Latu to temper temper
HOT- HEADED Wall a b y Tolu Latu has been warned to keep his cool when the All Blacks inevitably try to bait him in tonight’s Bledisloe Cup clash at Perth Stadium.
Australia coach Michael Cheika has placed great trust in the volatile Waratahs hooker by picking him to start in the most important match of the season when plenty of others might have given up on him. No one doubts Latu’s immense THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
In his most recent match against the All Blacks, in Japan last year, Latu was sin-binned for shoving Codie Taylor in the face in retaliation to the New Zealander pushing him first.
Though it was harmless, he was given a yellow card and the incident raised questions about whether he can control his temper in the heat of battle.
Two weeks before that meltdown, he was sin-binned for hitting Santiago Garcia Botta in the final few moments of Australia’s famous comeback win over Argentina in Salta and earlier in the season he was slapped with a sixmatch ban for recklessly charging into a ruck playing for NSW against the Sunwolves.
In 2015, he was suspended for four weeks for up-ending Canterbury Crusader Sam Whitelock and in 2016 he copped a one-game ban for punching Matt Toomua.
Wallaby skipper Michael Hooper said he expected Latu would be on his best behaviour SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2019 this time, regardless of whether the All Blacks try to get under his skin or not.
“I don’t know if they are going to employ that tactic,” Hooper said. “We talked about that at the time. It was just a product of that game in particular. Tolu has grown as a player and as a person a lot in the last 12 months, and he is playing really good rugby. That usually takes away from the other stuff.”
Latu’s reckless actions haven’t just been on the field.
In May this year, he was charged with drink driving after Sydney police found him slumped behind the wheel of his car.
The news came as an even bigger shock to Australian and NSW Rugby officials because he had neglected to tell them about his arrest so he was suspended, fined and ordered to undergo counselling after he pleaded guilty in court. He was also kicked out of the Australian Cup squad, but Cheika has given him another chance.