George Smith is happy enough to play a big brother role but says ''Cyclone'' Tyrone Smith is well capable of fending for himself after answering an SOS call from Wallabies coach Robbie Deans to join his injury-hit spring tour squad.
The ACT Brumbies centre was dubbed Cyclone Tyrone after capping a whirlwind month with a dash to the airport last week to make his flight to Tokyo, where the Wallabies lost 32-19 to the All Blacks.
Smith barely had enough time to unpack after honeymooning in the United States mainland and Hawaii with his wife Kristin before a call from Wallabies team manager Phil Thomson said he had four hours to gather his passport, boots and winter woollies and hop on another flight out of Australia.
''This is one of my goals so I'm looking forward to getting out there and trying my best,'' Smith said.
A midfield force to be reckoned with, Smith could have easily earned the nickname for the barnstorming way he plays.
George Smith, Australia's most-capped forward with 105 Tests under his belt, said his younger brother had rare qualities.
''You've seen through the Super 14 he's very good on his feet, he's quite strong in contact and he does a bit of work at the breakdown as well,'' he said.
''So, attacking-wise, he's a lot better than what I could ever be and he's also got a good defensive background from a couple of seasons in rugby league.
''So I'm very proud to have him here and it's a good opportunity that Tyrone has and I'm sure he'll be working very hard in the next few weeks to play some football in the midweek games and train and learn as much as he can.''
Tyrone will get his first chance to impress Deans in Australia's second-string team's match tomorrow morning against English club Gloucester.
Joining him in the starting line-up will be uncapped Brumbies Mitch Chapman and Salesi Ma'afu, while another Brumbies emergency call-up, Matt Toomua, has been named on the bench with Mark Chisholm.
As it is not a Test, players will have to wait to earn their first caps. But with centres dropping like flies, Smith could end up in the Test side by the end of the tour.
A strong performance by Smith against Gloucester could see an all-Brumbies midfield of Smith, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Matt Giteau used somewhere on the tour.
AAP