Super Rugby: Giant Brumbies lock Rory Arnold started at Murwillumbah

HUMAN skyscraper Rory Arnold is the biggest catch in Super Rugby at 2.08m yet the ACT Brumbies lock is not even the largest in his family.

****** DONT USE without permission of Daily Tele sports editor Adam Mobbs ***** Brumbies halfback Nic White with New Brumbies lock Rory Arnold, tallest player in Super Rugby at 208cm. At Brumbies Headquarters in Canberra.

HUMAN skyscraper Rory Arnold is the biggest catch in Super Rugby at 2.08m yet the ACT Brumbies lock is not even the largest in his family.

When Arnold takes on the Reds at Suncorp Stadium tomorrow night, former Wallaby Garrick Morgan will lament that Arnold’s big break never came in Queensland.

There is a remarkable second chance possibility.

Arnold has an identical twin. Sugar mill rigger Richard, 24, is 7kg heavier at 127kg, just as tall and set to launch his own club rugby career with Bond University on the Gold Coast later this month.

When the towering brothers landed at the Gentlemen of Murwillumbah Rugby Club in 2011 they trained for a month in bare feet until specially made size 16 boots arrived.

Rory Arnold has gone from the Bananas in third grade fun footy to the Brumbies engine room in just four years.

The fact the Brumbies have such a well-drilled, experienced pack has meant they’ve been able to gamble on the raw giant for all his plusses and work on his shortcomings.

“Everything has been new but the speed of Super Rugby and the structure, with the roles everyone plays, are the big differences,” Arnold said.

“Being a bit more physical, hitting rucks, aggressive carries, getting my set-piece stuff spot on, a presence round the field ... there’s a lot to keep working on”

Barging over for his first Brumbies try a week ago against the Western Force and a deft pass on the blindside in the Joe Tomane try showed how much skill he has already.

“I owe a lot to my old coach (Phil Lees) at Murwillumbah for pushing me to think bigger and better about my rugby,” Arnold said.

Arnold’s move to the Gold Coast Breakers in 2013 was the catalyst for coaches Morgan and Rob Nowlan to push him zealously for his NSW-Queensland Country chance against the British and Irish Lions.

A stint in South Africa and shoulder surgery interrupted his Queensland-bound trajectory while brother Richard was off the radar with a shoulder reconstruction of his own and a broken ankle.

Then-Brumbies coach Jake White and a South African player agent steered Rory to Canberra where he has grabbed his break.

“Proud. Rory was playing bloody thirds with me a few years back so, for sure, it’s inspiring me to work, stay healthy and have a crack at my rugby,” Richard said.

Lees believes an Arnold can still create tremors in Queensland rugby.

“When I say Rory and Richie are identical, I mean athletic ability, co-ordination, ball-handling and size, mate,” Lees said.

Originally published as Super Rugby: Giant Brumbies lock Rory Arnold started at Murwillumbah