Look up from a plate of butter chicken in the city centre food court and you'll spot the photo of a screaming Tom Hooper strung to the ceiling.
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The same ACT Brumbies lock who turned up for training at a Canberra high school on Monday. The same Wallabies prospect signing autographs at a Tuggeranong shopping centre on Friday.
The Brumbies are as tight with the community as ever. Now how many people are going to see him play a Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final at Canberra Stadium on Saturday?
The finals are in town and the Brumbies are a legitimate chance of winning the whole damn show, but you won't see fans whipped into a frenzy for tickets like you might for the 13-man code.
Because Australian rugby has gone through the wringer. People are tired of hearing about in-fighting and clubs going under, so why turn up on a cold winter's night?
Because, to tweak a line from Mark Twain, maybe the reports of rugby's death have been greatly exaggerated.
TOKEN NO MORE
Remember the last time the Highlanders came to Canberra for a quarter-final? The Brumbies topped their conference to earn hosting rights, but a combined ladder would have had them barely sneaking into the top eight.
This time? The Brumbies won more regular season games than ever before and their 12 wins, including a victory over the top-ranked Hurricanes, are level with the competition's top two teams.
The Brumbies are a genuine title threat, confident they can cross the Tasman - provided, as expected, they have to - and bring back a trophy this month.
THE ATMOSPHERE
![The Brumbies are undefeated at home this year. Picture by Keegan Carroll The Brumbies are undefeated at home this year. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/685195ce-1fb2-4124-9427-306bfd5db2d8.jpg/r0_533_5215_3477_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
We'll leave the stadium wars for another day, because as desperate as we are for a venue in the city, that won't be built by Saturday night.
Brumbies home crowds peaked at 8648 this year and club officials have realised pushing for a sell-out is unrealistic. But Canberra Raiders games show us how good the atmosphere at Canberra Stadium can be even when the venue is only half-full.
So if the lack of atmosphere is keeping you away, why not change it? As Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham puts it, "it's hard to create an atmosphere without people."
Pubs are slashing the price of schooners and shouting a round if the Brumbies win, after challenging each other to see how many punters they can get on a bus to the stadium.
THE STARS
![Tom Wright has been in scintillating form for the Brumbies this year. Picture by Gary Ramage Tom Wright has been in scintillating form for the Brumbies this year. Picture by Gary Ramage](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/425361ad-890c-42f8-a73f-ce1e00e522dd.jpg/r0_204_4000_2462_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Corey Toole may well be the fastest man in Super Rugby. Tom Wright has emerged as Australia's premier fullback. If they're not in Wallaby gold, they might be chasing gold medals at the Paris Olympic Games.
"Throughout Tom's career he has been an outstanding player, there's no doubt about that," Larkham said.
"He's maturing into his position, he is certainly a leader within our team both on the field and off the field. We're starting to see some really consistent performances from him, and that's coming from, I feel, more consistent training performances.
"Over the last 12 months, we've definitely seen a change in the way he has trained and we're seeing more consistency on the field. He's definitely been one of our standout backs this year."
![Allan Alaalatoa. Picture by Karleen Minney Allan Alaalatoa. Picture by Karleen Minney](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/1f4bcede-dfb6-4f0a-a310-57b5204be8d7.jpg/r0_285_5568_3428_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
If you're going to complain about not knowing the players, how about this: Rob Valetini is one of rugby's most damaging forwards and Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa is one of the best props in the world.
"It looks like he's got even bigger somehow, he's just enormous. He just looks like a house of power, and he is arguably one of the greatest guys off the field you will ever see," Brumbies great Jeremy Paul said.
"It's great to see the skipper back, he's always leading from the front and he has always got a smile on his face."
THE MYTH
And if you think nobody is watching, the Brumbies-NSW Waratahs game on May 11 had a reach of 541,000. The Raiders' clash with Brisbane on April 20 had a reach of 520,000.
Sky Sport NZ has revealed regular season Super Rugby audiences rose by 16 per cent compared to 2023. More people have watched this year's regular season than last year's entire campaign including finals.