He might be down the other end of the field at ACT Brumbies headquarters or zooming around the park at a rate of knots while loading tackle bags into the bag of a buggy, but it's still pretty easy to spot his 128 kilogram frame.

Then he gets closer. His quads are the size of tree trunks and his hand swallows yours as he stops to say hello. Put simply, the Brumbies tighthead prop is a beast.

But the craziest thing? There's barely an ounce of fat on him. Kautai is so meticulous about his diet he "borderline weighs his food".

"You won't see a carb. There's certainly no sweets or soft drinks around that man," Brumbies captain and scrumhalf Nic White said.

MORE RUGBY UNION

This is all part of the sacrifice Kautai has had to make to ignite his Super Rugby career. It's the reason Brumbies coach Dan McKellar has backed him to fill the void left by injured skipper Allan Alaalatoa in the front-row.

Kautai's next assignment comes against the Wellington Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium on Sunday. On the park it is one of his toughest tests, but it pales in comparison to what he's been through off it.

The hulking 25-year-old's nightmare run with injuries threatened to derail his Super Rugby ambitions before they really left the ground.

Now Kautai is determined to make the most of what could be his last chance starting in place of Alaalatoa, who is targeting a return from a neck injury next week.

"I'm pretty excited. I always look forward to playing the Kiwi sides," Kautai said.

"I had a bit of a setback in pre-season, I had surgery on the knee, a bit of a cleanout. But for how far I've come mate, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at now and with the minutes I've had.

"It's been good to get a bit of game time. I'm just doing my best to pull my weight, add value to the team and to fulfill skip's job. He's been helping me, directing me to areas I need to be at around the field, whether it's set piece or anything like that."

Kautai arrived in Canberra midway through last year after answering an SOS for a Brumbies outfit whose front-row stocks had been depleted.

He did enough to earn a one-year deal for this season, and there is a growing sentiment the Brumbies could look to lock him in beyond 2022 as he emerges as one of the most underrated props in the competition.

"He's phenomenal. You could see right from the get go last year that he was going to be pretty handy, it was just about getting his body right," White said.

"He is honestly one of the most professional guys in here. He spends a lot of time doing all the little things right like recovery, stretching, treatment. He eats so well, he borderline weighs his food.

"It's good to see all those little sacrifices, as well as the big one of moving away from home and coming all the way to Canberra, resulting in him getting some good minutes and performing really well. We're lucky they plucked him out of Waikato.

"From training with him, everyone knew he was going to be really good, especially around the park. He brings that different dimension for us, he is very rugby smart around the contact areas. Being a Kiwi, they're pretty street smart around there.

"He's powerful, very good through contact, giving us a solid set piece to attack from. Everyone knew he was going to be good, it was just a matter of getting his body right so he could unleash."

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ROUND 11

Sunday: ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium, 2pm. Tickets from Ticketek. Broadcast on Stan Sport.

Brumbies team: 1. Scott Sio, 2. Lachlan Lonergan, 3. Sefo Kautai, 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Jahrome Brown, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Nic White (c), 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright. 15. Tom Banks. Reserves: 16. Folau Fainga'a, 17. James Slipper, 18. Tom Ross, 19. Tom Hooper, 20. Luke Reimer, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Hudson Creighton, 23. Ollie Sapsford.

Hurricanes team: 1. Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2. James O'Reilly, 3. Tyrel Lomax, 4. James Blackwell, 5. Justin Sangster, 6. Te Kamaka Howden, 7. Blake Gibson, 8. Ardie Savea (c), 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Jackson Garden-Bachop, 11. Salesi Rayasi, 12. Peter Umaga-Jensen, 13. Bailyn Sullivan, 14. Julian Savea, 15. Jordie Barrett. Reserves: 16. Kianu Kereru-Symes, 17. Xavier Numia, 18. Tevita Mafileo, 19. Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20. Caleb Delany, 21. Jamie Booth, 22. Aidan Morgan, 23. Billy Proctor.

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