Nic White isn't sure how to feel this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
For the first time in his career, he will look over and see an ACT Brumbies jersey on the opposite side of the field.
It will be a foreign experience for one of the Brumbies' favourite sons and one he never could have predicted until last May.
It was only then he realised his time in Canberra was coming to an end and it was time for a change. Rather than go overseas, like he did in 2015 before later returning, the scrumhalf had a desire to remain in Australia.
Up stepped the Western Force and with it came the opportunity for a fresh start for the final phase of a decorated career.
So after the Wallabies finished a disastrous World Cup campaign, White made the move to Perth.
Which brings us to today, the 33-year-old getting set to face the Brumbies for the first time when the Force host ACT in a pre-season trial on Saturday.
The circumstances have made preparing for the contest slightly easier, the match happening in Perth and a trial with little on the line.
So White is preparing to embrace the emotions on Saturday night because he knows they will be that much stronger when he returns to Canberra to play the Brumbies in round three.
"It's going to take some getting used to running out against the Brumbies," White said. "Once I cross the line, with my personality, I'll park that and it will be all systems go. We'll be best mates off the field but for 80 minutes we'll be enemies.
"It will feel weird before and after the game, seeing the boys in the Brumbies jerseys but I have to do my best to get into them. I'm glad the first one's a trial, there will be weird emotions so I'll be able to put that aside because round three will be a difficult day with different emotions getting back to Canberra for Quinzo's memorial."
![Former Brumbies scrumhalf Nic White has embraced his move west. Picture by Ashleigh Zinko/Western Force Former Brumbies scrumhalf Nic White has embraced his move west. Picture by Ashleigh Zinko/Western Force](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/GzY3iczng7SLWqVgHSV78t/10f6608f-1d04-4452-bbce-c2b2a907cfe2.JPG/r0_556_3680_2764_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
White's pre-season has not been without hiccups, the veteran undergoing bicep surgery in January. He completed a gruelling rehab program filled with bicep curls over the following weeks.
The scrumhalf missed the Force's 21-19 victory over the Queensland Reds last Saturday and is preparing for his first action since Australia bowed out of the World Cup.
The Force have emerged as a trendy pick among rugby fans heading into the Super rugby campaign, with coach Simon Cron luring a number of big names west.
White, fellow Wallaby Ben Donaldson and All Black prop Atu Moli headline a lengthy list of off-season recruits.
White has noticed plenty of similarities between the Brumbies and Force programs and is confident his new side is building something special.
"I liken the environment here to the Brumbies," he said. "There's a lot of guys here that aren't from Perth, this is their adopted home and it feels like a last chance for them, maybe they weren't wanted by other franchises. It's how the Brumbies started, the cultures are similar."