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Massimo de Lutiis made history last month by becoming Wallaby number 1000 on debut against Japan in Townsville, and the young tighthead has continued to turn heads with two promising performances away to Argentina.
De Lutiis scored a try against the Brave Blossoms and has produced another couple of seismic performances in South America, which included a 16-tackle effort in a 28-all draw with Los Pumas in Mendoza.
Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson led the way as the two top tacklers on the night, but de Lutiis was another shining light. The 22-year-old was ranked fifth overall for tackles completed, despite having significantly less game time.
De Lutiis is still yet to play in a losing Wallabies side, with the Aussie still unbeaten under Les Kiss. Kiss spent multiple seasons at the Queensland Reds with the prop, who the coach insists “can be pretty happy” with his three performances to date.
“I’m really happy for Mass because Mass has had a period of time over the last three years where injuries held him back in terms of his opportunities,” Kiss told reporters.
“His diligence, his appetite to get better. He’s a very coachable young man in a very tough position, that’s for sure. Really pleased with that growth, without a doubt.
“He’ll come off the game thinking he’s got more to do than he has but I think he can be pretty happy with the shift he’s put out over the last two or three games.”
De Lutiis and hooker Josh Nasser were the first two replacements called on off the bench, as the Wallabies looked to secure a series win in Argentina for the first time. The Aussies fell short of a fifth consecutive win but still made unprecedented team history.
It’s the first time the Wallabies have gone unbeaten away to Los Pumas, despite going up 1-0 multiple times before. Los Pumas did avoid a series sweep though, with a 13-man side holding on in a dramatic finish.
As the Pumas scrambled, the Wallabies had to adapt themselves, with scrum-half Ryan Lonergan lining up at fly-half. Tom Wright shifted from fullback to the wing, and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii also clocked minutes on the edge.
Carter Gordon was brought on off the bench twice, but didn’t see out the game after picking up an injury. But the Wallabies can take positives out of these chances, as they continued to build under the new coaching group.
“Some of the things we’re trying to work on is to make ourselves a bit future proof,” Kiss explained.
“We had to bring Carter on when we had a HIA so we put Dono at fullback, we put Carter to 15 and Wrighty went to the wing. They’re some of the things that we’re trying to work on so we can become adaptable in those spaces.
“There’s a few things like that we’ve been working on to make sure we cover those positions well and we had a good chance to see those things in action tonight.”