By admin 
Time is of the essence for the supposed savior of Australian rugby.
There will be no easing up on 21-year-old Joseph Sua’ali’i following his expensive, much-hyped move to the 15-man code.
Less than a month after switching from rugby leagueSua’ali’i will line up against England, one of the best teams in the world, on Saturday at Twickenham, one of rugby’s legendary stadiums.
Talk about a baptism of fire for someone who has never played a senior rugby match.
“If not now, when?” Australian coach Joe Schmidt offered.
The end-of-season European tour, which starts against England and includes further test matches against Wales, Scotland and Ireland, offers Australia its final matches before the visit of the British and Irish Lions for a tour starting in June next year.
Schmidt felt like he had no choice but to throw in Sua’ali’i.
After all, Sua’ali’i is richly talented, confident and someone that cash-strapped Rugby Australia is betting on the house after signing him to a contract worth 5.3 million Australian dollars ($3.5 million ) has handed over. for three years to the Rugby World Cup 2027. It all comes at a difficult time for an ailing rugby giant languishing at number 9 in the world rankings.
No wonder Sua’ali’i is all the rage right now.
“We no longer hold press conferences about the team. We do them around Joseph,” Schmidt said.
“It’s unusual,” Schmidt added of the player’s rapid speed, “but we have a very limited time frame. We’ve got these four weeks, then six months where they go back to Super Rugby teams and you get a few weeks before a huge Lions test that the whole country, certainly the rugby community in Australia, is excited about. We have to make plans for that.”
Sua’ali’i, a strong, skilled and fast runner, will play outside center against an English team that is looking frustrating. 24-22 loss to New Zealand last weekend.
He last played in the 15-man code as a winger, for Australian Schoolboys in a win over New Zealand in 2019, when he lined up alongside current Wallaby Josh Flook. He was also a teammate of Australian captain Angus Bell. Since then, Sua’ali’i has become a star in rugby league, playing for Samoa when it reached the World Cup finals in 2022, for Sydney Roosters in the NRL and also in the State of Origin.
Schmidt has been with Sua’ali’i in recent weeks and describes him as a “very professional young man.”
“He is meticulous with his planning before he even starts his preparation,” Schmidt said. “He asks a lot of questions; most of the guys who come in are relatively shy. He is a very humble young man, but he is open about his preparation.”
Helping Sua’ali’i seize his opportunity are centers Hunter Paisami and Flook unavailable for Australia’s first Test match since a 33-13 loss to the All Blacks in Wellington in the Rugby Championship. That was one of five defeats in six games in that competition for the Wallabies.
England’s recent record is not much better, having lost five of their last seven Tests up to the end of February. The last three defeats have all been against the All Blacks, with England each throwing away the lead in the final quarter and losing by a total of ten points.
‘We can’t make excuses. As players we need to step up and be more consistent,” said England winger Tom Curry.
“We don’t make any promises, but we haven’t been good enough. In the last quarter we as players definitely have to stand up. It’s the full 80 minutes.
England coach Steve Borthwick has selected an unchanged team for Saturday’s match.
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Teams:
England: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Chandler Cunningham-South, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Jamie George (captain), Ellis Genge. Reserves: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme.
Australia: Tom Wright, Andrew Kellaway, Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch, Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Nick Frost, Taniela Tupou, Matt Faessler, Angus Bell (captain). Reserves: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Max Jorgensen.
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AP rugby: