When Massimo De Lutiis succumbed to a torn quad as he neared a Super Rugby berth, the man considered the Wallabies’ future enforcer refused to take a backwards step.
He vowed to become stronger, using his recovery to become a more powerful prospect, setting the Reds’ bench press record as his 202.5 kilograms lift bettered any Queensland footballer across codes.
But upon his return – culminating in caps against Wales, Tonga, Saitama Wild Knights, Bristol and Ulster – his captain and Wallabies halfback Tate McDermott noticed there was more than just strength the 126-kilogram powerhouse possessed.
Massimo De Lutiis has fed off the Reds’ more experienced forward leaders to inspire his own rise.Credit: Reds Media
“I could see how disappointed he was when he blew his quad in the preseason, and doing it during a 40-metre sprint – which you don’t see too often in props,” McDermott told this masthead.
“He’s obviously a bloody big man … but the thing I was most impressed by was his ball carrying. He’s incredibly explosive and quick for a big boy.
“I always knew he had a bit of toe on him, but the way he could break the line and dent the line is really important for us going forward.
“You see him studying the game, trying to get as much as he can off guys like Jeff [Toomaga-Allen], Zane Nonggorr, just picking their brains on how to get better. Massimo over the last four or five months has really seen the fruit of that.”
De Lutiis will make his Super Rugby debut when he battles Moana Pasifika on Friday night, whose forward pack features All Blacks great Ardie Savea.
His inclusion has forced 10-cap Wallaby Nonggorr to the bench, with Toomaga-Allen and Alex Hodgman nursing injuries.
Australian rugby pundits have long been fascinated by emerging props who loom as attacking threats – Wallabies star Taniela Tupou perhaps the most recent example.
It is a path De Lutiis appears destined to chart, having already featured for the Australia XV and been invited into national coach Joe Schmidt’s new year camp ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour.
The 21-year-old has been monitored since his maiden Reds appearance, when his scrum work in the shadows of full-time against the Wild Knights stole a clutch 2023 win at Ballymore.
But despite the hype, McDermott does not believe it has hindered De Lutiis.
“I think he’s been really composed with it all. Obviously, there’d be a little bit of pressure on him, but he’s focused on the job at hand,” McDermott said.
“When it’s time to go, the intensity he trains with is really impressive.”
Tate McDermott on Massimo De Lutiis
Reds coach Les Kiss revealed all it took was one short meeting in pitching the club to De Lutiis to know he had the mettle to thrive among rugby’s elite, and his exposure to international-calibre opposition would ensure he would not falter against a physical Moana Pasifika outfit.
“He’s got a steely look in his eye, he’s willing to do what it takes and is determined to get better every day. He’s shown that in spades,” Kiss said.
“The UK tour was another growth for him, I know the players talking about his game afterwards against that type of opposition and in a different environment, they were very impressed with him. He’s got a really strong sense of his carry and defence.
“Early on we had to manage his height, and now he’s getting stronger and better lower, and I think that improvement alone gave us the confidence to start him in the first match of the season.”
Queensland Reds squad vs Moana Pasifika
1. Sef Fa’agase; Richie Asiata; 3. Massimo De Lutiis; 4. Josh Canham; 5. Ryan Smith; 6. Seru Uru; 7. Fraser McReight (vc); 8. Harry Wilson; 9. Tate McDermott (c); 10. Tom Lynagh; 11. Filipo Daugunu; 12: Hunter Paisami; 13. Josh Flook; 14. Tim Ryan; 15. Jock Campbell
Reserves: 16. Matt Faessler; 17. George Blake; 18. Zane Nonggorr; 19. Angus Blyth; 20. Joe Brial; 21. Kalani Thomas; 22. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips; 23. Lachie Anderson
Injured: Matt Gibbon, Isaac Henry, Will McCulloch, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Liam Wright, Mason Gordon, Jude Gibbs, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Alex Hodgman
