Of all the provincial sides that are set to come up against the British and Irish Lions, the Brumbies are set to face one of the toughest challenges of all, facing the touring side without nearly all of their frontline stars.
With ten players from the Canberra side originally called into the Wallabies camp, eight starting Brumbies - James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Billy Pollard, Rob Valetini, Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau and Tom Wright - will all miss the match, either due to injury or being in the starting side that faced Fiji on Sunday.
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Two players were released for the match, Corey Toole and Tom Hooper, but even that comes with some caveats, with Hooper coming off the bench in Newcastle.
The side is also missing Wallabies Blake Schoupp and Charlie Cale, who both suffered significant injuries during the Super Rugby Pacific season, which has ruled them out for the match.
The result sees the Brumbies, who have been Australia's best performing side in Super Rugby for the last number of years and finished third in the Super Rugby Pacific season, enter the match with by far the lowest amount of Wallaby experience - with just four Wallabies (with less than 30 caps between them), plus Feao Fotuaika, who has represented Tonga on six occasions.
However, looks can be deceiving, and while some think the side will enter Wednesday's match with one arm metaphorically tied behind their back, coach Stephen Larkham will be banking on a long-settled extended squad to deliver a surprise result.
Club players David Feliuai, Ryan Lonergan and Rory Scott were part of the Wallabies extended squad for the Fiji Test and Autumn Nations Series, with nine members of the team selected for Wednesday also part of the Australia XV side that played matches against Bristol and the England Saxons in 2024.
In addition, speaking to reporters on Monday following the squad announcement, Larkham revealed that clear communication with the national coaching group has given the Brumbies players a lot of time to prepare for such a scenario.
"Good energy this week," Larkham told reporters after the Monday training session.
"We trained on Saturday, had yesterday off and then we've trained today. They're all looking forward to it.
"We've got Tom Hooper back today from the Wallabies. He played against Fiji yesterday afternoon and has come back in and trained with us this morning, so he's very keen as well.
"He gets an opportunity to play with his brother, which is a pretty special occasion against the Lions team, who will have learned a lot out of that Waratahs game and will be bringing, no doubt, their near full-strength side down to Canberra to play against us.
"The boys are really looking forward to this challenge."
It is set to be a stunning debut for Tom's brother Lachlan, who is set to come off the bench alongside fellow debutant Cameron Orr, who has come over from the Seattle Seawolves to fill in the forward stocks.
With winter well and truly setting in for the national capital, the Lions will be looking to make up for their infamous 14-12 loss against the Brumbies on their last tour in 2013.
Similar to then, they will also have their work cut out with the conditions - with the temperature not expected to get above 11 degrees during the day, and the chance of rain during the game.
By contrast, Larkham has been preparing for cold, tough conditions, which will also play into the hosts' hands, despite any chance of potential nerves after the Lions unveiled a near-full strength squad.
"The boys were really keen, really up for it. Energy was flowing really well," he said.
"They came in today in some tough conditions, which is probably what we're going to expect on Wednesday night. Slippery ball with the dew on the ground. But the energy again today was exceptional. So I haven't seen any of the nerves yet.
"I'm sure the closer we get to kick-off, the more that will creep into the group. But we've got a fairly experienced team. We've got eight Wallabies out at the moment, so that hurts us in terms of depth.
"But these guys have been with us all year, particularly the guys who are starting. They've been through this routine all year and they know what a build-up to a game is.
"For those other guys who sort of get their first chance to play for the Brumbies or first game for the Brumbies for a while, they're the ones that we'll just keep an eye on and make sure that they don't go too overboard.
"...[We had] conversations with Rugby Australia and the Wallabies and Joe Schmidt around who we'd potentially get back. Even before selection started, we were sort of worried about who we were going to have available, knowing our regulars like James Slipper, Alan Alaalatoa would be picked and that would leave us short in certain positions, second row, front row.
"We've been planning for this for a while and second row was certainly a position that we were a little bit light on. We've got some good young guys coming through."
The return of Hooper will come as good news for Larkham, with the Brumbies coach revealing the loose forward was intended to be released last week, but was called into the Wallabies squad after several key injuries affected the side.
Another benefit for the Brumbies as the last provincial side to face the Lions is the fact they have had the benefit of seeing the other three Australian sides play the team, and by extension, have the most preparation.
It is an opportunity that Larkham will look to capitalise on, with the last three fixtures between the Brumbies and Lions being very competitive matches.
The match will serve as a valuable litmus test, with rhetoric that the Lions wouldn't face much of a challenge against the provincial sides becoming more subdued after the Waratahs match on Saturday.
"Hopefully everything goes to plan and they get on the field and they really enjoy not only the moment, but the way that we play the game," Larkham said of his team.
"I thought the Waratahs were pretty good on the weekend. But the other two games, they did blow out and I thought it was a very impressive game against the Reds, the British and Irish Lions put out there.
"We've learned a lot from that. We get the benefit of playing last, so we get to see three of their games within Australia. They've had their Argentinian game as well and so we've studied them quite closely."
Despite the conditions, Larkham expects the Lions to also come prepared for wet weather rugby.
"We've certainly got rain," Larkham joked.
"We had rain this morning and I think we've got a bit of rain tomorrow, but then it's meant to fine up.
"It's Canberra, it's eight o'clock, it's winter. It'll be dewy, it'll be greasy on the surface, which we know quite well. Where these guys have come from, they get this weather all the time."
While it is expected the Brumbies will be up against it, it may also be a case of history repeating itself, should they pull yet another surprise win.
The 2013 Super Rugby side was also without ten Wallabies, fresh off losing the Super Rugby grand final to the Chiefs and coming into the match with a young, inexperienced side.
Retrospect reactions by many players revealed a side that was left bitterly disappointed by that grand final loss, channelling that frustration into a compelling contest against the Lions.
"We didn't quite win Super Rugby, but then it sort of transferred into that British and Irish Lions game," Larkham said.
"We had a really young squad because the Wallabies were taken away from us again.
"Those guys that got the opportunity just knew what they were doing. They were very accurate. Obviously, the score wasn't an amazing score, but defence was outstanding and very similar to what we've got this Wednesday, 24,000 people, great atmosphere,
"Obviously, we're talking about it now, and we occasionally bring it up from year to year.
"It's a very special part of Brumbies' history, particularly when these tours roll around every 12 years."
