Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was hailed as a “monster” by his Australian midfield partner Len Ikitau on Monday after an eye-catching performance against England in his first professional rugby match.
The former rugby league star won the man of the match award in the visitors’ 42-37 victory at Twickenham on Saturday and is now turning his attention to Wales.
“He’s a monster, man,” Ikitau told a Wallabies press conference in Cardiff, ahead of Sunday’s clash.
“Just being able to play alongside him and see what he can do on the pitch is awesome. And we expect more from him now that he’s played his first game.
“We saw all that in training. He came in, he did what he needed to learn and just showed his skills on the field.
“I thought it was great to see him defending channel 13. He just wanted to get involved and get the ball.”
Warren Gatland’s Wales are just one defeat away from an 11th successive Test match defeat after a 24-19 setback to Fiji and the Wallabies will be confident of a 10th victory in their last 12 visits in Cardiff.
Suaalii should be at the heart of that, and while they haven’t faced him in person yet, Wales know all about him.
“Seriously impressive” is how Welsh fly-half Gareth Anscombe described Suaalii’s masterclass.
“He made the game look pretty easy, didn’t he?” said Anscombe. “But look, it’s going to be a big challenge and I’m sure he’ll probably start in midfield.
“I thought he had a sensational debut. He was dangerous, good in the air and quite a slender player.”
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