‘He’s saved a couple of boys’ careers’: Ikitau ready to repay Schmidt

Dublin: Talented centre Len Ikitau says it’s time for the Wallabies to repay the faith coach Joe Schmidt has shown in the squad ahead of Australia’s penultimate Test of the year against Ireland in Dublin.

Ikitau was unavailable against England due to playing commitments with Exeter and was left out of the squad last weekend against Italy when Schmidt selected Hunter Paisami and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in the centres.

Ikitau, the winner of the John Eales Medal, said he understood why he was not selected but is ready to take on Ireland in Dublin on Sunday morning (7.10am AEDT).

“It was my first week back in, so I didn’t think Joe wanted me to play [against Italy]. So [it’s] obviously disappointing, but I think just the week of training [in Italy] and training this week, I should be up for selection,” he said.

The 27-year-old has developed into one of the best centres in the game under Schmidt, having been left out of the 2023 World Cup by Eddie Jones.

“Joe’s been massive for us. Honestly, a lot of the boys in this group went to a World Cup and some boys didn’t get to go to the World Cup,” he said.

“I think he’s kind of saved a couple of boys’ [Test] careers, so I think all we want to do is give back to Joe and what better way to do that than putting a good performance on Saturday.”

Among the Wallabies squad on tour, 12 players made their Test debuts under Schmidt. Ikitau has played 20 of his 48 Tests under the New Zealander.

“When he [Schmidt] first came in, he had a chat with my manager and he said that I wasn’t in the [Wallabies] squad and that was the honest feedback that I got, and I think it helped me to push that extra mile,” Ikitau said.

“So just having those honest conversations with him have been good. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had, and I think we’re going to miss him when he leaves.”

The Wallabies had a light run on Monday in Dublin, but on Tuesday arrived at training in pouring rain. Ikitau said it was one of “the best sessions” the team has had this year despite the conditions.

Veteran James O’Connor is available for selection after joining the squad over the weekend ahead of the final two Tests of the year. Ikitau believes the 35-year-old has already left his mark on the tourists.

“It does help having Rabs [O’Connor] back into the squad, our older head, who’s very experienced, steering the boys around and obviously helping Tane [Edmed] along the way, which has been good,” Ikitau said.

The Wallabies will be out to fix their attacking game in Dublin having failed to break open the Italian and English defence.

“I think the last two games our ball’s been really slow at the breakdowns,” assistant coach Tom Donnelly said.

“We just have to try and create quicker ball. And we do that by our ball carrier being really accurate with his detail and then our speed to clean [out the ruck], to identify threats and get rid of them.

“If we can get quicker ball, all of a sudden we’ll be able to play with more space.”

Wingers Max Jorgensen and Dylan Pietsch both trained with the squad in Dublin on Tuesday and are available for selection against Ireland after missing the Italy defeat due to illness. Five-eighth Carter Gordon and prop Angus Bell also trained after nursing shoulder and quad niggles, respectively.

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