mens
international
Wallabies coach Les Kiss has provided a brief update on center Len Ikitau, who injured his ankle during the 42-38 win over the Springboks. Ikitau scored two tries before pulling away on the eve of the “bizarre” end of the Test.
Ikitau scored two tries in three minutes, stealing the show during a first half that ended with the Wallabies leading 24-17. Ryan Lonergan added to the home side’s advantage with a couple of penalty goals after the break, only for Ikitau to exit the contest moments later.
Reigning medalist John Eales was replaced by NSW Waratahs winger Harry Potter, which saw Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii move into midfield. Harry Wilson and Max Jorgensen added more points to the team’s tally as the Wallabies led by as many as 25 with less than 15 to play.
But Wilson, Lonergan, Suaalii and Hunter Paisami were all booked late on as the Springboks battled their way back. It was a four-point ball game, time almost running out, and the Wallabies did enough to hang on.
Wallabies players, staff and fans celebrated passionately after the game, but the Ikitau update remained a key talking point ahead of the two Bledisloe Cup Tests. “It’s just the ankle,” Kiss told reporters, although the extent of the injury is unknown at the time of writing.
“We don’t know anything other than we’ve got to be very careful with it now and see where it is,” Kiss said.
Ikitau is under an injury cloud and the Wallabies have dealt another blow to their center pair. Huner Paisami is cited for the incident in 76th minutes, and SANZAAR released a disciplinary report on Monday morning.
SANZAAR will share another update on Wednesday, September 30.
Suaalii looms as a potential candidate to line up in midfield against the team All black people next month, with the back-up having almost exclusively started in that role at Test level – having come off the bench twice and now starting once on the wing.
The 23-year-old set the tone against the Springboks by rising high to claim the first kick, only to be penalized after coming onto the field. But the reaction to Suaalii’s performance has been quite positive, with the Wallaby linking up well with Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright.
“Joe did his thing, didn’t he? And then we moved him to 13, which is a great thing that we’re trying to work on and being able to adjust our positions in certain ways and get some depth in our combinations,” Kiss explained.
“It was a back three, it wasn’t just ‘Su’. I thought Wright, I think that’s his best game that he’s had for four or five games, and he’s been imperious at times.”
“Jorgo is Jorgo. That boy only knows one way to set his mindset. Nothing seems to faze the boy and the quality to go through and finish that try is pretty special tonight.”