After an evening of well-meaning – but mostly dull – “this belongs to my whole team” acceptance speeches, Len Ikitau drew a laugh at Sydney Town Hall when claiming the John Eales medal at the Rugby Australia awards on Friday night.

Currently in Exeter, where he has just begun a sabbatical season, Ikitau sent a video message and at the end of his spiel he wished the Wallabies well for the start of their spring tour, in Tokyo on Saturday. The star centre will rejoin the squad in November but will miss the game with Japan.

“Say hi to uncle Eddie for me,” Ikitau said with a grin.

Uncle Eddie is, of course, Eddie Jones – the current coach of Japan and the much-maligned predecessor to current Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.

In a fixture announced at the start of 2025, likely arranged to rep

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