Brumbies told to stay at home during Super Rugby bye

Several Brumbies are from Sydney, but they have been warned not to return there during their Super Rugby AU bye.

Sydney's become a coronavirus hotspot and the ACT government has warned against Canberrans travelling there unless absolutely necessary.

It's something Brumbies scrumhalf Joe Powell said the club had also reiterated to their players.

While the 26-year-old was born-and-bred in the ACT and the restriction doesn't necessarily apply to him, he was perfectly happy to spend his days off either studying or on the PlayStation.

As long as he had the chance to play rugby he was happy to give up some of his liberties.

Players in the NRL and AFL have come under the microscope for a number of breaches of the biosecurity measures in place, including by some of the biggest names in the respective games - like Wayne Bennett and Nathan Buckley.

"The messaging's been that we're not to leave so I think everyone's just going to stay around Canberra and not do too much really," Powell said.

"I don't think it's too hard. I think it would be worse to not be playing rugby and then to be going out and doing things.

"There's no complaining from us. It's pretty simple to not go out and do things.

"The boys can watch a bit of TV, get some study done, play a bit of PlayStation so there's plenty of things to be done.

"There's no complaining. We love to play footy and no one wants to put that at risk."

MORE BRUMBIES NEWS

The Brumbies go into the bye off the back of a 30-12 loss to the Melbourne Rebels.

It means they have two weeks to stew on the heavy defeat before they get a chance to make amends in a grudge match against the NSW Waratahs at Canberra Stadium two weeks later.

Powell revealed going into a bye on the back of a loss was something that stuck with him.

"It's definitely not great going into a bye after a loss and a loss you were definitely outplayed in," he said.

"It is frustrating to sit on it for the week. But it's an opportunity to learn from it.

"Better coming now than later in the year, so it's a big learning curve for us."

He felt it was a wake-up call for them as they prepare for the final three games of the season before a potential final.

They're currently on top of the ladder, but could get knocked off their perch if the Rebels beat the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

Powell felt they hadn't been at their best over the past few weeks, edging out narrow wins over the Reds and the Waratahs.

While he took heart from the fact they'd been able to get the victories despite being below par, he said they would use the next two weeks to turn that around.

He felt their attack had dropped off since the coronavirus lockdown following the cancellation of the original Super Rugby season.

But he didn't think it would take much for them to spark back into life - like the way they were playing to win five of their six games in the cancelled comp.

"Definitely not what we were hoping for. It was the loss we needed to have," Powell said.

"We weren't playing the best footy the last couple of weeks and probably lucky to get away with a few close wins there.

"It's not a great result, but it's something we can learn plenty from during this week."

SUPER RUGBY AU ROUND EIGHT

August 22: ACT Brumbies v NSW Waratahs at Canberra Stadium, 7.15pm.