‘He’s a warrior’: Ikitau pledges defensive fix as he reunites with Suaalii

November 12, 2026 — 6:36am

Wallabies centre Len Ikitau conceded the merry-go-round of midfield combinations has made life tricky this year but backed “warrior” Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to shut out his critics and thrive in another spicy showdown with a Scottish rival at Murrayfield.

Suaalii is set to return to outside centre for the Wallabies against Scotland on Monday (AEDT), reuniting with Ikitau in the midfield after Isaac Henry’s tour-ending hamstring injury. The change is expected to be one of only a small handful, with also Carter Gordon expected to come into the side at No.10 and bullocking backrower Rob Valetini also returning to the run-on team.

Ikitau and Suaalii was a settled combination throughout the Joe Schmidt years but this year the Wallabies stable of centres – also including Henry and Hunter Paisami – have chopped and changed repeatedly. In 11 Tests in 2026, the Wallabies midfield has changed seven times, and used six unique combinations.

Some of the change has been forced due to injury and suspension, but it has also been a tactical choice at times, with coach Les Kiss deploying Suaalii at wing in recent Tests. Paisami withdrew late from the spring tour due to personal reasons.

All that rotation has come at a cost, however, with frayed defensive connections, and stilted attacking flow as well.

“It is pretty tough being able to stick with the same centre pairing, and being able to play consistently with the same people has been tough for us lately,” Ikitau said. “But I feel like we’ve got a lot of good centres. You know, it’s unfortunate for ‘Zack’ who’s not playing for the rest of the tour, but we’ve got Filipo [Daugunu] who was outstanding when he came on, brought a lot of energy.

“And then Joseph can come back to the centres. We’ve got a good relationship there in the centres, so if he needs to come back in, then we’ll just go with that.”

Kiss will name his side on Saturday morning (AEDT). Returning to the reliable defensive duo of Ikitau and Suaalii – as opposed to more attacking players like Kurtley Beale or Daugunu – makes sense in a week when the Wallabies will not only come up against a lethal Scottish 10-12 duo in Finn Russell and Tuipulotu, but after the side was defensively exposed by England.

Australia’s defence was routinely beaten by the up-tempo English attack, and coming after two massive Bledisloe losses before, the Wallabies conceded an average of 46 points per Test in their last three.

In the four games where Ikitau and Suaalii started together in the midfield this year, the Wallabies conceded an average of 28 points; second only to Paisami-Henry (Japan in Townsville and Argentina in Jujuy) who conceded an average of 19.

Ikitau said the Wallabies had been working hard on fixing problems in defensive connection this week in Edinburgh, and which he frankly described as “all over the shop at the moment”.

“England gave it to us from the start and put us under a lot of pressure … and we kind of sat back and watched them in a way. We can’t be doing that against Scotland. We really want to be going at them, especially in defence, putting them under pressure,” Ikitau said.

“It’s just our connection. We need to be able to connect well with our forwards and with our backfield, too. We’re all over the shop at the moment, and some major fixes for us as a backline [are needed], and we’re working at it at training.”

Suaalii’s aggression may also be an asset, particularly up against Tuipulotu, and after getting panned by former England winger Chris Ashton as not being a Test-standard rugby player.

“Who?” Ikitau said pointedly, when asked about the Ashton comments, and their impact on Suaalii. “He [Suaalii] is a rugby player. He focuses on his role as a rugby player, as we all do. We don’t really listen to that outside noise.”

Ikitau said Suaalii will be excited for another clash with Scotland at Murrayfield, two years after a running battle with Aussie-raised Tuipulotu at the same venue. Suaalii nailed the Scotland captain with a monster tackle, but had to come off with a shoulder injury, leading to a spray from Tuipulotu.

“That was a good hit,” Ikitau said. “Joseph, he’s a warrior. He does all the prep in the world. He’s the first one into the gym, he’s the last one to leave. In terms of his preparation, he’s always ready to play. On the field, you know that he’s going to go out and give it his all. He just needs to be able to contain himself

“He’s excited for this match-up this week and he’s ready to go.”

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Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.

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