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Have the Brumbies answered their biggest questions for 2026?
The Brumbies walk towards Super Rugby Pacific 2026 with the same strong structures, continuity, and cohesion as they always do, but this year they do so without some of their stars.
Farewelling three of their best players in Noah Lolesio, Tom Hooper, and Len Ikitau leaves a huge dent in the identity they have built in recent years, but also some mainstay Wallaby experience and firepower.
The Brumbies are the perennial overachievers, always working away quietly in the background, often written off before the season, then lead the Aussie sides time and time again in SRP.
2026, however, looks to be the year that truly tests the strength of the Brumbies’ resolve and systems.
Inexperience, exciting new talent, and returning stalwarts all make for an ambiguous mix of signals for the men of the bush capital.
Results 2025 – Finished 3rd, 9 Wins, 0 Draw, 5 Losses, Points Diff +87.
It was a strong year from the Brums in 2025, scoring plenty of points and managing to keep sides out, as well as having the best lineout and second-best scrum in the competition.
A big credit at scrum time goes to Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper, as well as hooker Billy Pollard, who all played big minutes throughout the season.
The fact that this core group of front rowers remains, and the likes of Blake Schoupp is making good progress on his return from injury, alongside the rise of Lington Ieli, means the Brumbies retain this weapon for 2026.
The lineout dynamics will also continue as the lineout coach, Ben Mowen, and his pack work to ensure that a lineout in the opposition’s 22m zone is something for the opposition to fear.
Mauling is another big asset to the Brums, with hooker Pollard scoring nine tries in eight games during the 2025 season.
Where they must improve if they are to make up for their loss of top-shelf talent is in breakdown security, after conceding the third-most turnovers in 2025.
Likewise, they beat the fewest defenders of any side, a stat that will be hard to change without mercurial fullback Tom Wright, who is set to be sidelined until midway through the comp due to injury.
The Brumbies were a very direct side in 2025, keeping the ball in the centre of the pitch or punishing the tram tracks on either side of the field.
This direct play explains why they beat so few defenders, as they often rolled over defenders instead of swerving around them.
Everyone has seen how well Ikitau and Hooper straightened attacks for club and country; now the Brums require the others to stand up.
A word from the Brumbies coach
Coach Stephen Larkham is the most successful Australian SRP coach, with a record spanning over 12 years, and a 61% win rate with the Brumbies.
His pragmatism is clear in the way he approaches the 2026 season; confident in the team’s strengths but abundantly aware of the shortcomings.
“There’s a number of things that worked (in 2025), and worked well; we’re probably looking at the things that didn’t work well,” Larkham told the Off The Ruck YouTube channel.
“We lost five games (in the 2025 regular season), and if you go back to the previous year, we only lost two games, but we probably had a harder draw last year in terms of travel, so we’ve certainly looked at things like that.”
“Making sure our processes are correct around those areas.”
Travel and building new cohesion and depth can all be difficult things to do when tough games begin to stack up, but Larkham is confident in his new crop of players being able to come through and deliver.
“If you look at our squad from last year to this year, there’s only one new player from outside the environment, which is Tane (Edmed).”
“There’s seven or eight new names within our squad, but they have all come through the academy system, they’ve all been here for at least two years… for us, we’ve seen these potential combinations for a couple of years.”
Exciting young talents in centre Jarrah McLeod, backrowers Toby Macherson and Eli Langi, as well as lock Harvey Cordukes, will all be crucial to the Brumbies’ depth this season.
While Langi and Macpherson will help pick up the slack left by Hooper, McLeod will need to be that direct ball-running threat in the wake of Ikitau’s sabbatical in England with Exeter.
Cordukes will likely feel the pressure earliest, with Wallabies Nick Frost and Cadyrn Neville being the only truly experienced locks in the roster.
Should the Brumbies lose only one of them to injury, then the tight five would lose big experience.
Player to keep an eye on: Tuaina Taii Tualima
The backrow has always been a source of strength for the Brumbies, and this year it’s no different.
Explosive backrower Charlie Cale is set to make a comeback after an injury layoff, fetchers Luke Reimer and Rory Scott are set to be kept on their toes by the likes of Langi and Macpherson, among others, but Tualima has a unique job and opportunity of his own.
At 28 years old and standing at 193cm and weighing well over 100kgs, Tualima is one of the players who must fill the shoes of Hooper.
His abrasive ball running as well as skilful play are assets to the Brumbies, but in 2026, he will have to go to another level.
Having played across the Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels, and now the ACT Brumbies, Auckland-born Tualima now understands what it takes to be able to compete with the best in the comp.
Due to his height profile and experience of almost 50 Super Rugby caps, it may come to a point where the Brumbies need his size and grunt in the second row.
Tualima is in a unique position to really build his profile and carry this Brumbies pack forward.
It would be remiss not to mention two-time John Eales Medalist, Rob Valetini, who will be looking for a bigger and more consistent year in 2026 after a less impactful and injury-riddled 2025.
If the Brumbies are to have any hope of going one better, they will need Valetini at his best, and Tualima there to complement with his own abrasive style.
Brumbies predicted finish for SRP 2026 – 5th/4th
Despite the Brumbies having such strong systems and good consistency, losing the talent they have will nonetheless be tough.
An inexperienced locking stock alongside a new halfback-flyhalf combination are things which could hurt them as the season draws on.
McLeod, along with Austin Anderson and David Feliuai, will all be crucial in getting the backline over the gainline and to help the side build momentum.
Similarly, without the attacking weapon and experience of Wright at fullback, the Brums may find it hard to close out those tighter games where elite players can change the fortune of games.
While the set piece looks set for another strong year, the ability to retain and control the ball is something the side is really going to have to work on if it wants to play in the grand final in 2026.
All teams in the competition are getting better each year, and this means there are fewer and fewer games where rotating one’s squad is ideal.
The Brumbies have often been rock solid at home, but haven’t been able to dominate across the Tasman.
In 2026, they play the Crusaders away in round 2 after having travelled to Perth for round 1.
They face the Drua in Fiji in round 5 and then the Highlanders and Hurricanes in Aotearoa in rounds 9 and 11, respectively.
Crusaders typically start slow and build into the season, much like the Brumbies themselves, so if they can clinch this one early and then aim for the Drua and Highlanders, one coming after a long run of home games and the other a bye-week, then they could look to cement themselves in the top four.
The question will be if their depth can last them until after the Hurricanes game, where they have a run of easier games as well as a bye week in round 14.
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