getting back to what we should have been doing for the whole year. We've been doing quarantine training so far long now.

"I think there's going to be couple of sore bodies [on Tuesday] because it was the first time we were able to do pad work.

"We just haven't had any impact on our shoulders for so long, it's good to start building back into it. Otherwise it can lead into a few injuries and stuff if you go straight back into the live stuff, but I'm sure we'll build up to that soon."

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Rugby Australia officials are close finalising a format and schedule for a domestic Super Rugby competition, with the Western Force and Japan Sunwolves likely to be included.

The revamped competition is set to start on the first weekend of July, with an announcement expected within the next fortnight.

Although Rugby Australia's plans are yet to be set in stone, Lonergan says having a target date has given the Brumbies a moral boost.

"That's the positive thing we've got now," Lonergan said.

"When we were going through quarantine we didn't really know what was going to happen or when we were going to be able to play.

"So, we've sort of got some rough dates we can aim towards now.

"I think that's given everyone a boost, it's a light at the end of the tunnel."

The Brumbies had their best start to the Super Rugby season in 16 years before the coronvirus-pandemic forced the competition to shutdown.

They won five of their six games, including Australian derby wins over the Melbourne Rebels, Queensland Reds and NSW Waratahs.

Lonergan had his first Super Rugby start in the Brumbies final match of the suspended season, playing 55 minutes in their thrashing of Japan. He hopes can continue that flying form when the revamped competition starts in July.

"I was finding some good form at the back end of the season before it was cut short, so hopefully I can keep building on that," Lonergan said.

"I kept working on my skills over the break, so hopefully when we get back into training it won't be much of a struggle to get back to where I was on a personal level."