'Toole is next level': Brumbies unleash speedster in search of bonus points

Now the human highlight reel is back on the Super Rugby scene with Corey Toole's arrival set to put the ACT Brumbies' rivals - and perhaps Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt - on high alert.

Toole had already scored seven tries before the Brumbies winger's season was halted by a high ankle sprain. Now he has a chance to build on that figure when he returns against the Melbourne Rebels at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham is relishing the chance to unleash Toole - one of the fastest players in Super Rugby who is on the Australian sevens team's radar for the Paris Olympics, unless the Wallabies take him first - as the ACT go chasing bonus points to aid their top two hopes.

"If you look at our game on the weekend, I thought there were some pretty good highlights packages you could take out of that," Larkham said.

"The outside backs really stood out; Andy Muirhead, Ollie Sapsford, Ben O'Donnell when he came on, and Tom Wright had one of his best games. Selection was tough this week, they're all playing exceptionally well, but 'Tooley' is that next level.

"You put him in a little bit of space and he is one of those players who can certainly finish. He is probably regarded as one of the quickest in Super Rugby, and the boys love playing with him, just because he's got that X-factor, and the X-factor he has is speed, genuine speed.

"He was on the verge of coming back last week and we probably could have picked him. We gave him that extra week to recover and he has trained well this week."

Toole is one of two additions to the Brumbies side with hooker Billy Pollard set to battle through a knee injury.

"Billy has got a bit of a grumbly knee at the moment," Larkham said. "We bring him back in this week and expect him to play with a little bit of pain through that knee but he's very keen to get back out there, for sure."

Because the Brumbies are two weeks away from hosting a quarter-final at Canberra Stadium on June 8 - and if things go their way, they could be back at home again a week later.

But Larkham is under no illusions as to how tough it will be to secure a top-two finish given the Brumbies are four points off the Hurricanes in second, and seven behind the ladder-leading Blues.

The Blues face the 10th-placed Crusaders and fourth-ranked Chiefs in the final two rounds, while the Hurricanes play the Chiefs and the seventh-placed Highlanders.

The Brumbies will go hunting for a bonus point win against Melbourne, but Larkham is wary of a Rebels outfit with a point to prove amid lingering uncertainty over their future.

"From our perspective, we need a little bit of luck now," Larkham said.

"We're sitting third and the top two teams, the Blues and the Hurricanes, do have some challenging games coming up. Those results are out of our control. The only thing we can do is try and get a performance on the weekend.

"If we can get five points out of a game, that's the scenario we're likely going to need if we're going to get a top-two finish.

"There is certainly something to play for [for the Rebels], and we know that's going to be a challenge for us in terms of the physical encounter they're going to bring. Equally, we've spoken a lot about a top-two finish, and without a win this weekend, we have no chance."