Ex-Wallaby Mark Nawaqanitawase dismisses NRL question at Olympics

Before leaving rugby union behind to pursue an opportunity with the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, Mark Nawaqanitawase is firmly focused on making Australia proud over the next few days at the Paris Olympic Games.

Nawaqanitawase was asked about his decision to swap codes and he quickly dismissed it by smiling and then saying, “That’s something for another time, man.” Right now, ‘Marky Mark’ wants to help Australia win gold.

Australia has only won one rugby sevens medal at the Olympic Games and that was, of course, the triumphant efforts of the women’s team in Rio. But eight years on from that moment of glory, the Aussies have set their sights on more history.

World Rugby Guide to Rugby Sevens

Olympic Rugby Sevens kicks off in Paris on Wednesday. Here’s your full explanation of how it’ll work!

World Rugby Guide to Rugby Sevens

Olympic Rugby Sevens kicks off in Paris on Wednesday. Here’s your full explanation of how it’ll work!

Before the women’s team get the chance to play at the 80,000-seat modern-day Colosseum that is Stade de France, the men will have the first chance at ending the nation’s rugby sevens medal drought. They’re off to a good start but it doesn’t get any easier.

The Aussie men’s team are off to a winning start in Saint-Denis with wins over Samoa and Kenya on the opening day. Former Wallaby Mark Nawaqanitawase only played a couple of minutes, but the giant winger can still be expected to play a big part in what’s to come.

Nawaqaniatwase is an invaluable asset to the Australian sevens program as an ariel threat who also boasts X-factor in general play. It’s no wonder the Sydney Roosters were keen to sign the Wallaby, but for now, the 23-year-old is focused on the job at hand.

“I didn’t know I’d be back so it’s a bit of a shock,” Nawaqanitawase said on the Olympics broadcast, as seen on Australia’s Stan Sport.

“It’s a bit of a blessing. Such a great country with such great support of rugby so it’s pretty cool to be able to play again here.

“That’s in the future but at the moment I really want to do this jersey proud and do this country proud and hopefully bring back a gold medal.”

Nawaqanitawase might be the biggest name in the Australian squad who’s likely to capture headlines over the next couple of days, but it was the mainstays of the sevens squad who stood tall on successful first day at the Games.

Playmaker Dietrich Roache threw an intercept against Samoa to give them a surprise seven-nil lead, but the Australians hit back through Henry Hutchison before the break.

Nathan Lawson scored the go-ahead points about four minutes into the second term, and then Hutchison was once again in the thick of the action by scoring what ended up being the match-winning score shortly after.

‘Hutch’ was the hero for the Aussies as they got off to an ideal start with a 21-14 win over Samoa, and they backed that up later on by beating Kenya 21-7.

“The first game’s always the most nervous, but I thought we settled in pretty nicely into that game. It was a bit frantic at the start,” Henry Hutchison said in a statement.

“Samoa came out hot and that was a really tough game, but we got better and better. Hopefully, we can build into the next game with the backend of our performance.”

Head coach John Manenti added: “Naturally there are a bit of nerves there when you’re the first Australian side playing and you want to get off to a good start.

“Previous Olympics we haven’t had a good first day so we’ve put ourselves in a good position and go in tomorrow against Argentina to have a good shot at them.”

Australia will take on SVNS Series League Winners Argentina in their final pool match at about 11:30 pm (AEST) on Thursday evening. But if you’re an Australian, the good news is the men in gold will progress to the quarter-finals even if they lose.