A location change isn’t the only difference Brumbies prop James Slipper has noticed in the 2020 squad as they begin their final weeks of preseason.
The Brumbies are training in Newcastle for 10 days after hazardous air quality in Canberra forced them out of their usual base.
Slipper returned to training as the Brumbies’ oldest player, a shift from 2019 when a host of veterans were still playing with the ACT side.
“The squad's changed quite a bit actually, gone from mid-age to the oldest now,” he said.
“We've lost quite a few older boys with a lot of experience but on the flipside you're bringing in quite a few young players full of enthusiasm who want to have a crack.
“You can look at it both ways, positive and negative but with the blokes we've brought in, they're really good people, they're buying into the club and so far, so good, working hard.”
The Brumbies have been confident throughout preseason that they can continue what the 2019 group started and Slipper said he felt this team could match their semi-final berth of last year but they had to burst out of the blocks.
“I think we've got the potential to,” he said.
“I think if we look at our squad there's a lot of youth and enthusiasm there so time will tell whether - the big factor is we want to start the season well, get a few wins together and build that confidence and momentum that pushes you through the season.
“At the moment, we haven't really concentrated too much on what we want to do, it's about how we're going to do it and that's just through hard work and making sure that every part of our game and all the details are locked away pretty early in the season.”
Slipper had only returned to Canberra last weekend after an extended post-World Cup break but said the state of the air was a “daunting” sight.
The Brumbies arrived in Newcastle on Monday after relocating their training due to Canberra’s poor air quality.
“The whole of Australia's been affected by it and it's quite sobering to watch some of the stories coming out of it and to all the people that are affected,” he said.
“I arrived in Canberra on the weekend and it was evident that all the smoke that was around, you could hardly see 50 metres in front of you so it was pretty daunting.
“We all have to get together and do our bit to support the people affected because we're definitely thinking of them and once we're done here we'll be back in Canberra and involved in the community.”
The ACT franchise has banded together with sporting organisations from the wider Canberra region to commit to fundraising for bushfire relief, tagged #WeAreOne.
Volunteers will be admitted for free to the Brumbies’ round one match against the Reds on January 31 and the side will be fundraising at the match.
Their commitment follows Australia’s Sevens sides pledge to donate $500 for every try they score at the Sydney 7s and Wallaby Reece Hodge’s move to give away a signed World Cup jersey to encourage people to donate.
The Brumbies take on the Rebels in their only preseason trial in Albury on Thursday January 23. Buy tickets here.
