Rebecca Smyth unveiled as Brumbies Super W captain

Most would make the drive from Narromine to Canberra and back, and think it simply isn't worth the effort or petrol money. But this ACT Brumbies back-rower is wired a little differently.

The Canberra Times can reveal Smyth will be unveiled as the Brumbies' captain for the looming Super W season on Tuesday morning.

She fills the void left by Michaela Leonard, who will miss the opening half of the Super W season after signing with Matatu for New Zealand's Super Rugby Aupiki tournament.

Leonard is poised to return to the Brumbies for the back end of the Super W campaign, taking a chance to elevate her game abroad with the blessing of coach Dan Hawke.

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Hawke didn't have to look far for the successor. Smyth was voted in unanimously by both the coaching staff and playing group.

The back-rower is the reigning Helen Taylor Players' Player of the Year award winner, claiming the gong last season two years after she was supposedly hanging up the boots - and she hopes the best is yet to come.

"I think we can win this. This will be my third year and I've always hoped we could get there," Smyth said.

"This year I think we can do it. We've got the personnel, we've got the drive, we've got the staff behind us, and we've got the want to do it.

"There's a few reasons I do [the trip]. I do it firstly because I love the game. I thought I was finished and then I saw these girls on TV when I was just sitting at home. I thought 'God, I'd love to be out there'. After the first training session I rocked up at, I knew this is where I wanted to be. These girls make it easy to do that drive.

"Another reason is I want my kids to see being part of a team is something you don't always have the privilege of being part of, and it doesn't matter how old you are, it can still happen."

Officials are poised to publish a Super W fixture in early February with Hawke's squad announcement to follow - and he knows he has the perfect player at the helm in Smyth.

"It just puts into perspective what these women are willing to do to be a part of this program. She's a mother of four, she's a tremendous woman," Hawke said.

"She's been in the Wallaroos, she has played Test matches, but she is really emotionally intelligent. She knows when to crack the whip, she knows when to be kind. She can just read the room so well that every time she speaks, everyone just listens."

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