In October, after the Rugby Championship, Ikitau will head to the UK for a nine-month stint with Exeter, on a reported deal of £400,000 (AUD $770,000). The outside centre will return to Australia in July 2026 for Wallabies duty, then rejoin the Brumbies in 2027 ahead of the World Cup. Ikitau has played 39 Tests for the Wallabies since debuting in 2021. “You don’t want to be that one person that goes this season, and then you never hear of them or see them again until they retire,” Ikitau said. “I wanted to make sure that I’m putting my hand up and make sure that I’m playing in Australia to hopefully play in that World Cup in 2027. “I didn’t want to take any risk in terms of playing overseas.”