‘He’s one of a kind’: Wallabies welcome back star winger ‘made of granite’

The Wallabies have welcomed back a 59-Test veteran who’s “made of granite” and has some serious X-factor for their second clash with the Springboks. On Saturday, winger Marika Koroibete will run onto the field in Wallaby gold for the first time since last October.

Koroibete started on the left wing and scored a try when Australia beat Portugal 34-14 in Saint-Etienne during last year’s Rugby World Cup. But that was more than 320 days ago with the Wallabies initially going in another direction earlier this year.

Coach Joe Schmidt replaced Eddie Jones in the Wallabies’ top job in January, with the New Zealand-born rugby guru signing on through to the British & Irish Lions Series in 2025. Schmidt overlooked all overseas-based players for the July series against Wales and Georgia.

That meant there was no room in Australia’s squad for the likes of former captain Will Skelton and Koroibete. The 32-year-old outside back has played for the Robbie Deans-coached Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan for a number of years now.

But that changed before The Rugby Championship with Schmidt including Koroibete in the Wallabies’ squad. With winger Filipo Daugunu going down injured during last weekend’s loss to South Africa, that opened the door for Koroibete to return to the field.

“He’s special mate, he’s one of a kind, Marika,” Australia halfback Nic White told reporters with a smile on Thursday.

“You talk about tough blokes, you talk about Max (Jorgensen) at the other end of the spectrum, an older bloke like Marika, he’s just made of granite. He is stop or go, so when he steps across that white line it’s everything go.

“Just the ability to empty the tank. I’ve played with some special blokes in my career that have the ability to just empty the tank into absolutely everything they do, every single action, (and) right at the top of that is Marika. Kick, chase, whether it’s going into contact – you guys have the highlights of all of it. It’s special.

“His high speed running, his ability to back that up effort on effort on effort, and then when it comes to contact he’s as hard as anybody. Like I said, he’s absolute granite.

“He’s a man of few words, does all his speaking that way. But I’ll tell you what, when he does choose to speak, you listen. He just has that aura. You almost have to seek Marika’s permission with things around the group, off the field and like, ‘Is that okay Marika?’ Get the nod, ‘Okay we’re good to go.’

“He’s certainly our leader of such.”

Koroibete is back in the mix at an important time for Australia as they look to bounce back from last week’s disaster class in Brisbane. South Africa ran riot with a masterful performance as they recorded a 33-7 win to snap their Suncorp Stadium hoodoo.

But Koroibete has been a problem for the Springboks in years gone by – we all remember that Test in Adelaide a few years ago to name one instance – and Wallabies fans are hopeful that they’ll see more of the same from the winger once thought to be retired.

It’s no secret the Wallabies will need his X-factor. Coach Schmidt has welcomed back Angus Bell and Nic White into the starting lineup. All three players will bring experience and stability to a side that needs direction when the going gets tough this weekend.

What shocked many last time out in Brisbane was the amount of Springboks fans that packed the stands. They seemed to outnumber Australians by two-to-one as an estimate and more of the same is expected at Perth’s Optus Stadium this weekend.

“There’s certainly plenty of South Africans here in Perth. I don’t blame them, it’s a beautiful spot,” White explained. “It was surprising probably in Brissie but it won’t be surprising this week in how many there’ll be here.

“Rugby is supported well over here in the west – there’s plenty of Kiwis, plenty of South Africans, plenty of ex-pats, plenty of Irish over here as well and English. Like I said, I don’t blame them wanting to get over here to Oz and certainly to get to Perth because it’s a cracking spot as you can see outside.”