2 hours Ago By Tony Harper
Wallabies Joe Schmidt coach has revealed the reasons for bringing Joseph-Aukuso Suallii straight into the national team for the Spring Tour, and the biggest part of the game he’ll need to focus on if he’s to be a hit in the XV-man game. Schmidt compared Suaalii to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who switched from rugby league to union and then back again when he failed to become a starting All Blacks player. Schmidt was an assistant during RTS’ time with New Zealand – before the star back decided to return to rugby league.
Suaalii was named in the 34-man Wallabies squad for Tests against England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland on Tuesday. Schmidt said it was unlikely the ex-Rooster would feature against England but he expected him to make his debut on the tour, if he shows he’s up to speed. Joseph Suaalii is pictured during an Australia Wallabies Training Session at the AIS on October 14, 2024 in Canberra, Australia.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images) Admitting he was unsure of the best position for his multi-million dollar recruit, Schmidt told reporters: “I’d just love him to blend in and be able to play in one of those positions, either centre, wing or fullback, and to kind of find his feet as quickly as possible. “There are real differences [with league]. I was involved with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, outstanding rugby league player, very high-profile player when he went across to the Blues and then into the All Blacks.
“The collision area was no problem for him, but just post-collision, some of those things that are very different around the ruck in rugby league versus around the ruck in rugby union. So those aspects, we just like to fast-track as much of that as we can in training and in any game time that he may get.” More Rugby Schmidt said he was under no direction from Rugby Australia to pick Suaalii for the Test team at his first chance, but acknowledged there was a steep learning curve, made slightly easier by the youngster’s time playing rugby union at school.
“You don’t suddenly lose that,” said Schmidt. “One of the things that gave us real confidence in the hub was how rugby reactional he was around the collision area. “Very, very good, very quickly in what we were looking for, even though we weren’t doing full contact.
“In his application, he is very intentional about how he learns and what he delivers. So those things gave us a bit of confidence to where we’ve ended up now with him being selected in the Wallabies squad. “As much as we think maybe it might have been better to come through [the second string Australia XV] part of it is that we play the Lions next.
“So if he doesn’t debut on this tour, then there’s very little window. There may be one opportunity to play before the Lions next year, and that would be it. So for us, we feel a little bit of pressure to be able to fast-track him.
” Schmidt said he understands the pressure and spotlight will be on the new recruit from the off. “I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t conscious of the big deal that he’s on and the profile that he has, because you can’t not be aware of that,” said Schmidt. “Our responsibility is to try to help him become the best rugby player and contributor to the team that he can be.
” The door could be open for Suaalii to debut in the Australian XV team against Bristol or England A, but it seems unlikely. “It’s probably more likely that he’ll start or come off the bench in a Wallaby fixture, just because while we’re in the same part of the world, we’re still quite separate with the Australia XV going to Bristol and then back to London, we’ll be in London going across to Wales,” Schmidt said. “We may pass, but we won’t be in the close proximity that would allow someone to dip in and out of an environment.
” So what makes Schmidt feel Suaalii’s ready to take that big step? “We’re not sure he’s ready, but the best way to find that out is to have him in camp and to get to know him a bit further, even though we’ve only had two trainings with him,” said Schmidt. Joseph Suaalii talks to the media after an Australia Wallabies Training Session at the AIS on October 14, 2024 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images) “I’ve seen enough of him play as a rugby league player in the midfield there and have got really good feedback from other players about him when he was in the school system, the under 18 system.
“A lot of the players that he played with, the likes of Angus Bell, Josh Flook, those guys, they speak highly of him as well. “So, I’m getting to know him, the coaches are getting to know him and that’ll be a process maybe that might take a couple of weeks, but at least we give ourselves a chance of finding out a little bit about him.”.
