Joe Schmidt keen ‘to have a conversation’ with 5 million dollar recruit ahead of Wallabies’ year-end tour
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and Joseph Suaalii.
Joe Schmidt has revealed that he is keen to “have a conversation” with rugby league convert Joseph Suaalii as he makes preparations for the Wallabies’ end-of-year tour to Europe.
The Wallabies are set to play matches against England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in November and Suaalii could be a shock inclusion in Schmidt’s squad even though he hasn’t played a professional game of rugby union yet.
Suaalii, who represented the Australian Schoolboys side in rugby union, played at centre and on the wing for NRL outfit the Sydney Roosters but signed a massive three-year deal with Rugby Australia in 2023, thought to be around AUS$5.35 million, which will see him joining the Waratahs.
Rugby league career officially over
The 21-year-old’s rugby league career is officially over after the Roosters were knocked out of the NRL play-offs by the Melbourne Storm over the weekend and he revealed earlier this month that he is set to make his entry into rugby union with the Wallabies on their upcoming European tour.
“I am honestly not sure (if I will play), but I am going on that Spring tour at the end of the year,” Suaalii said at the time. “There is no Super Rugby (left this year).
“I know once I finish here (with the Roosters) I will be straight into it.
“Footy is footy. It’s a footy ball at the end of the day. It’s just about playing.”
Schmidt took over the Wallabies’ coaching reins from Eddie Jones earlier this year and after impressing in the July internationals, with back-to-back triumphs over Wales and a victory over Georgia, they struggled in the Rugby Championship and finished at the bottom of the table after winning just one out of six matches.
Despite that poor form, there are signs that the Wallabies have improved under Schmidt’s guidance and it will be interesting to see how he fits Suaalii into his plans.
Schmidt spoke to reporters after the Wallabies’ 33-13 Bledisloe Cup loss to the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday and admitted that he wasn’t entirely sure of Suaalii’s status just yet.
“I haven’t spoken to him directly yet because I wanted to leave him to play for the Roosters. Obviously, they played last night and were knocked out by the Melbourne Storm so now we will potentially have a conversation,” he said.
“We’ve just got to wait for the powers that be to deem that he’s available to us and then post that he’ll be a guy that we’ll have a conversation with.
‘He goal kicks very well’
“He’s obviously coming across to rugby and we’d be pretty happy to have him… he goal kicks very well.”
Meanwhile, Wallabies captain Harry Wilson is looking forward to Suaalii making the switch to the 15-a-side code.
“It’s super exciting, obviously,” he said. “Since he signed, I’ve probably watched him a bit more than I did before.
“And, yeah, he’s a terrific footballer and I think adds a lot of value to Australian rugby.
“So I think everyone’s pretty excited to have him.”
