Star Wallabies centre Len Ikitau said he never doubted his ability to produce the match-winning “no looker” pass for Max Jorgensen at Twickenham – but he was worried he may not get the ball in his hands to make it happen.
Ikitau is getting called “Len Flickitau” by Wallabies teammates and if you’ve watched Jorgensen’s match-winning try on Sunday on repeat, there will be no confusion about why.
With the hooter having sounded, the Wallabies attacked left and Ikitau created an overlap for his young winger on the left sideline by drawing in two English defenders. He pulled out a backhanded flick and Jorgensen held the pass and raced in to score.
It may have seemed like a high-risk, all-or-nothing play but recounting the moment on Monday in Cardiff, Ikitau said it was a calculated gamble – and the flick-pass wasn’t even part of the gamble.
“The coaches harp on about we’re rugby players, and we make rugby decisions, so I just made a rugby decision there,” Ikitau said.
“I saw the space and I knew that I could get it off to ‘Jorgo’ if I interested Marcus (Smith to come in to tackle me), and it paid off.”
Len Ikitau produces the no-look flick pass that set Max Jorgensen free to score.Credit: Getty Images
The lead-up to the winning play saw the Wallabies forwards ploughing through 11 phases of carrying, looking for a half-break and a chance to play quickly against a retreating defence. It eventually came, and Brandon Paenga-Amosa played out the back to Ben Donaldson, whose quick hands beat a rushing defender and opened up the space.
“We were just setting up to get around the corner and I saw some space [wide] and I wanted the ball, but I didn’t really think it was going to get to me,” Ikitau said.
“Then Fraser [McReight] did a good job to circle the ball back to me. And then I just saw some space and went one-on-one with one of the players. As I slowly got away from him, I saw Marcus coming up and I knew that if I could interest him, it would be a good opportunity to sneak a no-looker out the back.
“I love attacking down that left side. That’s my dominant side. So I’m confident when I go down that left side. I’ve always got that left offload, and I am looking for it most of the time. I get a lot of reps in that training.
“Tate [McDermott] has been calling me Len Flickitau now.”
Ikitau’s busy weekend wasn’t over, though. The Brumbies star later jumped on social media to call out former England halfback Ben Youngs, who’d been highly dismissive of the Wallabies’ chances on his podcast.
Ikitau posted a clip of Youngs criticising Australia, with the caption “Say less”. Youngs later conceded he was eating humble pie and praised the Wallabies for their win.
“It was a bit of fun. Some of the boys saw it on their social media and joked about it. So it was good to actually win and then throw it back in his face,” Ikitau said.
Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii celebrate after Max Jorgensen’s winning try.Credit: AP
Ikitau turned in one of his best Test performances at Twickenham, and what made it all the more impressive was it was only his second professional start at No.12. Ikitau had been shifted in from his usual No.13 role to replace the injured Hunter Paisami, and accommodate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in the midfield, too.
“I just said to myself, I’m going to play as a centre,” Ikitau said. “I’ve been playing 13 all my career and I just didn’t want to change anything. I just wanted to make sure that I was tackling well and attacking the ball well. It didn’t really change too much in terms of the way I wanted to play.”
The sight of Ikitau playing superbly yet again highlighted the bizarre selections – and non-selections – made by Eddie Jones for the World Cup last year. Ikitau was overlooked by Jones, as were Tom Wright, Jake Gordon, Noah Lolesio and Dylan Pietsch, who all started and played well at Twickenham.
Asked if he’d been motivated by the snub, Ikitau said: “Not really. I’ve parked that a long time ago.”
Ikitau lauded the “freak” talent of Suaalii he’s seen both at training and on the field, particularly defending in the No.13 channel. He said the 21-year-old will only get better now the first Test was out of the way.
But a selection squeeze in the midfield looms for Joe Schmidt, with Samu Kerevi also in the squad, and Paisami due back from injury for the Lions next year.
“I think it’s a great sign of our depth. As you saw with the Springboks, they’ve got so much depth in their team. It only makes their team better,” Ikitau said.
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