QUEENSLAND front rower Rodney Blake has emerged as a shock contender to start at loose-head prop for Australia this season.
Blake has impressed at tight head for the battling Reds during the Super 14, but Test coach John Connolly has his eyes on the hard-working 130kg bulldozer for the No.1 jersey because of his extra size.
The Tonga-born 22 year old has twice shifted to the other side of the scrum without problem this season, including in the gutsy 23-17 over the Cats in Johannesburg last weekend.
Connolly noted that Blake was well and truly in the mix for selection, on a day when pundits speculated the former Reds coach's first Test team would be devoid of Queenslanders.
"We were interested to watch him play loose head last week," Connolly said.
"But where Queensland are going to play him is a problem.
"It's up to Queensland where they play him, but we were very interested in watching him play loose head."
Connolly, wanting a bigger pack to turn around Australia's set-piece problems, is understood to be viewing Blake as his possible loose-head specialist due to the lack of large options for the No.1 jersey Bill Young has owned since 2002.
New South Wales prop Al Baxter (116kg) has recovered well from the Twickenham disaster against England to be the form tight head with Blake, while Western Force prop David Fitter (119kg) is also seen as a strong scrummager.
Connolly has spoken to the Queensland forwards coach, his former assistant, Alex Evans, about the prospect of giving Blake more time at loose head ahead of Greg Holmes.
But the Reds are reluctant to tamper with their front row for Saturday night's match against the monster Bulls pack that demolished Queensland in the scrums last year.
The Bulls have again signalled their intentions to take on the Reds in the scrum after the 2005 rout in Pretoria
"We certainly haven't forgotten about that," Reds hooker Sean Hardman said.
"It's a real focus for us this week that it gets dusted and forgotten about." Reds coach Jeff Miller meanwhile urged Connolly to introduce Blake to Test rugby when the international season kicks off against England on June 11.
"I don't know how you could go past a guy like him at the moment," Miller said.
"Australian rugby has been searching for front rowers who can not only scrum but also have a substantial work rate around the field, and he's one of those guys.
"He's consistently been one of our best.
"He's averaging about 10-11 tackles a game. He's getting his hands on the ball and running the ball four-five times and proving a menace, and this is all while carrying an injury."
