Wallabies get world-class boost, but RWC star ‘on the verge’ of code switch – report
Australia's Marika Koroibete and Mark Nawaqanitawase after the Rugby World Cup pool C loss to Wales.
The new Wallabies head coach may be without one of the stars of Australia’s Rugby World Cup campaign, but there is also some positive news.
Marika Koroibete is reportedly set to make a U-turn on his retirement call, but the news for Australia on Mark Nawaqanitawase is more bleak.
Wallabies’ wingers
Australia endured a difficult World Cup, failing to progress past the pool stages of the tournament for the first time, with Eddie Jones resigning from his role as head coach soon afterwards.
After Australia’s final pool game against Portugal, prop Pone Fa’amausili revealed that Koroibete told his teammates that he would hang up his Test boots.
“I’m real close to Marika, and he definitely spoke to me before we came to France that this will be his last time putting on the gold jersey for the Wallabies,” Fa’amausili told Wide World of Sports.
However, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, Koroibete has changed his mind and still has a desire to represent the Wallabies following Jones’ exit.
Rugby Australia (RA) sources told the newspaper that Koroibete’s management informed the governing body that he has a “strong desire” to continue playing Test rugby and that he was “keen as mustard”.
The Japan-based star will be eligible for selection by whoever replaces Jones, but the new boss looks set to be without World Cup star Nawaqanitawase.
The 23-year-old outside back was a shining light in a disappointing tournament for the Wallabies and looks set to make a code switch after the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
According to the same report, talks over a contract extension between the rising star and RA have “collapsed”, and he is “on the verge” of switching codes with the Sydney Roosters having tabled an offer.
His current contract with RA and the Waratahs expires in 2024, and the governing body is bracing for the possibility that he will switch to the NRL in 2025.
The move from the Roosters comes after RA lured their star youngster Joseph Suaalii to rugby union on a multi-million three-year deal.
Nawaqanitawase is set to make a final decision in the coming days, the report added.
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