For as long as he can remember, Wallabies back-rower Charlie Cale has always been able to rely on his older brother Jack.
Growing up in Sydney's northern suburbs, they would often team up together against the eldest of the Cale boys, Sam, in fierce backyard rugby battles.
Even when it came to studying during their school years, Charlie knew Jack was in his corner.
"He helped me with a lot of my schoolwork," Charlie fondly tells ABC Sport.
"There's been a few exams … he's helped me in a lot of ways, actually.
"That's the best thing about Jack. He's always been there for me and anyone else that has needed him.
"He's one of a kind."
Jack's encouragement is repaid by the support he receives from Charlie and Sam, who both keenly follow his career with the Australian Deaf Rugby (ADR) men's squad.
Last Tuesday night in Sydney, Charlie proudly presented Jack, Australia's vice-captain, with his official team tie ahead of the World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship, which begin in Tokyo this weekend.
Australia's men's and women's squads are among the favourites to emerge triumphant once the tournament concludes on November 3.
Jack is grateful to have Charlie and Sam's backing as he juggles rugby commitments with his job as a lawyer.
"It's always been really helpful having two brothers to go through a rugby career with," says Jack, who has played for Eastwood (Shute Shield) and Mosman (Subbies) at club level.
"We're always checking in with each other, trying to watch each other's games.
"Charlie, even with the limited time he gets outside of training with Brumbies and Wallabies squads, is always trying to watch our games as well."
On the international stage
Jack's introduction to deaf rugby came out of the blue.
"In late 2022, I got a phone call from an old coach of mine on a Saturday morning," says Jack, who had played colts and grade rugby in Sydney by this stage.
"He gave me a call and said, 'Mate, there's this deaf rugby trial happening down at Hunters Hill.'
"Of course, I didn't know what he was talking about as I hadn't really heard anything before.
"I went down there and ran around in a bit of a sevens trial, for maybe 20 or 25 minutes.
"I didn't think I'd actually played that well. I didn't touch the ball that much.
"I came off the field and I wasn't sure what to expect."
A letter arrived in the mail a few months later in early 2023, informing Jack he was selected in the ADR men's squad for the World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship, which were being held in Córdoba, Argentina in April of that year.
There was one small problem, though.
Jack found out about his selection during the club rugby off-season, meaning he was not exactly at peak fitness.
"I had to get myself fit pretty quickly without any rugby training, which was a bit of a struggle," Jack laughs.
Jack worked his way back into shape and seamlessly joined the Australian line-up, which he helped lead in his vice-captaincy role.
They made the final, gallantly losing 20-5 to Wales, while Australia finished third overall in the women's competition.
In Tokyo, the men's squad faces England, Japan, Hong Kong China and Italy in the pool stage, with the top three advancing to the knockout rounds of the tournament.
Australia is one of six teams in the women's draw, where it plays Fiji, England, Wales, New Zealand and a combined Barbarians team in a single pool.
Each will progress, with the two top-ranked teams moving directly to the semifinals.
Having avoided Wales in the men's round-robin matches, Jack considers England to be Australia's main threat in the preliminary phase.
"You've obviously got to go match by match," Jack says.
"It's important to get through the pool stage as well as we can and then the mindset obviously shifts to the knockout stages.
"I'd consider us in the better pool for the opportunity to do that."
Embracing challenges
To participate in World Deaf Rugby tournaments, players must have an average bilateral hearing loss across both ears of at least 40 decibels.
The level of hearing loss varies from player to player in the Australian teams, which illustrates to Jack the importance of non-verbal communication during matches.
"I stepped into this environment where nothing was said on a rugby field," he says.
"It was a bit of a challenge to get used to that.
"But I also really enjoyed that challenge, being able to communicate with some of those guys whose hearing is a lot more affected than mine is."
As much as Jack loves playing alongside his Australian teammates, he also gets a kick out of facing them in club rugby.
On one such occasion last year, he and Australian captain Tim Anstey opposed each other when Mosman met Newport in the NSW Subbies competition.
"It's pretty awesome playing against someone like that, who you now travel with on international tours," Jack says.
"But it's also surreal finding out that someone you might have been playing rugby against is also partially deaf and had the same struggles as you growing up, and you're now representing your country with them.
"It's pretty cool."
While Jack relishes every chance to represent Australia, spreading the message of inclusivity is just as important to him and everyone involved in deaf rugby.
ADR states its goal is to give every deaf and hard-of-hearing athlete the opportunity to play the game, regardless of their experience level.
"We want to find as many deaf or hard-of-hearing rugby players as we can," Jack says.
"It's really just word of mouth within deaf and hard-of-hearing communities."
Jack's family is also firmly behind the cause.
"I've got a lot of respect for this [ADR] program," says Charlie, who has played six Tests for the Wallabies.
"It gives these guys a platform and opportunity they may have lacked growing up.
"We know how much it means to Jack and therefore it means a lot to us."
Family support
Charlie got up early in the morning to watch Jack play at the world titles in Córdoba three years ago.
But a friendlier time zone will make it easier for him to follow his brother's progress in Tokyo.
"I don't think I've missed a game," Charlie says.
"I've woken up at 2am or 3am. I love watching him play."
As he did in Córdoba, Jack will have his devoted mum and dad, Sue and Tim, barracking from the sidelines in Tokyo.
The Cale parents do everything possible to watch their three sons play rugby.
"I don't think our mother has missed a rugby game of ours in God knows how many years," Jack says.
"Dad is always on the phone, straight after games, checking in with us and seeing how we've gone."
Just as he helped Charlie all those years ago with his schoolwork, Jack knows he can also depend on the support of his family.
"We're incredibly proud of him," Charlie says.
