He appeared to be baited into a yellow card by the All Blacks in their last clash but Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper says he’s not worried about Tolu Latu losing his cool again in Perth.
Latu has been called into the starting side to take on the Kiwis in the opening Bledisloe Cup clash in Perth and the fiery hooker's discipline will be under as much scrutiny as his set-piece work and general play.
In the last clash with the All Blacks in Yokohama in October last year, Latu was sin-binned after reacting to rival hooker Codie Taylor pushing him in the chest after a scrum win.
Latu shoved Taylor back in the face, which saw the NSW hooker sin-binned and New Zealand scored soon after to seal a 37-20 win
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen labelled Latu's reaction as “dumb” post-game.
It was likely the All Blacks deliberately baited Latu into the brain-snap given his problems with discipline in the past, which had also seen the hooker yellow carded for punching Argentinian second rower Santiago Garcia Botta in the preceding Test match.
Given yellow cards are so damaging to a team, particularly playing against the All Blacks, there is always concern about the red mist affecting Latu's judgement but Hooper said he’s content that Latu has learned from the past, and grown.
Asked if he was concerned the All Blacks could bait Latu, Hooper said: "I don’t know if they are going to employ that tactic.
"We talked about that at the time. It was just a product of that game in particularly,” Hooper continued.
"Tolu has grown as a player and as a person a lot in the last 12 months, and he is playing really good rugby. That usually takes away from the other stuff.”
Latu’s off-field discipline has been in the spotlight, too, however, with the 26-year-old convicted of drink-driving in June, for which he was fined and suspended by Rugby Australia.
As the coach who signed Latu to NSW, Michael Cheika is a loyal backer and after giving him a chance in Brisbane against Argentina off the bench, Latu performed well in the scrum and showed discipline.
Cheika pointed to his obedience when called off the ball by the referee in Brisbane.
Hooper echoed the coach’s sentiments.
"I have been impressed with the direction he has taken over the last couple of games,” he said.
"In game and in training, he has been showing all the right things. His ears are on, listening to the referee calls and he has been making the right decisions every time he has come on the field for this international season.
"It’s about creating more than that, particularly tomorrow night, he’s so good in that area. That’s why I guess he got the start.”
Latu’s on-ball ability will add another dimension to a breakdown battle that promises to be hectic.
The All Blacks have been forced to find room for the dynamic Ardie Savea in their back row, meaning they’ll be fielding dual open sides.
The Wallabies, for a change, will not be; with David Pocock not yet fit. Instead they’ll have a much bigger back row trio with Isi Nasarani and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto partnerning Hooper.
Hooper said the new Kiwi back row balance was an unknown entity as far as their plans go.
"We’ve played these guys a lot, we know that the on-ball presence is going to be fierce as every Test match is against New Zealand in that area,” Hooper said.
"Ardie poses big ball carrying threat and great over the ball as well so it’ll be a fierce breakdown challenge and I’m interested to see how it plays out.
Hooper said they expected a high tempo mindset from the All Blacks and were prepared for it.
"Some of the rugby we’ve played this international season has been to that sort of level,” he said.
"A lot of ball, able to play in different areas in the field and be a threat in different parts of the field. It’s been an enjoyable game to play so usually these games are high tempo.
"The turnover and the transition parts of the game are massive in these Test matches and who can scramble momentum, who can build that as the game goes on.
"They’ve picked three 7s and we’ve got some guys in Tolu who is a real threat over the ball. Breakdown is going to be hot.”
Asked whether there would be a different approach from the Wallabies given the high-tempo Bledisloe Cup clashes have clearly favoured the All Blacks, Hooper said there were adjustments in the Aussie game.
"We talked about the change in defensive system and I'm sure you would have seen how the attack is varying a little bit this year, and I talked about how transitioning,” Hooper said.
“That's probably where we missed out a lot last year. A lot of the Kiwi points came off transition, off turnover and what they were able to do with it there, so those moments are so important and understanding the gravity of those and what they can do in a game and shutting those down is critical for us.”
Hooper said the “calming influence” of Christian Lealiifano would be a valuable asset in Perth, and so too James O’Connor, who enjoyed some strong performances against the All Blacks in the first stage of his Test career.
"He’s played in these games before and done really well in these games before,” Hooper said.
"So I’m sure he’ll be calling upon that and some other things he’s learnt in the last couple of years.
"Again, like Christian, he’s got a good calming influence and I certainly trust him fully, in his ability and his temperament."
The Wallabies take on New Zealand at Optus Stadium, Perth, on Saturday August 10, kicking off at 5;45pm local, 7;45pm AEST, with the Wallaroos-Black Ferns kicking off at 3pm local, 5pm AEST. The Wallabies are LIVE on Network Ten, FOX SPORTS, Kayo Sports and RUGBY.com.au RADIO while the Wallaroos will be shown on FOX SPORTS, Kayo Sports and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.
