Why Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is watching ACT Brumbies duo Darcy Swain and Len Ikitau

The Wallabies coach knew the emerging ACT Brumbies lock was a good athlete. He could see he was doing a good job calling the lineout.

But he needed to see aggression, to see the 23-year-old take a Super Rugby game by the scruff of the neck.

The fact Swain was called into Rennie's 40-man squad for a Wallabies camp last month suggests he got exactly what he was looking for.

"What we wanted to see was a bit of mongrel in him, and he has got better and better," Rennie said at Rugby Australia's 2027 World Cup bid launch in Sydney this week.

MORE RUGBY UNION

"I thought he did a really good job last week, played well. Obviously he is calling the lineout against probably the best provincial lineout in the world and they were able to steal a bit of ball and apply pressure to the Crusaders that way.

"He's a kid who works really hard, he spends a lot of time with Dan McKellar around their lineout plan and he is doing a good job delivering that out on the field."

Now Swain finds himself on the cusp of a Super Rugby Trans-Tasman showdown with the Waikato Chiefs at Hamilton's Waikato Stadium on Saturday night.

He pulls on a Brumbies jersey looking to press his case for a maiden Test appearance with the Wallabies set for a jam-packed international schedule at season's end.

The Wallabies will play three Tests in 11 days against France beginning on July 7, opening the door for fringe players to get a look-in as Rennie tries to balance the squad's heavy workload.

That will be followed by a Bledisloe Cup series played in Auckland, Perth and Wellington in August, before The Rugby Championship campaign which runs until October 2.

What's more, Swain finds himself pushing for a maiden Test cap alongside an old Brisbane Boys' College teammate in Brumbies outside centre Len Ikitau.

It was Swain who lured Ikitau to Canberra, after his former school first XV teammate was struggling to get a start at the elite level in Brisbane.

Swain signed with the Brumbies after finishing school in 2015, and a year later told Ikitau the Tuggeranong Vikings were looking for a centre.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Ikitau was soon snapped up by the Brumbies and bolted into Rennie's Wallabies squad last year off the back of very little Super Rugby experience.

Now he has not skipped a beat after filling the void left by Tevita Kuridrani in the Brumbies' No. 13 jersey.

"I wouldn't say I'm surprised. That's the reason we brought him in," Rennie said.

"It was on the back of very little Super Rugby, but what we saw from him was a guy who has got great feet, and a really good skill set, lovely touches, his ability to create space for others is excellent.

"He has got a good left foot. He has gone really well, and his ability to pass under pressure and the selection of pass has been top notch.

"Really pleased for Lenny, he has worked hard. He came to us and conditioning-wise he wasn't great. He has had to up his ante around that, and again the Brumbies have been working him hard as well,.

"He is rewarding them through good performances on the weekend."

His next assignment may well be his most important, with the Brumbies hunting a win to stay in touch with the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman leaders in a five-game season.

SUPER RUGBY TRANS-TASMAN ROUND TWO

Saturday: Waikato Chiefs v ACT Brumbies at Waikato Stadium, 5.05pm. Broadcast: Live on Stan Sport.

ACT Brumbies squad: 1. Scott Sio, 2. Lachlan Lonergan, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (c), 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Nick Frost, 6. Henry Stowers, 7. Rory Scott, 8. Rob Valetini, 9. Ryan Lonergan, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Tom Wright, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Solomone Kata, 15. Tom Banks. Replacements: 16. Connal McInerney, 17. Harry Lloyd, 18. Tom Ross, 19. Tom Hooper, 20. Tom Cusack, 21. Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 22. Bayley Kuenzle, 23. Mack Hansen

Waikato Chiefs squad: 1. Aidan Ross, 2. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 3. Sione Mafileo, 4. Josh Lord, 5. Tupou Vaa'i, 6. Liam Messam, 7. Lachlan Boshier, 8. Luke Jacobson, 9. Brad Weber (c), 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Jonah Lowe, 12. Alex Nankivell, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 14. Bailyn Sullivan, 15. Chase Tiatia. Replacements: 16. Bradley Slater, 17. Ollie Norris, 18. Atu Moli, 19. Zane Kapeli, 20. Pita Gus Sowakula, 21. Xavier Roe, 22. Rameka Poihipi, 23. Kaleb Trask