ACT Brumbies centre Len Ikitau believes his stint with the Barbarians can bring the best out of his game as he looks towards 2024.
Ikitau outlined his frustrations after a rollercoaster 2023, which included the birth of his first son, a major shoulder injury and a World Cup snubbing.
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It took a stint with the Barbarians to 'refresh' the centre and return to Australia eager to build the Brumbies to higher heights.
“It was one of the best tours that I’ve been a part of, getting to meet new people and some of the Japanese boys. To play Rugby over in England was honestly unreal," he told Rugby.com.au
“Getting to know some of the Aussie boys more was more of the best tours I’ve been on. The sad thing for me was we were all enjoying the tour and to see the Wallabies not going well was quite frustrating.
“The Baa-Baas tour made me enjoy the rest of the year and I had fun. It was great to take our mind off what actually happened, it was just a refresher more than anything.
"We could get away from Australia and then just play footy with some of your mates, enjoy the time and experience in a different country."
The Brumbies were knocked out in the semi-finals for the second year in a row, missing the chance to host the semi-finals after two defeats in their final three regular season games.
“I think everyone's just excited for the new year,” Ikitau said.
“Obviously, we fell short last year to the Chiefs so the boys are ripping into training and looking forward to a good season.
“We're just excited for the first trial against Fiji in a couple of weeks. I want to try and stay on the field. I missed a couple of games that I would’ve wanted to play so it’s about getting the body right and making sure that I’m on the field putting 100% in.
“I felt that in the Chief (semi-final) game we were in the fight to whole 80 minutes and it we just down to a few errors in the end. I think just limiting our errors and controlling the ball better will be good.
“…For us, going on to being great is making and winning finals and for us, that’s about the way we train and making sure we get enough detail in."
