It’s rare to get the chance to share a lockeroom with Aaron Smith, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Michael Hooper.
This was the fortune of young ACT Brumbies lock Toby Macpherson as he looks to showcase his learning in Super Rugby Pacific.
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The former Australia U20s captain made the unique move in 2024, linking up with Japan Rugby League One side Toyota Verblitz on a loan deal from the ACT club.
With not a word of Japanese to his name, the 21-year-old communicated through the shared language of Rugby as he soaked in the experience.
He played twice for the club in the top league before returning to the Brumbies midway through the season.
“It was a great experience over there and it certainly opened up my eyes to not only the opportunity but the chance to learn from the likes of Aaron Smith, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Bill Tupou and then try and bring that back to this space for myself,” he told Rugby.com.au.
“I was pretty nervous not being able to speak the language very well, but it’s finding that balance of how to communicate in other ways…most of the boys were pretty good and understood English better than I knew Japanese, so it was a lot of broken English and hand signals.”
Macpherson relished the chance to learn from World Cup winners du Toit and Smith, transforming how he approaches the game.
“It’s just the professionalism they have around their preparation coming into games and training,” he believes was the biggest learning. “The prep between both doesn’t change, so they’ve probably prepped three or four times throughout the week, and then when it comes to Saturday, it’s almost second nature.
“To sit back and observe how they do it, what they’re doing in the changing rooms before the game and how they warm up, it was pretty cool, and you try and take away each of those things.
“Overall, I was pretty stoked to be over there and watch it, hopefully I can implement some of that stuff into my own gameplay.
The stint also provided him with a special opportunity to play alongside Wallabies great Hooper.
Hooper signed a short-term deal with the club to start 2025, with Macpherson on the field as the flanker made his return to the game.
“It felt like being a kid again when I first saw him,” he said. “Your whole life, you’re watching this guy on TV, and when he retired, I thought I wouldn’t ever get the opportunity to play with him, and in his first game at Toyota, I got the chance to be on the field with him.
“It was pretty surreal to be side-by-side with one of the legends of the Wallabies and Australian Rugby. He’s a great guy and he was happy to help me so I felt like a bit of a sponge and wanted to absorb as much as possible when he could give.”
Macpherson has already taken his first steps back in Brumbies colours since his loan move, featuring heavily during Super Rugby AUS.
He leads a new generation of Brumbies excited to step into the spotlight after the club lost the likes of Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper.
“With those other boys going, it’s tough for the club, but I think we’re all certainly trying to step up,” Macpherson added.
“I think we've all certainly trying to step up, and I think it's just one of those things that we've got the systems in place at the club we have, where blokes like ourselves and other blokes who are in front of us that have been waiting for an opportunity are ready to go.
“We know what we need to do to prepare and to make sure that we're ready for that opportunity. There's a big hole there that needs to be filled, but I certainly think we have the player depth with the likes of the 20s boys coming through and also some of the older boys to fill those positions and certainly compete.”
