WALLABIES CONFIDENT LATU WON’T TAKE BAIT
HOT-HEADED Wallaby Tolu Latu has been warned to keep his cool when the All Blacks inevitably try to bait him in tonight’s Bledisloe Cup clash in Perth.
Australian 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 talent but his short fuse has made him an easy target for opposition teams to taunt.
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.
Although 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 six-match ban for recklessly charging into a ruck playing for NSW against the Sunwolves.
Wallaby skipper Michael Hooper said he expected Latu would be on his best behaviour at Optus Stadium tonight, regardless of whether the All Blacks try to get under his skin or not.
“Tolu has grown as a player and as a person a lot in the last 12 months, and he is playing really good rugby,” Hooper said.
“I have been impressed with the direction he has taken over the last couple of games.”