Pocock took the first steps on Friday in his comeback from two knee reconstructions, playing 60 minutes and scoring a try in the ACT Brumbies' 31-21 loss to the Western Force.

Despite playing just five games in the past two seasons, Pocock wants to add a new dimension to his game by fine-tuning his attack while maintaining his fierce competition at the breakdown.

"I've been working on handling and attack stuff with [Larkham] and there's no one better in the world to do it with," Pocock said.

"I've really enjoyed that. Doing a full pre-season, I've had more time than usual to do that. Hopefully it pays off and I get a bit more opportunity but the focus has just been getting back out there. I loved it.

"I was really excited to be back out there. Personally it's been a long time out and it's always good to get that first one out of the way. You don't expect to be back to your best in your first hitout. I was just happy to get through it and be back out there playing with the team."

Pocock's comeback was a good sign for Australian rugby and the Brumbies but the Super Rugby team was dealt a blow with news that dangerous outside back Nigel Ah Wong broke his arm in the pre-season contest.

Ah Wong had surgery to insert a plate in his arm in Perth on Saturday and he is expected to miss at least the first five weeks of the Super Rugby season.

Ah Wong's injury added a dampener to the 10-point loss, with Larkham rotating 30 players on to the field to get a gauge of where his squad is at less than a month before round one.

"We had a mix throughout the game ... our maul and scrum were superb and that was pleasing," Larkham said.

"We didn't have a lot of opportunities, we made mistakes, turned the ball over and they capitalised on our mistakes. We were guilty of chasing the game a bit.

"The result in the first hitout is something we weren't concerned about. We wanted to get into the game."

Rookie James Dargaville looms as a likely inclusion on the bench for the opening round after making a good impression with his first Brumbies appearance.

Players have one more pre-season fixture to impress when they play against the Otago Highlanders in Wagga this weekend.

Larkham is still looking for a second-rower to stand tall and partner Wallaby Sam Carter and competition in the front row is fierce.

Pocock will start at openside flanker in the start of his battle with incumbent Wallabies captain Michael Hooper for a World Cup starting spot.

"Poey was hard on the ball, very controlled in attack ... he was very good," Larkham said.

AT A GLANCE

WESTERN FORCE 31 (Luke Morahan, Chris Alcock, Marcel Brache, Mitchell Scott, Wilhelm Steenkamp tries; Zack Holmes 2, Sias Ebersohn 1 conversions) bt ACT BRUMBIES 21 (David Pocock, Christian Lealiifano, Sean Doyle tries; Rodney Iona 2, Nic White conversions)