Raelene Castle confirms Lukhan Tui will not be rushed back

Rugby Australia Chief Executive Raelene Castle has revealed that Wallabies flanker Lukhan Tui will not be rushed back into the game.

Tui had requested time off from the game for the remainder of the year following Australia's defeat against Argentina in Gold Coast on 15th September.

The 22-year-old is already enduring a tough time having lost his step father recently and following the game at Cbus Super Stadium he was involved in an altercation with a fan.

When asked on whether Tui will return for next month's Bledisloe Cup clash or November series, Castle highlighted the importance of giving him sufficient time to recover both mentally and physically.

“I actually went up to his father’s funeral in Brisbane yesterday, I went to the funeral and he’s made it clear that he needs some space to support his family through this difficult time and he won’t travel to South Africa and Argentina and when the team gets back that’s when I think we’ll have another conversation with him,” she said.

“That's not because he’s necessarily going to come on the November tour, just because he’s and important part of the Wallabies setup and they’ll make sure they want to stay in contact with him.”

Australia are currently languishing at the bottom of the Rugby Championship table with a solitary win from four games and will take on South Africa and Argentina next in Port Elizabeth and Salta respectively.