Imagine this; you’re 21, you’re the most talked about player in rugby union for a month straight, you’re playing your first senior match, your first of its kind in this code since you were a teenager, and you’ve just leave for your country at Twickenham, the home of rugby. We all know that elite athletes are made of different stuff, but it’s worth dwelling on the stunning set of circumstances that preceded Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s Test debut.
It would have been enough not to pollute the place with a series of errors. Had he managed to retain the ball and make a few tackles, Joe Schmidt and Rugby Australia could have argued that there was tangible hope of a return on their substantial investment in this unproven prospect. He looked the part, all of 6’8″ and 200lbs. But could he handle the bright lights and the weight of expectations? We got our answer shortly before kick-off.
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Just after warmups ended and the national anthems approached, Suaalii took a moment for himself. He crouched down, looked up at the gaping stands around him, and smiled. Ordinary people might have become nervous. This young boy obviously doesn’t know the concept.
“Even hearing the crowd, I just wanted to soak it in before I started playing,” he said after a player-of-the-match performance that saw him slide across the biggest stages of a sport without even have the slightest idea of the narrative surrounding it. him. “I always dreamed of playing abroad. My old man always told me that there were a lot of people there and that rugby brings it. Playing today was special.
His father came to Australia from Samoa. His maternal grandfather left Cambodia in search of a better life. Suaalii may be young, but he recognizes the importance of moving away from a code often mired in parochialism and adopting a code that has parishes all over the world.
“It was my first time representing Australia,” said the former NRL star who actually played union for his country as a schoolboy. “I have six sisters and one brother and we all live in Australia, a safe country, so just representing Australia for the first time in a professional arena was a very special moment for me and my family.
“I was ready for anything, my mindset is I just want to play,” he said of his surprise inclusion in the starting XV. “I don’t want to sit and wait. That’s the best way to learn: just go out on the field and play. When Joe [Schmidt] signaled to me that I was going to play, it was a very emotional moment but I also knew that I had to do a job.
Whatever his pre-match briefing was, he ticked all the boxes and more. He set up a first down for Tom Wright with a one-handed offload. He remained firm in contact with and without the ball. He used every inch of his body to deploy a series of NBA-style crosscourt kicks. And in the final seconds, when the Wallabies needed to win the ball back from the final restart of the competition, he launched a challenge in the air and forced an English forward which proved decisive in the play. “I lean against anyone in the air,” he said. “I know that’s one of my strengths in this match. Every time the ball is in the air, I know I’m going to catch it. »
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He nevertheless recognizes that there is work to be done. England rarely contested channel 13 which is the most difficult to defend on the pitch. And with the hosts’ defense being so disjointed, it was all too easy for the Wallabies to find the advantage. “There’s a lot of growth in my game from today, I know that,” Suaalii said.
His coach supports him in his on-the-job learning. “He’s incredibly diligent in his preparation,” Schmidt said. “That diligence pays off in the way he plays. He’s probably still finding his feet in the game. There are subtleties that are different [from league]. But with that hard work ethic and professionalism and athleticism that he has, I think it was a debut that really built confidence.
There is a euphemism. It was completely confusing at times. And now that he has firmly planted his flag, does he fear that the noise around him will become overwhelming? “Honestly, I didn’t really hear [anything] until you just said that at that time,” he responded when asked about the external hype. “So it’s just about how I can be the best for my teammates, how I can be the best for myself every time I step on the field.”