Dan McKellar stays on with ACT Brumbies until end of 2022

The Canberra Times can reveal McKellar will be at the helm of the Brumbies until the end of the 2022 season after signing a one-year extension with Super Rugby AU's reigning champions.

The deal leaves McKellar on the market in a World Cup year after previously being headhunted to join Wallabies coach Dave Rennie's staff as forwards coach before staying put in Canberra at the end of last season.

The Wallabies may come knocking when McKellar is off-contract and he would love the chance to coach at an international level, but there is little doubt the club would relish the ability to secure his services long-term.

Brumbies assistants Laurie Fisher and Rod Seib have also committed to the club for 2022 as McKellar looks to build on the foundations of an ACT dynasty.

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The next step comes in the Brumbies' Super Rugby AU season opener against the Western Force in Perth on February 19, which ignites a huge year in a new era for the code across the Tasman.

Super Rugby clubs in Australia and New Zealand are facing the prospect of winning two grand finals in the same year with domestic competitions followed by a trans-Tasman tournament.

"There's definitely a foundation there. We proved last year in 2020 we were the best in Australia," McKellar said.

"Now the challenge is to repeat that and then challenge ourselves against teams you'd consider the best in the world at the moment. The [Canterbury] Crusaders are obviously right up there in that category.

"We've got a good, young group of players and experienced players. It's about putting a program in place that's going to allow them to develop into the best players we can be, and making sure every day we are putting in place actions that will allow us to achieve that goal."

McKellar's contract extension follows the Brumbies' 29-28 triumph over the Western Force in their lone pre-season match at Viking Park on Tuesday night.

But there was a hint of bad news in the fallout with Pete Samu in danger of missing the Super Rugby AU season opener with an AC joint injury.

"He's fine, he's just tweaked an AC there. I think that'll keep him out of the first game," McKellar said.

"We've got a couple of sore bodies and we've come out of that pretty much injury-free [otherwise]. It was a disrupted preparation with a couple of our boys having babies which is great.

"We'll have a look at selection over the next couple of days and ramp up our prep for February 19. I'll chat to the medical staff.

"Guys like [Solomone] Kata and [Irae] Simone are progressing well, so we'll have a look at them over the next few days and hope they're ready for round one."