VIDEO: Wallaby star needs to shed his Rugby League roots
SPOTLIGHT: Len Ikitau wants to see his superstar Wallaby centre partner Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii shed his Rugby League roots and demand more of the ball in the second Test against the British and Irish Lions.
The Australians tackle the tourists on Saturday at the MCG in a must-win encounter after the Lions continued their unbeaten tour with a 27-19 victory in the opening Test in Brisbane.
A criticism of the Wallabies post-match was that they didn’t get their AUS$5 million-dollar man Suaalii involved enough, which was particularly evident in the first half with the hosts trailing 5-17 at the break.
The powerful NRL convert made more of an impact in the second half as the Wallabies closed the margin, and he was unlucky to be denied a try after surging to the line.
Ikitau said that his advice to former Sydney Roosters gun Suaalii would be that they needed to hunt the ball to ensure they were more involved.
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“It’s more on myself and Joseph, we need to go looking for the ball, we can’t sit on the edge and expect the ball will come because sometimes the way the game is played it doesn’t really get to an edge,” Ikitau said.
“So just being able to roam around – it’s not Rugby League – he doesn’t have to stay on the left side, he can roam around and get into the ruck or close to the ruck if he has to get a touch and be in the game.”
There have been calls to move Suaalii to fullback or the wing, to give him more time and space, but Ikitau said his 21-year-old teammate was a “freak of an athlete” who could handle any backline role.
“If he’s on the field, that’s the best thing for us, just somewhere on the field and if he’s playing 13, if he’s playing on the wing, fullback, I know that he’s just a freak of an athlete and he can step up to the occasion and just play his footy,” Ikitau said.
Brumbies star Ikitau is also out of position, playing at outside centre through the Super Rugby Pacific season, but he said the number on his back didn’t change his game.
He did feel an obligation to support “young buck” Tom Lynagh, after the young flyhalf was targeted by the Lions in the first Test.
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“I feel like I need to help Tommy – obviously Tommy’s only played a handful of games for the Wallabies, so just making sure that he’s got someone that he can rely on and be comfortable with,” the 26-year-old said.
“It’s just giving Tommy the confidence to play his game and just backing him.
“We’ve got to back the young buck and let him play his game.”
Wet weather is forecast in Melbourne through the week, including game day, which might dampen their attacking ambitions.
For Ikitau, it’s simple. They needed to take their chances.
“We knew there were opportunities with their line speed and how they want to kind of attack us in defence, but I think just being able to pull the trigger when the opportunity comes and just being able to back our ability to pull the trigger.
“A few times, I think we were just conservative and held the ball where there’s opportunities out wide.”
