ACT Brumbies look to lock in rising stars as Super Rugby Pacific kicks off

Pete Samu is on the verge of signing a contract extension in a major boost for the club leading into their Super Rugby Pacific opener against the Western Force at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

Now the Brumbies have Test-capped duo Darcy Swain and Lachlan Lonergan in their sights, with Wallabies squad member Ryan Lonergan also high on their wish list.

Brumbies chief executive Phil Thomson says a new major sponsorship deal struck this week will allow the club to shift its focus to building its playing roster for 2023 and beyond.

The Lonergan brothers rose through the ranks in Canberra while Swain joined the Brumbies academy in 2016 after being lured away from his home state of Queensland.

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Swain and Lachlan Lonergan both tasted Test football last year, with the latter locked in a battle with three Wallabies hookers and a highly-rated youngster for Super Rugby minutes.

Connal McInerney is already locked down until the end of 2023, and should Lonergan join him, Folau Fainga'a's contract situation would be under the microscope.

"We've got a number of players coming off-contract at the end of the season, and it's a pretty competitive market out there with a lot of offers from Japan and overseas from a number of our high-profile guys," Thomson said.

"We had a lot of players in the Wallabies squad last year. It's a tough landscape, the contracting side of things, but we're now working really hard to retain the core quality guys we need for next season.

"There's a number of discussions going on with contracting and we're close to making announcements over the next couple of weeks at this stage."

James Slipper became the latest player to sign on for the 2023 season, joining Test quartet Allan Alaalatoa, Rob Valetini, Len Ikitau and Tom Wright in Brumbies colours beyond this year.

Thomson hopes having key pieces of the roster in place early will fast-track negotiations with other players, who crave certainty around their futures.

Stephen Larkham will return to the helm as coach next year with Dan McKellar, who is poised to join the Wallabies full-time following the Super Rugby Pacific season, desperate to end his Brumbies stint on a high.

"That's all part of it. Everyone wants to know with some certainty what the organisation looks like going forward," Thomson said.

"We've already announced Stephen Larkham coming back as our head coach for 2023 and 2024, it gives the players certainty around continuity and what the program will look like. Also on the players' front, they want to know who is going to be beside them out on the field too.

"Our strategy is to announce as many of those key players as soon as possible and then the rest of the contracting will flow from that."

The Brumbies hope the buzz of a new-look Super Rugby competition will reignite fan interest and lure fans through the gates at three consecutive home games to start the season.

Thomson says Sunday marks a step towards normality with the Brumbies set to relaunch fan activations which have been on ice since the COVID-19 pandemic forced Super Rugby to shut down in 2020.

Canberra Stadium will play host to a kids zone, freestyle motocross performances and rugby sevens games between John I Dent Cup clubs before the Brumbies face the Force.

Thomson hopes moves to re-engage fans combined with an afternoon kick-off time in round one will spark interest in attending ensuing clashes against the Fijian Drua and the NSW Waratahs.

"Memberships are tracking really well, we're ahead of our numbers from last year which is great. Ticket sales have been really positive for the weekend," Thomson said.

"The fact we start the season with two afternoon games, this Sunday at 2pm and the following Saturday at 2.35pm, it's what the members and supporters have been after, some afternoon games. We're looking forward to some really good support, especially over these first three rounds with the team at home.

"All the surveys we've done at the end of each season is for more afternoon games, and we're dictated to by broadcasters but we've always pushed hard for as many afternoon games, especially as the cold weather comes around.

"We've got three this year and it's great, it's a family-friendly atmosphere and environment we're trying to build out at [Canberra] Stadium, which we were doing pre-COVID and we had to shut down everything.

"A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes on the commercial front to getting everything in place."

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ROUND ONE

Sunday: ACT Brumbies v Western Force at Canberra Stadium, 2pm. Tickets from Ticketek. Broadcast live on Stan Sport.

Brumbies team: 1. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga'a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (c), 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Rory Scott, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Nic White, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Tom Banks. Reserves: 16. Lachlan Lonergan, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Tom Ross, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Ed Kennedy, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Ollie Sapsford, 23. Jesse Mogg.

Force team: 1. Tom Robertson, 2. Feleti Kaitu'u (c), 3. Santiago Medrano, 4. Fergus Lee-Warner, 5. Izack Rodda, 6. Brynard Stander, 7. Kane Koteka, 8. Tim Anstee, 9. Ian Prior, 10. Reesjan Pasitoa, 11. Manasa Mataele, 12. Bayley Kuenzle, 13. Kyle Godwin, 14. Toni Pulu, 15. Jake Strachan. Reserves: 16. Andrew Ready, 17. Harrison Lloyd, 18. Greg Holmes, 19. Ryan McCauley, 20. Ollie Callan, 21. Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 22. Jake McIntyre, 23. Richard Kahui.

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