Joseph Suaali’i’s Wallabies debut is expected to be fast-tracked with Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh revealing plans to feature the side on the team’s tour of Britain and Ireland next November.
speaking Sydney Morning HeraldWaugh reiterated that Suaali’i’s code switch would proceed despite the departures of key figures Hamish McLennan and Eddie Jones.
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Waugh also expressed “hope” that the 20-year-old will be parachuting into a Wallabies jersey in time for the spring tour within 12 months.
“We are committed to Joseph. He will be coming in November for the spring tour,” Waugh said.
“We have to deliver what we said we would deliver, and that’s a big part of it.”
It comes after reports that Rugby Australia’s powerbrokers are becoming “cool” about the high-stakes deal.
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The plan means Suaali’i could turn into representing the Wallabies in the NRL grand final in a matter of weeks, depending on how the Roosters’ season progresses.
Suaali’i signed a three-year contract with the Waratahs and Rugby Australia last March. The massive contract is said to be worth $1.6 million per year, which would make him one of the highest-paid players in Australian rugby union history.
The deal attracted a lot of attention and criticism despite Suaali’i’s code background.
He played rugby for Kings School and represented the GPS 1st XV, but ultimately pursued rugby league through the South Sydney Rabbitohs system before being poached by the Roosters.
But the towering outside back has previously admitted he has always dreamed of playing at the highest level in both codes and revealed that the opportunity to play in the British and Irish Lions series and Rugby World Cup was what tempted him. switch.
He will get the chance to do both over the course of his three-year contract.
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Suaali’i could return to the NRL at a later date, but Roosters chairman Nick Politis told 9 News earlier this month: “He (Suaali’i) has said he will be back in 2028.”
As the Roosters prepare to lose Suaali’i, the glamorous club could be linked with Wallabies winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, whose contract with the Waratahs expires at the end of 2024, to resume his services.
But Waugh told the Herald that he hoped Rugby Australia would retain “world-class athletes and world-class human beings” and that “dialogues (between the two parties) are continuing.”
