Folau Faingaa goes from job site to a Wallabies World Cup dream

Faingaa was a 20-year-old kid working as a garbage man and pouring concrete when the Wallabies made the World Cup final four years ago.

Now he looms as a front-row linchpin for Australia's hopes of ending a 20-year drought, with the Wallabies to start their campaign with a clash against Fiji on Saturday.

He will be competing with cousin Tolu Latu and Jordan Uelese for the No. 2 jersey, which has been worn by some of Australia's greatest players at past World Cups.

But Faingaa is unfazed by the challenge, insisting he's ready to embrace the step up and shoulder Australia's set-piece responsibility.

"It's a long way from where I was four years ago," Faingaa said.

"Everything comes around so quickly and you pinch yourself when it happens. A rugby World Cup is something special and I'm looking forward to it.

"Everyone is chasing the same goal in the team and that's the most important thing, we're ready to go.

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"To be able to do it with Tolu, it's a special moment for our families and thinking about how far we've come. We've got a healthy rivalry there and then to have Jordy as well ... all three of us can help each other get through this campaign."

Faingaa was virtually an unknown prospect two years ago when the Brumbies plucked him off a Sydney building site and offered him a Super Rugby contract.

He had been playing club rugby and working as a concreter and a garbage man, unsure if he would get a shot at being a professional player despite being in the junior Wallabies program.

"That smell in the morning [of garbage] and when it's hot in the arvo ... I could barely put up with it," Faingaa said last year.

He was thrown in the ACT Brumbies deep end last year when Josh Mann-Rea suffered a season-ending injury.

Faingaa went from being a back-up rookie to the first-choice hooker after just three games, but the opportunity launched him on to the Wallabies radar and he hasn't looked back.

"I think I've learnt to back yourself," Faingaa said.

"Learning off the players around you and listening to the guys who have been there and done it before.

"I wouldn't say I was in the deep end. I had guys like Allan [Alaalatoa] and Scotty [Sio] to help me. It was an opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands."

WORLD CUP

Saturday: Wallabies v Fiji at Sapporo Dome, 2.45pm.