'One of the top players in the world': Sevens want Brumby back for Olympics

Toole will have a keen eye on Perth this week after John Manenti's side kicked off an Olympic year with the Australian leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series.

The Brumbies winger is preparing for another Super Rugby season but Manenti is leaving the door ajar for Toole's sevens return, adamant he could be one of the best players in the world if he returns to the short format.

Toole won the Australian sevens men's player of the year award before last season's breakout Super Rugby campaign with the Brumbies put him on the Wallabies selection radar.

His first year on the sevens circuit is regarded as one of the best debut seasons in the format's history. Toole claimed the world series' impact player and rookie of the year awards, earned selection in the team of the year, and represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games and sevens World Cup.

The 23-year-old would be a major coup for Australia's sevens program at the Paris Olympics - but he could be at the centre of a tug-of-war between sevens and the Wallabies.

The Wallabies will play a Test series against Wales in July before their Rugby Championship campaign begins in August. The rugby sevens tournaments at the Paris Olympics are scheduled to run from July 24-30.

"Corey's obviously a no-brainer. He was the player of the year when he played two years ago in his debut season. He didn't even really know the game yet, he was still learning the game," Manenti said.

"He would definitely be one of the top two or three players in the world if we get an opportunity to see him again. He's probably got his eyes focused on the Wallabies as well, with a new Wallabies coach we'll see how those things pan out."

Toole is entering the second season of a two-year deal with the Brumbies and the club is keen to lock him into a long-term deal.

But there is precedent for a Brumby balancing Super Rugby ambitions with a sevens campaign after Tom Cusack signed a dual-contract in 2019.

Manenti says Toole isn't the only Super Rugby star who could make the transition, floating NRL-bound speedster Mark Naqawanitawase as another contender.

"Corey's an obvious one. There's multiple guys now around the franchises that have come through sevens pathways and had experience with us. It wouldn't be a huge transition to bring them back," Manenti said.

"Obviously there's Dylan Pietsch at the Waratahs, Lachie Anderson, Darby Lancaster, who is at the Rebels, is with us this week. There's quite a few players that have had experience, 'Marky Mark' [Naqawanitawase].

"We want them to have to earn that right. We're pushing forward with the crew we've got, we're improving, and we're making progress to where we want to be.

"Our real focus here is to push forward, have another good tournament. Obviously the end game is Paris and being well set-up for that. There's no denying at some stage we want to win some tournaments before we get to Paris, and we'd like to do it here at home, but primarily we're looking at continuing to improve our performance."