ACT Brumbies rookie Jack Wright ready to lead Tuggeranong Vikings' John I Dent Cup campaign

"That's a challenge I'm happy to take on. If they want to have a crack, have a crack. Everyone hates Tuggeranong anyway, so it'll be nothing different," he says.

Life has changed dramatically for police officer Wright since his last game in the John I Dent Cup eight months ago.

Back then he was juggling work and rugby for fun. Now he's training with the ACT Brumbies and using his return to the Tuggeranong Vikings as his launching pad for more Super Rugby action.

The 23-year-old, 206 centimetre lock made his Brumbies debut against Moana Pasifika last month and then backed it up the next week for the most daunting of all Super Rugby challenges - taking on the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch.

"But it doesn't change too much," Wright said. "I've been at Tuggers for five years now, so it's pretty much business as usual.

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"I think there's a bit more expectation on me this year to have a bit more of a say around the boys after training here [at the Brumbies] every day with Wallabies players.

"Getting my debut out of the way and playing the next week in Christchurch, it was all new. But I've experienced it all now and it's been a while since I've played a game, so now I'm going to push myself to get picked again."

A new-look John I Dent Cup will begin on Saturday afternoon, with the Vikings taking on Wests at Jamison, Royals hosting Penrith at Phillip and the Gungahlin Eagles taking on the Uni-Norths Owls.

There are new coaches - headed by former Brumbies flanker Lachlan McCaffrey and Gungahlin - and there have been roster overhauls, but the competition is expected to be one of the closest in years as teams try to knock off defending premiers the Queanbeyan Whites.

The return of the competition is also a boost for the Brumbies, who are keen to get as many minutes as possible into players who haven't seen regular game time in Super Rugby this season.

Wright will be one of several Brumbies returning to club rugby in round one, with Pedro Rolando back at Royals after making his debut in Christchurch alongside Wright.

Brumbies fullback Jesse Mogg has slipped into an assistant coaching job at Wests to mentor a new generation, but it's unclear if he'll play for the club that helped launch his professional career.

"It's great to have a fresh voice there and he's really taken a bit of control over the past five or six weeks," said Wests coach Marco Cecere.

"The message for us this year is that Royals proved last year that things can turn around pretty quickly. We wanted more depth and that's what we went and got, and we had to be a little bit creative for some of it.

"We'll probably have about seven or 10 new players in the first few weeks, so I think we've got better depth and hopefully the boys are confident we can turn it around."

JOHN I DENT CUP ROUND ONE

First grade: Wests v Tuggeranong Vikings at Jamison, 3.15pm; Gungahlin Eagles v Uni-Norths Owls at Nicholls Enclosed, 3.05pm; Royals v Penrith at Phillip Enclosed, 3.05pm.

Women: Wests v Tuggeranong at Weetangera Oval; Gungahlin Eagles v Uni-Norths Owls at Nicholls Enclosed; Royals v Penrith at Phillip Enclosed. All games at 1.40pm.

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