Lukhan Salakaia-Loto spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since being recalled to the Wallabies, and the 45-Test lock did not need many words to make his point about the reason he was left out in the first place.
Joe Schmidt omitted him from the squad for July's Nations Championship Tests against Ireland, France and Italy - days after Salakaia-Loto had been named in Super Rugby's team of the year. Explaining the call at the time, the outgoing coach questioned the Reds lock's physical condition, said he wanted him to string consecutive performances together, and said he was after "fast-jumping locks".
Asked this week whether he still believed he could function as a lineout option, Salakaia-Loto answered without naming his former coach.
"I've always been able to jump in the lineout, so no matter how, I can still get up there," he said.
He confirmed the weight, and defended the reasoning behind it. Salakaia-Loto played this season at around 138kg, up from his usual 132kg to 133kg, and said the extra bulk was deliberate rather than the by-product of a poor pre-season.
"That was intentional, to be able to play the sort of style I wanted to play this year," he said. "I mean it doesn't take much for me to put weight on. Like I could probably put five kilos on in one night."
He argued the size never cost him output. "Like I was still playing 80 minutes every week. I mean different perspectives and you can look at things different ways, but I know what I can bring to a side and I know what value I can offer when I'm at my best." He is back at roughly 133kg after a training block at Ballymore.
There was no bitterness on display. The 29-year-old, who debuted under Michael Cheika in 2017 and has been in and out of squads under several coaches since - most notably overlooked for last year's British and Irish Lions series - said he had made his peace with it well before the recall came.
"I'm used to it now," he said of the omission. "Two months ago, I just had my third daughter, so the silver lining for me was just spending time at home and being present with my kids, being able to wrestle the older two, give mum a bit of a break. It was a blessing in disguise. So [I was] disappointed, but there are more things to life than just being selected for a team."
He added: "I did all I could do, so I was happy. I was at peace with what I produced throughout the Super season, and you don't always get what you deserve, I guess. You can't dwell on it too much. So it's nice to be named, but it doesn't guarantee you anything."
The domestic break was not entirely restful. Salakaia-Loto was called into the Barbarians for their fixture against Wales in England, playing 18 minutes. "It was a bit hard to sell that week to the missus, after she had given birth," he told Nine's Christy Doran. "But it was important for me to get some footy in."
New Wallabies coach Les Kiss, who worked with Salakaia-Loto across 13 appearances at the Reds this season, was careful to present the recall as earned rather than owed.
"It was a conversation, and a robust conversation, with the coaches," Kiss said when naming his first squad. "Nobody is guaranteed a position, and I'll make promises to no one. He's worked hard. He had a game with the Baa-Baas, and he's ready. We'll give him a chance to go in there."
Kiss also made clear the tighthead lock berth is a contest, not a coronation. "I'm very focused on making sure we strengthen our tighthead locks. Miles [Amatosero] has had a chance; I've seen him in there and he looks good. Jeremy [Williams] can definitely play in that area as well. Lukhan is a big, powerful figure and bringing him into play means we get to see him in the environment."
Salakaia-Loto's own assessment of his prospects matched his coach's, which is not always the case with a recalled player.
"'Jez' and Canham have done an unreal job, and I'm not expecting any change anytime soon," he said of Jeremy Williams and Reds teammate Josh Canham. "It's good to see Canham take big steps this year. He's a real baller - he's someone who's got a massive future ahead of him."
On Amatosero, the Waratahs lock who took his place and with whom he has frequently clashed in Super Rugby, he was similarly generous. "The best way of helping someone like Miles is pushing him and challenging him. So iron sharpens iron. So I'm sure we'll probably lock horns in training, but we know each other a bit more now on a personal level. He's got all the potential in the world to be whatever he wants to be."
The Wallabies face Eddie Jones's Japan in Osaka on 8 August.
