They could’ve easily missed Len Ikitau. He could’ve missed himself. Though born in Brisbane he was raised in Auckland and like effectively everyone in New Zealand yearned to pull on the famous black jumper.
When he came back to Australia, still not a teenager, he enrolled in a famous rugby league school that had turned out Cameron Smith and Israel Folau, among others.
Read the full program for Round Six of TRC here
And given he wasn’t allowed to play rugby union, it didn’t appear the typical pathway for a Wallabies man.
Former Wallaby Tom Barker, however, had other ideas. The former Wallabies backrower was first XV coach of Brisbane Boys College and spotted Ikitau at a league carnival.
Soon enough the boy was on the wing in BBC’s first XV. Next year he was fullback. Year after that and growing into his body, he was in the No.13. And killing ‘em.
And he wasn’t allowed to play rugby league.
They got him down to Canberra to play for Vikings in the National Rugby Championship. The Brumbies picked him. Australia picked him.
And yet, all along the way, at every step up, Ikitau didn’t believe he was good enough. Until he did.
Shane Drahm believed. And talked Ikitau into it.
“Shane believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” Ikitau says. “He told me that I was going to be an awesome rugby player but I didn’t believe it!
“He kind of gave me the opportunity to realise my potential. He’s someone that really encouraged me to put my best foot forward.”
He made Queensland Schoolboys, Australia Schoolboys, Australia Under 20s.
Yet the NRC was the making of him. He took the hits against full-grown men. He tackled everybody.
He made breaks through speed, footwork and brawn. And he grew into himself, physically and emotionally.
And it seems, finally, he began to believe.
It just appears that he needs reminding.
“He could be the world’s best 13 if he wanted to be,” centre partner Samu Kerevi declared.
“He’s got outstanding defence and in his attacking game, he has awesome feet on him and he reads the game well. Just more opportunities in the jersey will grow his confidence,” Kerevi said.
The feeling’s mutual.
“Samu backs me and my game,” Ikitau says. “Having someone with his experience, his voice, you know what he can do with the ball; he can make things happen. He’s got great go-forward, he’s making those busts and you can play off the back of his carries.
“Hunter Paisami is the same. They play pretty similar; strong in contact. Having those kinds of boys in the team gives the whole backline confidence. If your 10 and 12 are connecting well and playing good footy the rest of the backline will be up for it.”
Ikitau says Wallabies’ coaching staff have given him free rein to be himself.
“They’ve given me licence to play my kind of footy,” he says. “They’ve given me the freedom to have a crack.”
With his physical, front-on defence, you wonder if the quietly-spoken Ikitau is an inherently competitive fellow. Is he a white-line fever man? Does he eyeball his opposite number to mentally get on top of him?
Ikitau laughs: “I just play. If someone’s in front of me I just tackle them.”
So here he is, tackling giant Argentina for a second week on the trot after two Tests against France, three against the All Blacks and two against South Africa. Ask him for the plan, he’ll tell you more of the same.
“The Pumas have a big forward pack; similar to South Africa. But they don’t kick as much, they like to run the ball, run teams off their feet.
“For us it’s about finishing opportunities. We left a few tries out there last week. It’s about being disciplined and finishing opportunities we make.
“It’s good that we’ve had three wins on the trot. But we need to be better to win comfortably against Argentina.”
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Ikitau says facing the All Blacks’ haka after growing up revering the jumper was “emotional”.
“I have a lot of family in Auckland,” he says. “Playing in front of them, it’s hard to describe. I was nervous, excited, emotional. And pumped up! Facing the haka, it gets you ready, to play the All Blacks.
“The result of the game didn’t go our away but overall I enjoyed it. I’ll never forget it. As a kid that’s all I wanted to do, be an All Black.
“At school we learned hakas. To face it, to face the team I looked up to and wanted to be a part of was awesome.
“But I’m a Wallaby now.”
Believe it.
