Wallabies contender Len Ikitau stars as ACT Brumbies thrash Western Force in Super Rugby AU

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie is surely looking towards Canberra, where two uncapped Test contenders from the ACT Brumbies are proving almost irresistible for higher honours.

Doubles to Len Ikitau and Andy Muirhead spearheaded the ACT Brumbies to a 42-14 thrashing of the Western Force in front of 7170 at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.

Ikitau, Muirhead and even try-scoring lock Cadeyrn Neville have done almost all they could for a call-up barring ringing Rennie to demand one.

The win lifts the Brumbies back to the top of the Super Rugby AU ladder, clear of the Queensland Reds who have a game in hand against the winless NSW Waratahs on Saturday.

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On Sunday Rennie will name a 40-man squad for a three-day camp at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast. So on Friday we witness something of a changing of the guard.

Emerging star Ikitau scored two tries in the opening half to continue a breakout season in the Brumbies' No. 13 jersey.

It's a jersey that for so long belonged to Tevita Kuridrani. But as the rising star had a night to remember, the Force outside centre had one to forget.

Kuridrani was given a yellow card in the 19th minute to leave his side a man down. To that point they had defended stoically against a side which has been near impossible to stop at times this year.

Within moments Ikitau went over virtually untouched with the Force struggling to cover an overlap. Before long he had his second when Irae Simone looked long and played short to put the Wallabies prospect over the line again.

Then it was Muirhead, a dashing winger who was the best back in the competition last year that didn't feature in the Wallabies squad. His performances this year have been sublime as the former courier puts himself in the frame for a call-up against France should the series go ahead.

Reds flyer Suliasi Vunivalu casts a large shadow on the wing but Muirhead's form has been irresistible. The Wallabies must find out if he can take it to the next level.

"He's a good footballer, we have full confidence in Lenny. We obviously lost a great Brumby in Tev, but Lenny was ready to go," Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said.

"He has been in our program for a number of years, he came down to play 20s for us. 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.

"You'd love to see someone like Muirhead eventually get rewarded at that level because he has just been knocking on the door for a long time. 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.

"You'd love to see Andy get rewarded, but Dave knows what he is doing and he'll pick the 40 that he thinks are best for the job at the moment."

Kuridrani's return to the fray could do little to stop the bleeding. The Force were dealt an early blow when flyhalf Jake McIntyre limped from the field with what looked to be a hamstring injury in the ninth minute.

In his place came Jono Lance for his first minutes since round one. Then Santiago Medrano was injected into the contest when tighthead prop Greg Holmes came from the field.

The Brumbies took a 28-point advantage into the break on the back of 67 per cent of possession, 84 per cent of territory and 210 running metres to 38. They beat 19 defenders, the Force beat none.

Tim Sampson's outfit would break the line in the second half through Henry Taefu and Ian Prior, but the damage was done. Instead it was a night to celebrate for Brumbies debutants Rory Scott, Fred Kaihea and Sefo Kautai.

Though McKellar may have a fresh injury headache with flanker Jahrome Brown coming off in the second half with his arm wrapped in his jersey.

"Obviously in a fair bit of pain there. Shoulders are funny ones, it could be minor and all of a sudden there is surgery required or there is a fair amount of pain and you're out for a couple of weeks," McKellar said.

"We'll see. I'll talk to the doc and the physios and see where he's at, but he didn't look comfortable."

Tom Wright, Bayley Kuenzle and Solomone Kata could return to the fray as the Brumbies hit the road to round out the regular season with games in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne with an eye on securing a home final.

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby AU round six: ACT BRUMBIES 42 (Len Ikitau 2, Andy Muirhead 2, Cadeyrn Neville, Lachlan Lonergan tries; Noah Lolesio 5 conversions) bt WESTERN FORCE 14 (Henry Taefu, Ian Prior tries; Prior 2 conversions) at Canberra Stadium. Crowd: 7170.