Sonny Bill Williams laments Mark Nawaqanitawase’s ‘sad’ NRL defection

Dual international Sonny Bill Williams has labelled Mark Nawaqanitawase’s decision to leave rugby union and the Wallabies behind by signing with an NRL club as a “sad” outcome for the sport.

Nawaqanitawase, 23, met with Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson and chairman Nick Politis soon after arriving back in Australia after the Wallabies’ disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign.

While the Wallabies bundled out of the sport’s showpiece event at the pool stage for the first time, Nawaqanitawase was still seen as a light at the end of the tunnel for Rugby Australia.

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The 11-Test Wallabies wing only debuted at international level during last year’s end-of-season tour to the northern hemisphere, but Nawaqanitawase has quickly risen to superstar status.

That’s what makes Nawaqanitawase’s decision to leave the Wallabies so “sad.” Nawaqanitawase officially penned a two-year deal with NRL powerhouse the Sydney Roosters from 2025.

Nawaqanitawase will not be available to play against the British and Irish Lions, and it paints quite a bleak picture for the Wallabies as they prepare to move on from the Eddie Jones era.

“I just thought that was sad,” two-time Rugby World Cup-winning All Black Sonny Bill Williams told Nine’s Wide World of Sports.

“I thought that was just a reflection of the Jones, (former chairman Hamish) McLennan era – what I saw.

“How can we have arguably the best player on tour and only in his early 20s jump ship? It should be the time of your life.

“Unless he’s going through some mental health issues and all of that… how can that occur? You should be loving the environment.

“That was a reflection of that. That’s what I believe.”

Nawaqanitawase will effectively swap places with marquee rugby recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii who signed a mega deal with Rugby Australia earlier this year.

But questions remain unanswered about the perceived state of the sport Down Under following 20 years of lacklustre results and issues with player pathway systems.

The Wallabies haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup in more than two decades – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as Rugby Australia prepares to look for their third Wallabies coach in as many years.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. The man known simply as ‘SBW’ believes that there is plenty of talent coming through the ranks for Australian rugby to thrive.

“I’m telling you, there are a lot of that Nawaqanitawase’s out in Western Sydney,” Williams said. “There are a lot of players that we need to find in Australia.

“When you say, ‘Oh, are we fearful of losing these top players?’ You get the system right? Players come, players go – hold on to the ones that you need to hold on to.

“You don’t overly stress on the fact that there’s no talent coming through because it’s there you just need some strategies and pathways to put in place where we can see and start seeing some of those players come through.”