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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose star midfielder

Hunter Paisami of the Wallabies. Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Banishing any notion of jealousy, awestruck Wallabies teammates say they can’t wait to play with “insanely talented” code hopper Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.

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Amid much hype and anticipation, Suaalii will make his Wallabies debut on this month’s grand slam spring tour of the UK and Ireland.

The pressure is on the former Sydney Roosters and NSW State of Origin star to deliver after being lured to the 15-man code on an eye-watering $5 million three-year deal, plus an option to stay on for two more years for an additional $4 million.

Wallabies greats were known to be livid with Rugby Australia for breaking the bank to secure Suaalii’s services 18 months ago when the now-21-year-old was still a teenage super talent.

The current crop of Wallabies, though, insist there is nothing but respect and excitement for Suaalii.

“All that stuff’s just fluff and people trying to make headlines,” Wallabies prop and captain-in-waiting Angus Bell said before flying out on Thursday night.

“We don’t listen to that stuff and, look, the proof’s in the pudding – as soon as he steps on the field, you’ll see how cheap the jersey is.

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“He’s a really, really humble guy, a great person.

“To see his professionalism at 21 years of age is insane. I know why and how good he is now.”

Bell reckons it’s laughable to suggest Suaalii wasn’t deserving of a Wallabies call-up before even playing a single game of Super Rugby.

“He’s an insane athlete. You look at the way he moves, the way he touches footies, the way he can kick,” Bell said.

“He’s got every attribute to be a world-class rugby player, not just in Australia, but probably one of the better ones in the world.

“He’s only 21, so he’s super impressive and I’m just looking forward to him to proving people wrong.

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“He’s very driven and he wants success, which is something that we’re trying to find.

“So Joey’s going to be a star. We all know that.”

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With Hunter Paisami missing the start of the tour to stay behind in Brisbane for the birth of his child, coach Joe Schmidt may be tempted to blood Suaalii at inside centre against England on November 11.

Japan-based veteran Samu Kerevi is another midfield option for the tour opener at Twickenham.

Whichever way Schmidt goes, Max Jorgensen is convinced the Wallabies are on a winner picking up his former schoolboys rival.

“He’s just a pure athlete,” Jorgensen said of his NSW Waratahs-bound teammate.

“You look at the size of him; he can can jump so high, he’s just so athletic and he’s got a footy brain.

“Obviously it will take a little time to pick some things up but he’s a footy player and he’s going to be awesome. He’s just awesome to have.”

As well as going back to their school days, Jorgensen and Suaalii also enjoyed a pre-season together two years ago at the Roosters.

“He played schoolboys in what was it Year 10 or Year 9 or something, so it’s pretty crazy,” Jorgensen said.

“He was just always probably the best player on the field. It’s always been like that.”

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Comments

4 Comments
B
BA 15 days ago

the combo of athleticism size skills physicality speed and goal kicking is extremely rare chuck looks in there too dude has got it all

B
BA 15 days ago

He will go good has ability skills to play anywhere from 12 out really good in the air soft hands good speed is familiar to scrutiny and pressure for last few years and really good goal kicker get the ruck right and the team goes alright he will be very good as good as anyone going around … good luck to the young fulla Chur bro !!! Go get them Walkabies!

J
JN 17 days ago

The Messiah Complex continues.

P
PM 18 days ago

I don't like them calling Bell captain in waiting. It's disrespectful to Wilson. And this is just an AAP article shouldn't have that type of opinion

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JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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