Can 'freakish' Suaalii revive the Wallabies?

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has always been in a rush.

At 14, he got special permission to play for his school’s first XV.

At 17, he got another exemption to make his NRL debut early.

Now, at 21, the code-crosser is trying to make his biggest leap yet; he has eight months to reacquaint himself with union and revive the ailing Wallabies before the British and Irish Lions land down under.

His first rugby union game since his schooldays will come this Saturday against England at Twickenham. He starts at outside centre.

Suaalii isn’t over-thinking it.

“At the end of the day, it is just a game of footy,” he said last month of the prospect of making his union return in the Test arena.

Rugby Australia will have mulled over his recruitment a little longer.

The cash-strapped union brought him in from rugby league's Sydney Roosters on a three-year-deal worth a reported A$5.35m (£2.7m).

It seems like a spectacular gamble. But if the 6ft 5in Suaalii is as good as some think, even that outlay will be a shrewd investment.

"I know union well and I think they got him cheap," said Matt Parish, who coached Suaalii at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup, earlier this year.

"I’ve got no doubt, no doubt whatsoever he'll be the greatest league convert to union."

It is an eye-catching claim.

Jason Robinson might well be the current holder of that title.

He made the exact journey that Suaalii has mapped out - from a top-level rugby union debut to key player in the 2001 Lions Test series in little over half a year - before going on to win the Rugby World Cup with England in 2003.

He too believes Suaalii has what it takes to follow in his fleet footsteps.

"The switch it is not easy, union is more technical, and he is going to come up against some of the best players in the northern hemisphere, but he is a player who can turn a game," said Robinson.

"When I came in it was about attack, ball in hand and taking people on, and he is one of the best at doing that.

"There will be challenges and at times I'm sure he will be exposed, but there will be other times when he will create something out of nothing and will be a really big threat."

Suaalii has a big advantage on Robinson.

While Robinson was a union novice, Suaalii was a prodigy in the code.

He played well above his age at rugby nursery King's School Parramatta and at 16 was part of a drought-ending Australia Under-18 win in New Zealand in 2019.

A former state high jump champion and keen basketball player, he was dubbed the next Israel Folau - a star in league and union for Australia - because of the speed, agility and explosiveness he showed playing at full-back, centre and wing.

"I had heard about him at 13 or 14, but the first time I saw him was as a 15-year-old playing against 18 year olds for the 1st XV at King’s," said Adrian Thompson, who worked at Rugby Australia for a decade as under-20s coach and head of talent management before leaving last year.

"His team would have this restart play, where they would kick short and he'd run through and catch it.

"He had this ability to catch high balls, and just do some stuff that was pretty freakish.

"At that age, he did very much look like Folau in the way he played. Yeah, 100%."

Part of Thompson's remit was trying to keep young Wallaby prospects in the XV-player game.

Ultimately, in Suaalii's case, it proved impossible.

Suaalii was on the books of South Sydney Rabbitohs before switching to the Roosters, where he made the NRL's team of the year in 2022, while still a teenager.

If he was an instant hit on arrival, Suaalii took some dents on departure.

As well as picking up a four-game ban for a high hit in the State of Origin showpiece, Suaalii was criticised by some for deserting league. Peter V'landys, Australian Rugby League Commission boss, accused him of chasing easy money and predicted a swift return to the 13-man code.

However, Anderson is sure that Suaalii, stronger and faster for his time in league, can find his feet quickly in union.

"Oh, 100% yeah, he'll definitely make the transition and he'll be a world class player," Anderson said.

"He's a very special talent and he is still very young.

“If you look at the way rugby league play on the edge, most rugby union teams are pretty similar now.

"I'm not hands on anymore so I don't know how [Wallabies coach] Joe Schmidt's got his attack, but you can assume he's going to get plenty of football whatever position he plays."

Suaalii is going to get plenty of the spotlight too.