John Ulugia's 20-year journey to land back at the Brumbies and in Super Rugby as a 37-year-old

The play was fast, the hits were brutal and he was on weary legs after just a few minutes. A few weeks ago he was pouring flat whites for public servants at the Barton Grocer, content in retirement.

Now he was back on a Super Rugby field, 17 years since his debut, surrounded by Wallabies in front of a bumper crowd to start the 2023 season.

"There was a passage of play that kept going - no stops. I thought, 'how am I going to do this for another 70-odd minutes'," Ulugia laughed.

"It was a shock to the system, but the feeling of being out there was also pretty natural."

Ulugia, the 37-year-old hooker thrust into the ACT Brumbies season-opener, has spent most of this week getting his body moving again after having to power through 75 minutes in round one of Super Rugby.

A series of incidents led Brumbies scrum guru Dan Palmer to tap his long-time friend Ulugia on the shoulder last month to ask a favour. At the time it was a request for him to train as a "use in case of emergency" type scenario after Billy Pollard broke his hand.

Then Lachlan Lonergan got sick on game day last week. Then Connal McInerney was concussed in the first two minutes. Then, a decade since his last Super Rugby game and a year into retirement, Ulugia was in the thick of the action.

What he did next was quite remarkable. While all the focus was on teenage sensation Max Jorgensen and Brumbies flyer Corey Toole, Ulugia scrummaged, tackled and hit lineout targets better than most hookers in the competition. Did I mention he's 37?

"I've had a chance to reflect a little bit. The Brumbies ... it's hard to explain unless you've been a Brumby. But it was a pleasure and an honour, and I took it with both hands. I had a great time," said Ulugia, the former Australian schoolboys and Australian under-21s rake.

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"Off the top of my head, I've played a full 80 minutes just once in 19 years of rugby. But I made it to the end, and the result was pleasing with the debutantes we had and Nic White's 100^th. Extra special.

"It's really good fun being in that environment after being [overseas] for so many years and the culture that comes with being a Brumby. It's refreshing for me."

Ulugia moved from the Brumbies to the Waratahs more than a decade ago, then spent the next nine years playing in France. He retired professionally last year and returned to Canberra to play a bit with the Tuggeranong Vikings, do some coaching with the Brumbies pathway system and work as a barista.

He played a practice game with the Brumbies at the end of last year, but was happy behind the coffee machine and had no plans to train until the call came a month ago.

"That's my passion - coffee," Ulugia said. "It gets busy [at the Barton Grocer] from like 7-11.30am with all the public servant buildings around.

"But Palms called me. We're great friends, we've known each other for a long time and lived together in Sydney. And I think the fact that it was him calling me, that he had confidence that I could do it. I couldn't really say no, so that's how it happened."

Ulugia will play again this week with Pollard still out and McInerney stood down to recover from concussion.

That's good news on two fronts. He'll get to play with his cousin, Pete Samu, again in the clash against the Auckland Blues on Sunday. And they'll be doing it in their hometown.

"I reckon our family will fill up at least one side of the stadium," Ulugia said.

"Pete and I played our last game together about 10 years ago and we had some family in Sydney last week. But going back home to Melbourne ... cousins, aunties and uncles. They'll be everywhere.

"It will be tough against the Blues. We need to tick all the boxes to be ready for this because they've got a big pack as well. The body hasn't been too bad this week ... I've been trying to stay fit. And this is just a special opportunity, so I'm enjoying it."

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