Asking foundation captain Brett Robinson if he remembers the words to the ACT Brumbies' victory song is hardly a question to inspire a simple yes or no answer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Instead he rattles off line after line from Proud to be a Brumby, with the lyrics evoking the same sense of pride he felt 25 years ago in the club's first season. The same thrill he felt when he watched the Brumbies claim the Super Rugby AU crown a week ago.
"When I see the guys punching it out as they do, it's no different to us punching it out proudly as well," Robinson said.
That's why Robinson felt compelled to send a message to Brumbies coach Dan McKellar, chief executive Phil Thomson and operations manager Bill Swain in the wake of the club's drought-breaking grand final win.
Robinson wrote the Brumbies' first title in 16 years saw the club deliver again on its promise to "fundamentally strengthen Australian rugby's playing, coaching and administrative stocks to ensure we are a global rugby power".
MORE RUGBY UNION NEWS
He says they have done so via a set of values underpinned by hard work, respect, trust, and commitment to a higher purpose.
So many at Brumbies headquarters will tell you that's what the club is built on. It is their "culture", to borrow a word from sporting types that seems almost impossible to define yet somewhat easier to measure.
"You fundamentally and culturally have these threads of competitive advantage. If you drift too far away from them, you lose your way," Robinson said.
"If you stay close to them, you reinforce them and get into the swing of things again. That's where this organisation is heading."
A glance at Wallabies coach Dave Rennie's roster gives one an idea of where Robinson is coming from. The Brumbies boast 13 players in the 44-man squad for the Bledisloe Cup and the Rugby Championship.
Two Super Rugby titles followed by the triumph in the Australian competition put the club well clear of domestic rivals, but among the things coach McKellar takes most pride in is the commitment of his playing group long-term.
A raft of Brumbies have signed contract extensions to stay with the club for 2021 and beyond, with so many adamant the franchise is building something that could one day rival the golden era of the early 2000s.
"Players become something. You come to Canberra and you might not ordinarily be something, but then you become something because the team takes you there. Ultimately Australian rugby is better for it, the Wallabies are better for it," Robinson said.
"Right now you've got Rob Clarke, the acting chief executive of Rugby Australia, who was the Brumbies chief executive. Phil Thomson was once a Brumbies manager, a Wallabies manager, and now is chief executive of the Brumbies. Dan was being pursued by the Wallabies.
"The naysayers out of some states want to shoot or kill the Brumbies, and you think, how could they possibly consider that for a second?
"New Zealand consider us the preeminent Australian Super side, and have for a long time. People in Australia see it as something transactional, that can be shifted.
"That demonstrates to me a lack of understanding of how the organisation is so successful. I've seen that team really stay true to that. It continues to deliver on its promise in terms of the fundamentals."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
