Wallabies great weighs in on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s wing switch

Wallabies great Tim Horan wants to see Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii play on the wing more between now and Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027, with the utility enjoying some positive involvements in the 42-38 win over the Springboks.

Suaalii had only ever started at outside centre for the Wallabies before last weekend’s match against the Springboks, but coach Les Kiss decided to make the headline-grabbing decision to shift the 23-year-old out wide.

The now 25-Test Wallaby made an immediate impact at Perth’s Optus Stadium, rising highest to claim possession off the opening kick-off. Suaalii had a couple of try involvements before half-time, as the home side took a seven-point lead into the sheds.

But Kiss didn’t commit to keeping Suaalii on the wing, even saying the dual international could play fullback for the Wallabies. “It’s there for us,” the coach initially said when asked about Suaalii on the wing.

Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Horan was asked about Suaalii’s appearance on the wing as celebrations marking one year until next year’s tournament kicked off. Horan anticipates ‘Su’ could play more minutes on the wing in the short term.

“I think he’d be a 12, he could be a 10, he could play any position on the field, Joseph. He’s a wonderful athlete first and a footy player second. He could easily play at 15 as well I think,” Horan told reporters in Sydney.

“I’d like to see him a bit more on the wing between and the World Cup. You’ve got 12 months to probably have a couple more games on the wing, because you don’t want to come into a Rugby World Cup and have only played on one or two Test matches there.

“You want to be able to see him there for a bit longer and I think we’ll see that the next couple of weeks.”

The Wallabies will be without Hunter Paisami for both matches in the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series, with the midfielder set to miss four Tests. Paisami was cited after being shown a yellow card late against the Springboks.

Ikitau played less than 60 minutes in the match after coming off injured, but the reigning John Eales Medal (Wallabies Player of the Year) has been named in the 34-man squad to face the All Blacks in Auckland and Sydney.

“In Auckland, I think Isaac Henry’s shown that he’s up to Test match footy now… hopefully Len Ikitau’s right,” Horan said.

“I like how Joseph was on the wing, it gave him a bit more freedom, and I just like the way that he can start to see the game in a better shape from the wing.”

The Wallabies are on a six-match unbeaten run that stretches back to July, when Joe Schmidt coached the team to a 57-10 triumph over Italy. Kiss has since taken over, with the Australians claiming four wins and one draw.

“I think there’s some confidence there for the Wallabies, of what they did against the Springboks but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground.

“It’s only early days for Les Kiss’ side. As I said before, the brand and the style of rugby they’re playing, people want to watch and that what you want. You want fans, not just hardened rugby fans to watch the Wallabies, you want the floaters who watch all other spots to watch the Wallabies and the gold jersey.

“We’ll soon tell the next three weeks where the Wallabies are you play two Test matches against the All Blacks.”