ACT Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham says David Pocock is the "best in the world at what he does" and can be a match winner for the Wallabies at this year's World Cup on the back of a super return to rugby that has seen him win the Brett Robinson award.
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Larkham also believes Brumbies back Christian Lealiifano is "back to his best" with his boot ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup Test against the All Blacks in Sydney.
Pocock took home a swag of awards from the Brumbies Ball, including the Brett Robinson award as the players' player in a stunning return to Super Rugby after two years out through injury.
The Wallabies openside flanker was also named the best forward and took home the supporter's award.
Lealiifano was named best back in a season where he switched from inside-centre to five-eighth seamlessly following Matt Toomua's ankle problems.
Locks Rory Arnold and Blake Enever won the Shawn Mackay award in their debut seasons, where Arnold was picked in Michael Cheika's 40-man Wallabies squad.
Pocock announced his return to world-class form with eight tries off the Brumbies' lethal rolling maul and he's now shaping as a key cog in the Wallabies' World Cup hopes.
Larkham said Pocock turned the game when he came off the bench against South Africa in his international return two weeks ago and also starred against Argentina last weekend.
The Brumbies coach hopes to have Pocock re-signed for next season in the coming weeks.
Pocock's re-signing has been delayed with the Australian Rugby Union wanting to see how the 27-year-old recovered from two knee reconstructions.
The answer has been an emphatic brilliantly.
"He's had a fantastic season and it started with a really good pre-season, had a bit of a hiccup early on, but finished the season off exceptionally well and carried that on into the Test arena now very successfully," Larkham said.
"We haven't seen a lot of rugby out of him [since he joined the Brumbies in 2013] apart from this year, but this year he has been at the top of his game.
"Very consistent every week and quite a unique skill set, for mine he's the best in the world at what he does, just on the back of his performances this year.
"I think we've seen that [he can be a World Cup match winner] over the last two Test matches.
"He came on against South Africa and turned the game for us there and had a man-of-the-match performance against Argentina.
"He's shown it so far in this Test season, we've got bigger Tests to come, but being the best in the world means you have the ability to change games, particularly in the position he's in."
Lealiifano is in the mix to be part of Cheika's team to take on the All Blacks and is a potential solution to the Wallabies' goal-kicking woes.
Larkham said he finished the Super Rugby season with a kicking percentage of about 80 per cent, which was close to his standout year in 2013 - when he was a match-winner for the Wallabies and Brumbies.
He said Lealiifano's ability to switch from 12 to 10 was a "pretty special feat".
"He was probably criticised for the fact that he wasn't kicking as well as he was two years ago, but his stats will say that he was," Larkham said.
"I think his goal kicking is back to where it was two years ago and I think that certainly makes him very valuable to the Wallabies line-up."
BRUMBIES AWARD WINNERS
Brett Robinson player's player award: David Pocock
Best back: Christian Lealiifano
Best forward: David Pocock
Shawn Mackay most outstanding young talent: Rory Arnold and Blake Enever
Garry Quinlivan Award: Frank Condi
Supporter's award: David Pocock
Community player: Tom Staniforth
