The ACT Brumbies were beaten, but the presence of one man meant they were never going to be defeated.

That's why the players walked away from Canberra Stadium on Friday night still smiling, despite having their Super Rugby title dreams shattered by the Wellington Hurricanes.

Deep down they were hurting. They led the quarter-final battle in the first half before being over-run by the rampaging Hurricanes in a 35-16 loss.

But sometimes a loss feels like a win, even if the scoreboard doesn't show it.

The quarter-final was one of those moments. Any Brumby with his head hanging low after a season-ending loss only had to look at Christian Lealiifano to know it didn't really matter.

The mark of Lealiifano is that he told his teammates they were the inspiration after his first game since being diagnosed with leukaemia almost 12 months ago.

Lealiifano, who needed stitches after his comeback, never wanted the game to be about him. But the fact he was gave everyone around him perspective.

"To think that 12 months ago [Lealiifano] was in hospital with tubes in him, getting chemotherapy ... that's the thing, [the game] was bigger than rugby," said Brumbies prop Scott Sio.

"Christian has alluded to that rugby is such a small part of our lives. I guess things get put in perspective.

"He reiterated to us [after the game] that everyone is saying he's the inspiration, but he said he's been so inspired by us and the support we've given him.

"That's really got us up after this loss. He draws a lot of inspiration from the support we've given him."

Lealiifano's journey back on to the field was a remarkable moment after his diagnosis rocked the rugby community last year.

Players from around the world sent messages of support before kick-off against the Hurricanes, and his moment came in the second half when he ran out with the team.

He had to wait 26 minutes to get his hands on the ball as the Brumbies defended bravely and tried to fend off a relentless Hurricanes attack.

"We weren't planning on bringing on at half-time ... it was good to see him out there," said Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham.

"It was a little bit emotional to see him in the change rooms take his bib off and get ready to go out on the field. I thought he played exceptionally well. Hopefully we see a lot more of him next year."

He jumped into the crowd after the game to embrace family and friends who have followed his every twist and turn.

It wasn't the fairytale ending the Brumbies had hoped for his first game, but losing to the Hurricanes was never going to sour the moment.

Lealiifano's journey back to rugby was about ticking off small goals along the way.

Start chemotherapy - tick.

Spend 100 days being monitored by doctors in Melbourne every day after a bone-marrow transplant - tick.

Go into remission, start training in the Brumbies gym and being a water boy - tick.

Play a game with brother Lix and some of his closest friends - tick.

"He just set new goals and kept attacking it. He got everyone on board and kept attacking it. Get on board and we'll achieve it together," Sio said.

"It's been an ongoing process and it will continue to be. He will still be dealing with this for the next couple of years, but he's so diligent I know he'll attack it head on."

One of Lealiifano's biggest motivators was son Jeremih, who was just two months old when Lealiifano was diagnosed with the blood cancer.

"His No. 1 fan is his son ... the unreal thing for me is to see how excited [Lealiifano] is about being a father," Sio said.

"To see the kick he gets out of what his son does ... when his son smiles at him, to see the warmth in his smile back at him, those are the moments you truly [cherish]."