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'He's been knocking on the door for a long time' - Andy Muirhead continues to make his case for Wallabies call-up
By AAP
Brumbies winger Andy Muirhead has reinforced his case for a first Wallabies call-up with another impressive performance in his team's emphatic Super Rugby AU win over the Western Force.
Muirhead has been one of the Brumbies' most consistent performers in recent seasons and bagged a try in each half at GIO Stadium as the home side romped to a 42-14 victory on Friday night.
With his wing teammate Tom Wright out with bone bruising to his knee, there's room for 28-year-old Muirhead to earn his first selection when the Wallabies training squad is named on Sunday.
A squad of 40 players will attend a three-day camp on the Gold Coast next month as Wallabies coach Dave Rennie starts preparations for the three-Test series in July against France.
Former Wallaby Morgan Turinui, now a commentator, has been plumping for Muirhead's inclusion saying the statistics speak for itself.
The diminutive Muirhead is second in the competition behind star Test winger Marika Koroibete for defenders beaten.
Brumbies coach Dan McKellar thought Muirhead deserved a chance.
"You'd love to see someone like Muirhead eventually get rewarded at that level because he's been knocking on the door for a long time," McKellar said.
"It's not a fluke - he consistently manages to find space and he just comes up with those special effort areas that others don't."
Canberra centre Len Ikitau, who was part of the Wallabies squad last year but didn't play a Test, also collected two tries in the opening half to continue his stellar start to the season.
"He's a good footballer, we have full confidence in Lenny," McKellar said.
"He has developed nicely, he has got a lot of confidence now, he is finding a lot of voice within the team.
"He's a defensive leader and as we can see he has got plenty to offer in attack."
The only sour note for the Wallabies was the shoulder injury that forced off flanker Jahrome Brown.
McKellar said it wasn't yet clear how serious the injury was.
"Obviously in a fair bit of pain there ... I'll talk to the doc and the physios and see where he's at but he didn't look comfortable."
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Latest Comments
I guess the other option would be to start ALB, he's looked good in the 12 so far when he starts and sets up those outside him. But that would mean putting the vice captain on the bench, which is unlikely. Another option would be to drop Reiko to the bench and play Proctor, though he's gone home so that's not going to happen either.
Both of those players just offer more of the soft distribution skills good centres learn from playing their careers there. Unfortunately that's what's lacking with the current combo.
Go to commentsWhatever let's see if this load of waffle is still valid in 2 years time. ABs will rise we have a lot of new talent coming through. The NPC was the highest standard for years. The game is changing to suit the fast pace we like to play. We get to play the Springboks more, including the franchises, which will make us better! Overall I am optimistic. I will add having watched the England game multiple times we made most of the play. England are an awesome physical team, but you can expect the All Blacks to get better and better at executing the chances. It could easily have been 5 tries to one instead of 3 to 1.
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