A lot of Australians take the mickey out of Canberra and those who inhabit the nation's capital. The perception is that it's cold (actually, that's fact), soulless, spotlessly clean to the point of boring, landlocked and, worst of all, full of politicians.
There was a time when the rugby-loving populace of
this fair land were part of that Canberra-knocking mob. No more! Rugby devotees from Perth to Proserpine all want to be infected with some Brumby blood.
There may be some other instance in professional sport of a coach being sacked in the season his team won the premiership - but I'm unaware of anyone besides David Nucifora suffering that fate.
That whole episode smells of two things. One is that very few on the outside really know the full story and second, this is an organisation very comfortable with its direction and decision making processes.
Ever since this one-time rugby outpost was brought into the spotlight by the emergence of Super 12, the Brumbies have made the likes of Queensland and New South Wales appear to be the the new kids on the block.
There is definitely something in the water. How else can one explain the high percentage of five-star rugby players that were actually natives of the place?
Canberra-born rugby players don't just make the Wallaby side, they take over. The two most capped Australian players of all time? George Gregan and David Campese. ACT boys both. Had he not gone to league, Michael O'Connor would have played 100 tests. He was another Canberra product, as are a couple of handy blokes called Roff and Larkham. Although he'll miss the opening salvos of this year's Super 12 due to injury, another local Matt Giteau will cause plenty of problems for opponents when he returns to the side in round four.
Add to this magic potion of native genius, the addition of some unwanted riff-raff from other parts like Jeremy Paul, Owen Finegan, George Smith, Stirling Mortlock, Clyde Rathbone and Bill Young.
From its instigation nine years ago when David Giffin, Brett Robinson and others went to Canberra looking for opportunity the Brumbies have been rugby's most successful last chance saloon. The kegs again look full in 2005.
And while the Finegans, Smiths etc have been doing the business for the Brumbies for years now, it's another lot of recent blow-ins who promise to maintain the team's reputation as one of the most admired and feared in the Super 12.
Who can forget Radike Samo's impact last year? Discarded as inconsistent by Sydney and Brisbane scouts he was magnificent for the Brumbies as he did the hard yakka in the tight and caused nightmares for opposition tacklers. It seemingly takes him about three strides to get from halfway to the tryline and he makes the ball look like a ping-pong ball in his hand.
Mark Gerrard was a standout schoolboy footballer, and when he first came into the Waratahs squad as an 18-year-old big things were expected. He didn't set the world on fire in the first five minutes, so they lost interest. Queensland had the chance to grab him. They dithered. The ever alert Brumbies recognised a gold nugget when it was plonked on their front desk and they look set to reap the benefits for many a year.
He had an unfortunate time at the national level due to injury last year but if he stays healthy there's little doubt he'll be one of the stars of the Super 12 and figure heavily in Eddie Jones' plans at the next level.
As the Waratahs' and Reds' hopes hinge largely on as yet unproven first five-eighths such as Julian Huxley and Lachlan Mackay, the Brumbies main concern prior to Giteau breaking his hand was whether he or Larkham would be wearing the number 10 in the first game. Oh, to have a dilemma like that! Now that the 76 test veteran gets the nod by default, it's a matter of who'll play outside him.
That honour will go to Gene Fairbanks, and his story has a familiar ring to it. The 22-year-old went to Downlands College in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, a decade or so after another handy little number 12 named Tim Horan had worn that uniform. Fairbanks was touted by all and sundry as the best thing to come out of the school since Horan.
Wayne Bennett had a high opinion of him and the Broncos picked up the scent. He opted for rugby though and was chosen in the Reds side for their first match in 2003, against the Brumbies.
He turned his ankle in the warm-up and withdrew three minutes before the opening whistle. He played one game that year and was the side's most potent attacking weapon in a bad loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton. A combination of conservative thinking and his own injury woes kept him out of the side and 2004 was a write-off to injury.
He's popped up at the saloon in 2005 and gets his chance because of Giteau's misfortune.
The track record down Canberra way suggests this could be the making of Fairbanks and provide yet another example of Australia's traditional rugby powers letting one of their own go only to watch him enhance the ever growing stature of the Brumbies.
* Andrew Slack is a former Wallaby captain.
VITAL STATS
Titles: 2, 2001, 2004
Finals: 6
Worst finish: 10th, 1998
Biggest win: 73-9 v Bulls, 1999; 64-0 v Cats, 2000
Biggest loss: 44-10, v Waratahs 1996
Backs
Mark Gerrard
Peter Owens
Clyde Rathbone
Ben Batger
Adam Ashley-Cooper
Sam Norton-Knight
Henare Veratau
Gene Fairbanks
Joel Wilson
Lenny Beckett
Stirling Mortlock
Matt Giteau
Stephen Larkham
George Gregan
Matt Henjak
Luke Burgess
Forwards
Scott Fava
Jono Tawake
George Smith
Julian Salvi
Tamaiti Horua
Owen Finegan
Alister Campbell
Radike Samo
Adam Wallace-Harrison
Mark Chisholm
David Fitter
Bill Young
Nic Henderson
Guy Shepherdson
Digby Beaumont
David Palavi
Jeremy Paul
A lot of Australians take the mickey out of Canberra and those who inhabit the nation's capital. The perception is that it's cold (actually, that's fact), soulless, spotlessly clean to the point of boring, landlocked and, worst of all, full of politicians.
There was a time when the rugby-loving populace of
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