Cape Town - Brumbies prop Scott Sio says there is a new dynamic within the playing group and he believes it will propel the side to great things in 2017.
Sio re-joined the Brumbies in early 2017 after an extended break following the Wallabies 2016 November tour. The Sydney-born prop linked up with the squad for their two-day camp in the Snowy Mountains before getting resuming full training last week.
And Sio said there was no quiet introduction to pre-season for the returning players.
"There’s only one way (to get back to training), to get stuck in," the prop said.
"They monitored us the first two days last week but we’ve pretty much been full on since Thursday last week. It’s been great, I think our bodies are slowly adapting to the training and getting used to the load. Everyone is looking really fit and very strong."
Despite being only 25-years old, Sio is now one of the Brumbies’ most experienced players with 65 Super Rugby appearances to go with his Wallabies Caps.
With the departure of many experienced veterans from the Brumbies at the conclusion of the 2016 season, Sio acknowledged his leadership role had increased.
"I’m one of the older blokes at 25, I didn’t think I’d be saying that," Sio joked.
"Myself and a few of the other Wallabies guys have tried to take a leadership role in the team. We’ve tried to instil some core values and keep the standards of the team up. It’s new for me, it’s a new challenge for myself personally to see if I can take my game to the next level but I’m very excited."
There are a number of new faces among the young Brumbies team, and Sio said the enthusiasm from the new and younger players brought to training had been infectious for the whole squad.
"Obviously the dynamic of the group has changed," Sio said.
"There’s been a lot of enthusiasm from the young guys coming in which has been great for me going into my sixth season, we’ve really hit the ground running.
"It’s given me a bit of refreshment heading into the season and hopefully I can drop some wisdom onto the younger boys."
Sio and the Brumbies will play their first pre-season match of the
season on Saturday 28 January with the Australian Barbarians providing
the opposition at Viking Park.