Bullrush: The childhood games that drove Rob Valetini to the Wallabies

He would glance left and right to his brothers and cousins, all trying to pay attention yet still anxiously awaiting the end of the service.

"As soon as church finished, you used to bolt out the door and go straight to the park to start playing bullrush with my little cousins and my brothers," Valetini said.

"Used to play bullrush all the time hey, it was probably my favourite game growing up."

Valetini comes from a family of seven brothers, though two are step-brothers based in Fiji. Even so, being the youngest of five in the household meant he had to grow up quickly.

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The 23-year-old reckons it goes some way towards explaining his rapid ascension through the rugby ranks, which brings the Wallabies' No. 8 to Murrayfield to face Scotland on Monday morning [AEDT].

The Melbourne-born forward signed with the ACT Brumbies as a schoolboy and was quickly rated among the squad's heaviest hitters by those inside club headquarters.

Now he is emerging as one of Australian rugby's most devastating players, powerful with ball in hand and devastating in defence. He is exceptionally quick to reload at breakdowns, and so often breaks into a smile as he bullies a ball-carrier - but it wasn't always that way.

"Growing up, me and my brothers always used to compete against each other. Strength, speed, anything pretty much," Valetini said.

"It probably made me a better rugby player today, just through all the things I used to compete with them in. They were always a couple of years older and I always wanted to be better than them.

"I used to cop it a lot, the fends and whatnot, I used to get shoved quite easily. They used to get under my skin a bit, so I'd try to get back at them, try a cheap shot or something."

Valetini's story is built on a foundation of hard work.

It had to be. His father Manueli Valetini was picked to play for Fiji on a tour of Tonga. He was about to step on the bus before police tapped him on the shoulder and kept him from touring due to his police record.

Valetini and his brothers heard the story on 5am train trips to get to junior rugby games, and again later as they crammed into the family's only car for football on Saturdays.

Valetini's prodigious talent was delivered with a side of hardship. A broken leg meant he missed out on representing the Australian Schoolboys. His first year in Canberra was riddled by hand and ankle injuries, and still he soon forced his way into the Wallabies team.

Then he fell out of favour. Wallabies coach Dave Rennie demanded he lift his work rate and training standards. Home truths had to be delivered by Brumbies mentor Dan McKellar.

So Valetini went to work. He took his game to another level and claimed the prized Brett Robinson Award as the Brumbies' players' player of the year.

He now demands selection in the Wallabies side, at flanker or No. 8, and is seen as a crucial cog in Rennie's machine as the Australians build with a long-term vision of hoisting the World Cup.

"You know on your phone how your memories pop up saying 'one year ago'? That popped up and I had a look back at all the photos and stuff," Valetini said.

"It took me back to last year where I really wasn't putting my hand up for selection and just being happy at where I was. From where I've gone from last year to now, I sort of can't believe it myself. I'm just happy that I'm playing now.

"My work-on was to train better and play better on the weekends and it has paid off. A lot of work behind the scenes for myself, just working on little things. For me it's not wanting to be the same, I'm always trying to get better.

"I can't just be happy with where I am right now, I've still got to get better. From last year [to now], I'm just really happy with how things have gone."

SPRING TOUR

Monday: Scotland v Wallabies at Murrayfield, 1.15am. Broadcast live on Stan Sport.

Wallabies squad: 1. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga'a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Rory Arnold, 5. Izack Rodda, 6. Rob Leota, 7. Michael Hooper (c), 8. Rob Valetini, 9. Nic White, 10. James O'Connor, 11. Jordan Petaia, 12. Hunter Paisami, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Andrew Kellaway. Replacements: 16. Connal McInerney, 17. Angus Bell, 18. Taniela Tupou, 19. Will Skelton, 20. Pete Samu, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Kurtley Beale, 23. Izaia Perese.

Scotland squad: 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. George Turner, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Sam Skinner, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Jamie Ritchie, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Matt Fagerson, 9. Ali Price, 10. Finn Russell, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 12. Sam Johnson, 13. Chris Harris, 14. Darcy Graham, 15. Stuart Hogg (c). Replacements: 16. Ewan Ashman, 17. Jamie Bhatti, 18. Oli Kebble, 19. Jamie Hodgson, 20. Josh Bayliss, 21. George Horne, 22. Adam Hastings, 23. Kyle Steyn.

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