Jeffery Toomaga-Allen believes the young man hyped as the Wallabies’ next great prop has benefited from an injury crisis that derailed his Super Rugby rise.
Massimo De Lutiis has followed in fellow Queensland Reds alumni Taniela Tupou’s footsteps as a player of such strength and promise, he attracted attention before his debut and earned Wallabies camp call-ups before venturing onto the professional stage.
While the 21-year-old lined up for the Reds in post-season clashes against Wales, Tonga, Ulster, Bristol and Saitama Wild Knights, a quad tear suffered on the eve of the 2024 campaign held him back from a Super Rugby berth.
Massimo De Lutiis has been earmarked for Wallabies honours since before his Super Rugby debut.Credit: Reds Media
Since that setback, De Lutiis continued to hit the weights – he broke the bench press record for Queensland footballers of any code – and featured in the first three games of the Reds’ season. But it was the chance to watch the game from afar that former All Black Toomaga-Allen declared would prove his making.
“As a front rower, we’re stereotyped as ‘hit rucks, scrum hard’, but the game has developed. I think him being on the sidelines has helped his rugby IQ. Seeing the game is quite expansive, and seeing the game through a different lens,” Toomaga-Allen said.
“He’s a beast, he can’t deny that, but no one really sees him doing the little extras in the gym or working on technical aspects of the set-ups for scrummaging or clean-out techniques, and having extra meetings and doing the film work.
“He’s living up to the hype so far. I have tried to take him under my wing, but if we’re talking about formidable forces, he’s one to be reckoned with.
“He’s very grounded and always wanting to learn, and I think that’s his biggest asset – always wanting to learn and not know everything, given the hype. It’s a testament to how he was raised.
“It’s hard for a young kid not to read into social media, and media in general. There’s so much hype around certain players, and for him being a young guy thrown into the spotlight – especially as a front rower, because you’ve got to earn your stripes – he’s doing pretty well.”
De Lutiis has been relegated from the Reds side to take on the Waratahs on Saturday night. However, coach Les Kiss confirmed the decision had nothing to do with the 126-kilogram powerhouse’s form.
While Kiss said he would have been confident to throw De Lutiis into the fray against a Waratahs pack featuring Wallabies stars Tupou and Angus Bell, he needed to ensure he did not become overburdened.
“There’s part of managing a young fella like that. When you’re asking a young tighthead prop to keep going every time, you’ve just got to be sure about when you do that and when you rest him,” Kiss said.
“It’s totally not form-based; it was basically we wanted to give him a regeneration week. He’s a young tighthead prop – probably one of the toughest positions ever – so it was only right to make sure we managed him properly.
“Some of his carries have been damaging, his defence has been really good. He’s actually gotten better in terms of the loose play as well, getting off the ground and finding positions better.
“He understands there’s logic to what we’re doing. He’ll have a good week, where he can regenerate, and be back in the fray before we know it.”
Kiss revealed luckless co-captain Liam Wright would also be sidelined after copping a knock in Queensland’s defeat to the Crusaders on the same shoulder that required off-season surgery.
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