Pre-season campfire could ignite the ACT Brumbies

Brumbies flanker Tom Cusack spent two hours in the car with a handful of teammates en route to a pre-season camp wondering how they could take the Brumbies to the next level. Come Sunday night they sat around the fire discussing as a group.

Wedged between the fun of building rafts, causing teammates to fall out of kayaks, mountain biking and cricket were serious chats about the road ahead.

The Brumbies enter 2021 as the hunted. Their search for back-to-back Super Rugby AU titles runs straight into a new look Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition against New Zealand rivals.

So a road trip to Jindabyne and a campfire were just what they needed to bring the squad together as the club's entire Wallabies contingent rejoined camp for the first time.

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"Car trips up with a few of the boys, and the boys were just running through how we're going to be the best team, how we're going to perform as individuals. We sat around the fire [on Sunday] night and discussed that as a group," Cusack said.

"It was our first session as a squad with all the Wallabies boys back in the frame, training at full speed. It brought a new energy which is nice.

"It's week eight of pre-season and we're in a good position. The boys are training well, we're fit, we're fast, and we're enjoying each other's company which is the most important thing.

"[We] also just had a bit of fun, a bit of raft building, mountain biking, a few blokes came off on the bike, a bit of kayaking, a few blokes came off on the kayak. It was a bit of everything, a bit of cricket which the boys love getting into."

On Tuesday they made their way back to Canberra to turn their attention to a round one clash with the Western Force.

But not before leaving their mark on a potential group of future Brumbies at an open training session at the home of the Jindabyne Bushpigs.

A touch football game was the order of the day and for a moment it seemed as though the kids were turning Cusack inside out.

"That was just Whitey [Brumbies scrumhalf Nic White], it wasn't any kids, it was just Whitey, he looks a bit small," Cusack laughed.

"To have an open session in Jindabyne is pretty special, we were aiming to come up here last year for our pre-season but unfortunately couldn't due to the fires. It's nice to be able to get up here and enjoy a bit of time with the locals."