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Joseph Suaalii is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist for Rugby Australia

By Ben Smith
(Photos by Mark Kolbe/ Matt King/Getty Images)

Rugby Australia’s coup of Roosters star Joseph Suaalii on a three-year deal from 2025 is a major boost for the game in need of star power to attract interest in the competitive Australian landscape.

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The 19-year-old is as gifted an athlete as they come with his best years still ahead. Not since former Israel Folau has a high-profile NRL star made the code switch during or before the peak of his powers.

The deal is a marketing masterstroke to generate excitement ahead of the British & Irish Lions tour and the home Rugby World Cup in 2027 but they’ve been down this path before.

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Eddie Jones will hope that the new league recruit will have as much impact as Folau did in his Test debut in the last Lions series in 2013 when he burst onto the scene with two stunning tries in Brisbane.

If Suaalii can produce anything near what Folau did during his six-year career with the Wallabies, he will do well.

Folau still is one of the best athletes the game has ever seen. The fullback was a try-scoring freak who could pull miracles out by running a dream line and bursting through multiple defenders.

He pulled rabbits out of hats regularly to give the Wallabies a fighting chance, blazing his way to 37 tries in 73 Tests but finished with more losses than wins with a 47.3 per cent winning record.

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There were no Bledisloe Cup series wins and there was just one truncated Rugby Championship title. The pinnacle during Folau’s time was probably the World Cup final appearance in 2015.

The bottom line is the Wallabies didn’t win a whole lot despite having one of the best athletes the game has seen, a weapon that proved time and time again he could only be contained momentarily.

Rugby Australia got what they wanted in terms of on-field production from Folau and it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t the cure to fix their fortunes and provide a sustained period of winning.

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The Wallabies already have a crop of outside backs full of talent that Suaalii will join.

On the wings, there is Marika Koroibete based in Japan, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Andrew Kellaway, Tom Wright, Jordan Petaia, and another league convert Suliasi Vunivalu.

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Len Ikitau is a world class centre, one of the best defenders going around and a sure starter in the 13 jersey. Hunter Paisami, Izaia Perese, Lalakai Foketi are all good enough while when available, Samu Kerevi is the world’s best ball-running 12.

The talent out wide is not the problem. While you’d rather have him than not, Suaalii is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist for Rugby Australia.

By the sounds of it, Eddie Jones is prepared to dull down the Wallabies game plan to become ‘junkies for winning, not junkies for possession’ and rely on power rugby up front and territorial kicking.

If that is the case, then Suaalii won’t have a lot of work to do unless he can drive the Wallabies around the park with an out-of-hand kicking game.

The Waratahs signing of giant Clermont 20-year-old lock Miles Amatosero may prove to be more valuable to Rugby Australia than Suaalii, who will bolster the tight five options with a young behemoth with rare physical traits.

Jones should hope that the Tahs just don’t ruin his new locking prospect. The transformation of Will Skelton highlights that possibility, who became a much fitter and dynamic player in France after leaving Sydney.

Recently capped French lock and former Melbourne Rebels prospect Emmanuel Meafou, the 202cm and 145kg forward, also found the same improvement once he left Australia and thrived in a different environment.

The signing of Suaalii is a great narrative for Rugby Australia, but landing a few more Amatosero’s might be worth more substance as well as making sure the players that are already there reach their potential.

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

33 Go to comments
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