Brumbies captain Ben Mowen is the ''real deal'' and the Wallabies need him to be their lineout general if they want to beat the British and Irish Lions, ACT coach Jake White says.
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As Mowen prepares to chase his Test dream, White has declared Mowen's importance in the lineout as being on par with South African Victor Matfield.
Mowen will lead the Brumbies into battle against the Wellington Hurricanes on Friday night before he puts his Super Rugby finals ambitions on hold to join the Wallabies' camp next week. He will leave a significant hole in the Brumbies line-up and it will be just the second game he has missed since joining the club last year.
At the top of his list is ''giving absolutely everything'' to help the Brumbies edge closer to an elusive finals berth with victory against the Hurricanes.
Then his attention will turn to pushing his claims to make his Wallabies debut next month, and White says Mowen's role as a lineout expert should make him a certainty in the Test starting XV.
The Wallabies have a powerful forward pack for the three-Test series against the Lions, but boast just two specialist lineout callers - Mowen and NSW skipper Dave Dennis.
''I know what Victor Matfield meant to the Springboks lineout and I can tell you Ben Mowen is as important to the Brumbies - his understanding of it is as good as Victor's,'' he said.
''You have to understand the intricacies of [the lineout]. Ben understands everything in the lineout. He spends hours going through that stuff, he deserves his chance.''
Mowen has become a Super Rugby ironman since linking with the Brumbies last year.
His decision to move to Canberra is one he describes as the best of his career. Since being in the capital he's led a young team to the edge of the finals, renovated a house, celebrated the birth of his first child and is now on the cusp of realising his Wallabies dream.
In the past two seasons, Mowen has missed just 86 minutes of rugby. This season he has played every minute of every game.
But the real turning point came in the off-season with a tailored training regiment.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans told him last year he needed to add power to his lineout skills to become a Test player.
Mowen has since bulked up from 103 kilograms to 110. ''He came to Canberra and was 117 kilograms and as slow as a cart horse. Then he played at 103 last year and wasn't big or strong enough,'' White said. ''Now look at the results, he's got confidence on the field. It's fair enough to probably say it's the best time of his life.''
Mowen credits an ''a la carte'' training program designed by athletic performance director Dean Benton and strength and conditioning coach Gavin Thornley. The 28-year-old had high expectations joining the Brumbies after ''hitting my ceiling'' at the NSW Waratahs at the end of 2011.
But he won't be satisfied until he reaches his Wallabies goal and the Brumbies clinch the title.
''I needed to put myself in a situation where I would have a big reaction and my performances would go to a new level,'' he said.
''I've always wanted to get leg drive in my game and this Brumbies program enables you to have a specific program to get what you want. Dean calls it 'a la carte dining'. The rewards are coming through this year.''