Where the Wallabies need to play marquee recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has finally completed his long-awaited code swap to rugby, and he got straight into drills this week at a training camp in Canberra, at the invitation of Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.

Training in his new NSW Waratahs gear alongside his new teammates as well as Wallaby hopefuls from the ACT Brumbies, Suaalii struck an impressive figure, standing out from the other Wallaby backs.

At 196cm and 98kgs, he’s considerably taller than the other backs and is listed as being the second heaviest Wallaby back, only one kilo lighter than Dylan Pietsch.

Apart from the metrics, it’s clear to see the league convert is a large human, a trait which Australian rugby will welcome, considering most of the top-tier backs are just on the smaller side by comparison with other top tier Test sides.

Suaalii raw athleticism could make him a handful on the wing, his height works well at fullback and his abrasive nature has him well suited for the melee of the centres.

He himself has no qualms about where he’s put, at just 21-years-old, the young star says he’s ready for any challenge.

“I’m just keeping everything simple, just sticking to the process of training every day, getting better every day and just learning from my teammates and just trying to be as best player I can be,” he said at the Canberra press conference.

“Look, I’ve always been open to playing centre, wing, fullback,” he said.

“If the coach puts me anywhere, I feel like I’m just a footy player at the end of the day. Any position, I’m ready to play. I don’t really have a preferred position.”

Suaalii is embracing the challenge of learning the intricacies of rugby and that learning curve may just dictate where he should be played during his initial re-introduction to rugby.

There’s suggestions Schmidt sees the young gun as a no.13 or a fullback, two positions which at Test level require great game knowledge and experience, a coaching project that would take time.

Time, which Schmidt’s contract currently doesn’t contain.

Nevertheless, speculation is always entertaining and if he were to play inside centre for Schmidt, he’d have to play the role of the hardman with the aptitude to ball play.

At outside centre, one is often charged with the defensive leadership of the team as well as being the link between the outside and inside backs, communication is key.

Out on the wings, spatial awareness, workrate, and an acute understanding of kick strategy will be required, as the Wallabies fight to improve their territorial control.

Finally, being the fullback, one requires even better game understanding, an ability to kick, chase, and catch the highballs, but above all else, vision and communication to the flyhalf is crucial.

There’s no doubt Suaalii has the size and power to ‘just play footy’ in any of these positions and cause his opposite a good bit of grief whilst doing it.

Nevertheless, he will likely have to prove his rugby intellect for Australia A first and foremost, during their two fixtures in England.

The first of the two matches will be against the Bristol Bears, a side which plays a fast and furious brand of rugby, who often run the ball from within their own 22m.

Next, the challenge will go up a notch against an England XV side, that will be the true test to see where the youngster’s physical ability scales.

He is expected to deal well with the physical nature of these games, albeit with a little more post-tackle competition and some much heavier bodies to shift at the ruck.

So where does he fit into an Australia A side, and subsequently where does he fit into a Wallabies side?

In all likelihood he will join the Wallabies camp after the two-game tour, where Schmidt will undoubtedly have an eye on the British and Irish Lions tour in less than a year’s time.

Suaalii’s height would be useful in the backfield, and while wing has the kindest learning curve, it’s perhaps at inside centre where he could find his first home.

The reality is, the youngster is yet to grow into his body, which is an exciting prospect.

At Super level and for Australia A, inside centre would be a good way to get him involved early in the phase count, and being the size that he is, he’d attract several defenders.

If he somehow gets a miraculous call-up to a Wallabies matchday-23, the intricacies of the attacks they’d be facing would be a step too far at no.12, so on the wing is likely where he would be best suited.

Whilst he’s only young now, recent revelations in the media show he could be in rugby until 2029, when he will be 26 years old, roughly the same age as current Wallaby centres Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau.

Australia are flush for talented wingers, and have some strong contenders for fullback, but the stocks for inside centre are thin, and physically on the smaller side.

Paisami alongside Ikitau have been Schmidt’s preferred combination, but after them the cohesion and physicality does drop off.

There are other inside centre options like David Feliuai, Lalakai Foketi, Hamish Stewart and when not injured, Isaac Henry but none have dethroned Paisami.

The reason for this focus on the no.12 jersey is because although Schmidt’s centre pairing is not tiny by any stretch, they are on the smaller side if compared to the centre combinations of the top 6 teams.

These teams’ most common centre combinations often boast one player who is a few kilos north of 100, with both usually measuring over 190cm.

Ireland’s most common combined centre pairing weight and height is 363cm and 197kgs, South Africa 375cm/204kgs, New Zealand 385cm/198kgs, France 371cm/209kgs, England 373cm/195kgs, and Argentina 378cm/192kgs.

You can bet the Lion’s centre pairing will be of the same ilk.

To put a raw figure to it, the Wallabies’ centre pairing unsurprisingly comes in at the smaller end at 359cm/194kgs.

While there are clearly some behemoth pairings like South Africa and France, it’s mostly the height factor where the Wallabies are outliers.

This may seem like a minor detail but having a larger and therefore more visible threat can sometimes mean the difference between a defender holding their shape or is pressured to break ranks.

Few inside centres hit as hard in defence as Paisami, at just 177cm he punches well above his height, but weight-wise, at 98kgs, he is perfectly within his own weight class against most of the inside centres in the world.

This is all to say, Australia needs a more imposing centre combination.

There’s no question that Paisami was the best performing no.12 during Super Rugby Pacific and rightfully has played the lion’s share of minutes at inside centre for the Wallabies.

As previously stated, it will be some time until Suaalii is ready for this role, nevertheless, it’s difficult to ignore his potential to mature into the no.12 jersey.

Being closer to the action at Super level could also perhaps fast-track his reintroduction to rugby.

The last thing anyone within the rugby ecosystem wants to see is him being underutilised and having to fight to get involved in games.

Many eyes will be on the young convert, luckily his debut game will abroad and away from the domestic media and therefore he will perhaps escape some scrutiny in his opening performances.

As he begins to reacquaint himself with the game of rugby it will become clear just how much he must learn and where he will fit in in Schmidt’s plans but there is no expectation that Suaalii will become a Wallaby in 2024.