Wallabies cult hero Nick Cummins doesn’t need to look far to find the rugby player he hopes to be: he’s just over on the other wing.

Adam Ashley-Cooper is many things to Australian rugby – dependable backline star, versatile Mr Fix-It and popular team man – but to Cummins he’s an ironman he hopes to emulate.

Cummins marvels at his 29-year-old teammate’s durability, and ability to produce week-in, week-out, in an eight-year international career which has netted 88 Tests.

After signing a two-year contract which will see him through to the 2015 World Cup, the Western Force star wants to take a leaf out of AAC’s book.

“I just think about it, at night … strictly in a professional way,” said Cummins, just turned 26.

“I don’t know how he does it. He puts good shots on, he puts his body in the mix, and at that age.

“I’ve noticed a big change from teenager to now from when you play a game and the soreness levels and how long it takes to recover, and for him, it’s a credit to him.

“He’s a tough bugger.”

Ashley-Cooper has swiftly risen to be the seventh-most capped player in Wallabies history, and his flexibility is highlighted by the fact he’s in the top five for starts at both centre and fullback.

The Waratah is managed through each training week, and again sat out the Wallabies’ training session in Turin on Monday, but never ceases to produce on the paddock.

“He’s just very smart about (his preparation),” Cummins said. “That experience thing comes in and he chooses the time to launch.

“He still does everything required and I’d like to take a lesson from him.

“I even watch him when he’s in the gym to see what little exercises he does to maintain his body.

“I don’t tell him. It would probably freak him out.”