Matt Toomua's try against England was the Wallabies highlight at Twickenham © Getty Images

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Matt Toomua was racing towards a Test debut in 2009. two years after lowering the colours of Kurtley Beale as a teenager, but only now has he finally arrived after overcoming a long and rocky road.

Toomua is set to start his ninth Test, against Italy in Turin on Saturday, after usurping close friend and Brumbies team-mate Christian Leali'ifano at inside centre, but his seemingly meteoric rise in 2013 is testament to hard work and a steely focus after his first taste of national honours ended disastrously four years ago. Toomua, a shining light in the Wallabies' painful 20-13 loss to England at Twickenham, played only 110 seconds of his uncapped midweek Wallabies debut before breaking his jaw in a tackle gone wrong against Cardiff Blues on the 2009 Spring Tour.

"I got a little bit over excited," Toomua says of that tackle. "I rushed out of the line. It may sound stupid but I didn't keep that jersey. I always said to myself I would get a real one. A sign of arrogance or over-confidence? I don't know, but I'm pretty happy I gambled and got another one."

Toomua finally made his Test debut against the All Blacks in August, before losing the No.10 jersey, and he has since taken his chance at No.12 with both hands and worked well beside Quade Cooper. His rib-rattling defence, hard ball-running - shown by his powerful try against England - and booming right boot make him a good foil for Cooper.

Toomua and Cooper were Brisbane schoolboy rivals, and Toomua led Queensland II to the 2006 Australian Schoolboys title when the new Wallabies vice-captain was the Queensland I playmaker. Toomua played opposite Beale in the semi-finals, and he orchestrated a huge upset over NSW I before beating NSW II in the final.

Matt Giteau's return to Canberra from Western Force in 2010, then a series of injuries, hamstrung Toomua, who has spent the past three years struggling for any Super Rugby game time.

"I guess I'm here eventually," he says. "It means more in the end. To actually have a good four years of slugging it out and then getting another crack. It's probably what drives you off field. Because you know what it's like to watch other guys do it."