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Rennie details what Suliasi Vunivalu has to do to break into Wallabies starting side

(Photo by Hanna Lassen/Getty Images)

Skipper James Slipper says the Wallabies could unleash Suliasi Vunivalu on their northern hemisphere tour, after the code-hopping NRL star missed selection for Australia’s six Rugby Championship games.

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Both Vunivalu and All Blacks convert Roger Tuivasa-Sheck resemble Ferraris parked in the garage, showing the difficulty in switching from NRL stardom to union regulars.

At least Tuivasa-Sheck will feature in Saturday night’s Bledisloe Cup, named on the bench for his first taste of Rugby Championship action.

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Vunivalu has spent two seasons with Queensland Reds chasing his Wallabies dream after winning two premierships in five years at Melbourne Storm.

So far, the try machine has five minutes in a Wallabies shirt to his name.

“He’s not far away,” Wallabies coach Dave Rennie insisted.

Rennie said the Fijian-born 26-year-old faced two challenges: his engine, and the form of players in front of him.

“He needs to convince us at training around high speed and repeat speed,” he said.

“He’s certainly got some attributes that we know he’d excel at at this level, but it’s the whole package.

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“When you look at people like, in the backfield, (Andrew) Kellaway and Tom Wright, Marika (Koroibete), they have got a massive work ethic. I’m not sure if everyone appreciates the work those guys do off the ball.

“The decision-making around starting those three is pretty straightforward.”

Slipper said the gun recruit was “coming along well” in Wallabies training.

“He’s obviously had quite a few injuries, especially through Super Rugby. Not being at his club I wasn’t too sure what was going on there with his hamstrings,” he said.

“At the moment he’s really fit and he’s training well.

“He’ll feature at some point throughout the year. He just needs to get that time in the saddle, on the training paddock, and then hopefully get some games on later in the year.”

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Across the Tasman, the struggles of 2018 Dally M winner Tuivasa-Sheck are also raising eyebrows.

The 29-year-old also has just one substitute start to his name since ditching the Warriors for a shot at the All Blacks last year.

He has missed the chance to start at Eden Park, with coach Ian Foster favouring Jordie Barrett to move into midfield with David Havili and Quinn Tupaea injured.

It has prompted some to ponder whether there will be space for Tuivasa-Sheck as the All Blacks gear up for a World Cup, but Foster insisted “he has his chance”.

“He’s in the All Blacks squad, he’s training with us and he’s making strides all the time,” Foster told Kiwi radio outlet Newstalk ZB.

“It’s a matter of trying to give him as many experiences as we can.

“He’s played a couple of games for (NPC side) Auckland in the last month. He’s a very determined man.

“There’s still a bit of growth in him. It’s growth that’s needed but we’re certainly backing his move.”

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Tom 4 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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