Tevita Kuridrani confident ACT Brumbies can adapt to taxing travel

The Brumbies centre is unfazed by Saturday's six-hour return trip to Sydney Olympic Park, where they will look to claim a fifth-consecutive win over interstate rivals the NSW Waratahs.

Players and match-day officials will leave Canberra at lunchtime and travel directly to Stadium Australia via bus. And just the Canberra Raiders, they'll head straight back down the Hume Highway post match and return home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A coronavirus cluster in south-western Sydney has so far infected more than 30 people this week but the Brumbies hold no concerns about playing nearby.

Kuridrani says the players' focus is on beating the Waratahs and they'll leave Super Rugby AU officials to handle the rest.

"It's going to be challenging for this weekend but with everything going on right now, we've just got to adapt to that and figure out the things we need to do to prepare," Kuridrani said.

"We've been told that we need to really plan our week, especially game day because it's new to everyone. Everyone throughout this week has been planning well and for game day, we're going to adapt to that.

"I found out the other day there's some cases in Western Sydney but we can't really do anything about it, we'll just have to wait and see what they've organised for us. We'll just turn up, play and do our job."

The 29-year-old centre is confident the Brumbies can continue their winning start to the Super Rugby AU season, having beat the Melbourne Rebels 31-21 in round one.

The Waratahs have had mixed results since the competition's launch, with an opening-round loss to Queensland and a 23-14 win over the Western Force. The latter was only their second victory this year.

Kuridrani is refusing to take NSW lightly, even though the Brumbies have won seven of the past eight meetings.

The Fijian is wary of the Waratah's young talents, with 23-year-old Jack Maddox leading the competition in attacking metres and carries, while 20-year-old Will Harrison has so far scored the most points (29).

"It's been really good this week, it's Waratahs week so everyone gets really fired up in Canberra," Kuridani said.

"There's a lot of young guys in [the NSW] squad who are really talented, so it's going to be challenging for us as a team. We watched some of their clips, so we know what they're going to bring this weekend.

"I'm working really well with Irae Simone, my inside centre. Everything is going really well, I'm confident again and looking forward to this weekend."

Kuridrani will likely line-up against Waratahs vice-captain Alex Newsome at No.13, while inside-centre Simone contests rookie Joey Walton.

The round-three squads will be announced on Thursday morning, with Brumbies fullback Tom Banks set to return after recovering from stress fractures in his foot.

"He's a quality person in our backline and we're really excited to have him back," Kuridrani said.

"I'm looking forward to playing again after having a break last week. We had a long break due to the coronavirus [shutdown] and [then a bye], so I'm excited to play again this weekend."

SUPER RUGBY AU ROUND THREE

Saturday: NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies at Olympic Stadium, 7.15pm