His name means ‘biggest’ and he can bench-press a fridge. But can the Wallabies keep this giant?

April 1, 2026 — 8:06am

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There is a fair degree of nominative determinism at play when it comes to Massimo De Lutiis.

As a hulking 126 kilogram prop with Queensland - who once famously bench pressed a record 202.5kg - the Italian roots of his first name ring true: biggest, greatest, most.

But Rugby Australia are also facing a “massimo” conundrum when it comes to De Lutiis, namely: how much should you pay for potential?

The conundrum was plonked on RA’s doorstep recently when Irish province Ulster, with the backing of the Irish Rugby Football Union, made an offer for De Lutiis to move to Belfast. With an Irish grandfather on his mum Rilee’s side, De Lutiis will also have the potential to play for Ireland. (He also has Italian heritage through father Antonio).

Queensland and RA are desperate to keep De Luttis at Ballymore, given the 22-year-old has been regarded as the best young tighthead prospect in the country, and a Wallaby-in-waiting, for years.

Though injury has restricted him to nine Super Rugby games in three seasons, De Lutiis has played for Australia A, been to two Wallabies camps and was pointedly named on every Wallaby team list in 2025 as “unavailable due to injury”.

But with Ulster offering more money than RA and the Reds (but not wildly more), and with the visceral fear of........

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