![Ben O'Donnell has become a cult hero since arriving at the Brumbies. Picture by Keegan Carroll Ben O'Donnell has become a cult hero since arriving at the Brumbies. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/36vwtM5n3dmMVgNPycRBEHz/679599af-d507-49c0-a231-e5877bede3af.jpg/r0_119_5343_3135_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Stephen Larkham has some of Super Rugby's most lethal strike weapons competing for a jersey but the ACT Brumbies' speed demons will be singing from the same hymn sheet to stop the Hurricanes.
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Corey Toole's return means he will be competing with Ben O'Donnell - who scored a hat-trick in his absence - and Andy Muirhead for a starting spot in Wellington on Friday night.
Toole has made a stellar transition from the world sevens circuit, while O'Donnell is turning heads after admitting even he wasn't sure where he stood in the 15-man code after he "disappeared off the scene" for some time.
"I didn't get that many games when I was over in Ireland, so I didn't really get to see how my game had changed over there," O'Donnell said.
"The consistency of playing here, I've been able to get a few more minutes and I'm feeling a little bit more confident out there on the field."
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It shows.
The 27-year-old with the unmistakeable mullet has quickly developed into a cult hero in Canberra after leaving Connacht, where he spent three seasons after a four-year stint on the sevens circuit.
Virtually every touch has Brumbies fans on the edge of their seats - and a hat-trick against the Fijian Drua, which may well have been four tries if not for the intervention of the television match official, suggests that's for good reason.
"He's been good, hasn't he? He's a special talent. I feel he's very rugby savvy, he's got very good coordination, he knows where to be, he's tough through contact, and a really good finisher," Larkham said.
"We're lucky. He disappeared off the scene a little bit, out of the sevens program he went over to Ireland with Connacht but didn't get a lot of game time over there, a bit of injury and a bit hard to select him when the other guys over there are playing well.
"He's got his opportunity now. That was special [against the Drua]."
So special that Larkham now has to contend with a selection headache as Toole returns to the fray after suffering a concussion in a sickening collision with Queensland's Angus Blyth, who was slapped with a three-game ban as a result.
Toole has been so impressive in his transition to Super Rugby that Wallabies coach Eddie Jones called him before unveiling his first squad of the year with an eye on the World Cup.
The door is open for the former sevens speedster to break into Jones' Wallabies squad later this year, while Muirhead has been in the mix for Australian squads in recent years.
Larkham will need all three options to be on song when the Brumbies head to Wellington for a top-four showdown.
"It's always a good night if you get over, but more importantly getting the win there, especially at the end of our first block of the season before getting a week off," O'Donnell said.
"We go again against one of the competition leaders, the Hurricanes. It's huge, especially in Wellington. It's a tough ground to play at historically. We'll be all in on the Hurricanes.
"The guys coming off the bench have boosted us for the past couple of weeks and they've done it week in, week out, which is unreal. To see the depth in the squad is really good.
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