Pete Samu says he's ready to fill the huge void left by David Pocock, should the Wallabies back-rower fail to recover from a neck injury in time to face England on Saturday.
Pocock went through some light training and lineout drills on Tuesday but was not involved in any contact work as his teammates were put through their paces ahead of the Twickenham showdown (Sunday 0200 AEDT).
Melbourne-born Samu, who won a Super Rugby Championship with the Crusaders last year, will join the Brumbies for the 2019 campaign.
Pocock left the field just after half-time against Italy last Saturday, and Wallabies officials have remained tight-lipped on his recovery progress.
But Samu hit back at England coach Eddie Jones who said on Monday that Pocock's injury is simply a bluff from Australia.
"Eddie (Jones) probably thinks it's mind games from us, but if he's not right, he's not right," said Samu.
"I'm ready for the challenge I feel if it comes to that.
"I think the coaches and staff will give Poey every opportunity to be right for the game so if it comes to that then I'll be good to go, ready to fill in that role."
The quietly-spoken Samu is on his first spring tour, but spent time playing amateur rugby for St Ives in Cornwall as a teenager.
"In my junior footy in Melbourne, my coach was from England and he hooked me up with a team over here," he said.
"He asked me if I was keen to head over. I was straight out of school and wasn't doing anything so I thought why not give it a crack."
Cornwall is one of England's most popular holiday resorts, boasts some fantastic beaches and one of Europe's best surfing spots in Newquay.
However, Samu said the weather during his spell was nothing like what was pictured in the local tourism brochure.
"I spent most of my time in St Ives. The only time I got out was for travelling to away games," he said.
"They have got very nice beaches in St Ives. I was only there for winter but they said summer was good. I just didn't get to see it.
"It was definitely a good experience ... I did a whole season.
"There was a game we were meant to be playing and it started snowing and I thought the game was going to get cancelled so I didn't get changed.
"Then the boys came up to me and asked me what I was doing and I said 'oh it's snowing'.
"They were like well we will be out warming up in five minutes and I was like 'oh f***' and got changed."
