Giant ACT Brumbies lock Rory Arnold is confident he can step into the Test arena if he gets a chance to make his Wallabies debut against England next week, vowing to throw his 208 centimetre frame into every physical battle.
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Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will trim his 39-man squad on Friday as preparation for the three Test England series heats up.
Arnold is in a seven-way fight for a Test call up, battling with fellow second-rowers Rob Simmons, Sam Carter, Adam Coleman, James Horwill, Dean Mumm and Will Skelton for Wallabies jerseys.
Cheika wants his big men to throw their weight around against a powerful England pack and 25-year-old Arnold believes he has more stability in his game after breaking into Super Rugby last year.
"[Cheika will] assess the squad after the first week and make the cuts that are necessary. I won't be looking too far ahead I'll just try and train hard and see what happens," Arnold said.
"I just think my overall game is a bit more stable all over the park – [my] lineout, scrum [have] gotten a bit better so I'm a bit more confident leading into this one.
"I'm just looking forward to getting into that environment again and see how I go."
Arnold is the tallest player in Australian Super Rugby history and his size makes him an appealing prospect as Cheika tests his ranks.
Mumm and Simmons played in the World Cup final last year while former Wallabies skipper Horwill is back in the frame and Carter and Skelton are hungry for game time after injury cruelled their World Cup campaigns.
Arnold was part of Cheika's initial squads last year but didn't get a chance to play for Australia, and he's picked the coach's brain to help him take the next step.
Arnold said it was the physical side of his game that he needed to work on – using his 208-centimetre, 120-kilogram frame to its full potential.
"We had a quick chat when we were all at Cockatoo Island [for a Wallabies camp]. He just mentioned a few small things – my ball carry and just being physical," Arnold said.
"Us big locks, that's our job, try and hurt people and doing that sort of stuff."
Arnold has been working with teammates Carter and Scott Fardy, who are at the camp on the Sunshine Coast.
Arnold credited the depth of the Brumbies squad as playing a role in his development. He said the forward pack have been pushing each other to get better.
"They've [Fardy and Carter] been really good and all over the squad, especially that tight five, we've got so much depth there and especially in that second row," he said.
"We've got Carts, young Tommy [Staniforth] and Blake Enever. It's the whole squad that's pushing each player to get better and better so hats off to those guys."
