Joseph Suaalii at centre of brutal Wallabies benching call amid Wales coach's huge confession
The surprise Suaalii news comes after he was named man-of-the-match against England.
Joseph Suaalii may have been named man-of-the-match on Test debut in the Wallabies' epic victory over England last week, but it won't be enough to prevent him dropping to the bench against Wales, according to reports. Suaalii was superb in his first ever game of senior rugby in front of 80,000 fans at Twickenham, as the Aussies snatched a late 42-37 victory.
The $5 million NRL recruit set up the Wallabies' first try, was solid in defence and his offload game caused England plenty of problems. But it was the towering former Roosters star's aerial prowess and ability to blunt England's high kicks that really stood out, giving fans plenty to get excited about ahead of the Wallabies' next Test against Wales in Cardiff on Monday morning (AEDT).
According to multiple reports though, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is set to drop his high-profile recruit to the bench, with Samu Kerevi set to take the 21-year-old's position at outside centre. Kerevi was expected to start against England in what would have been his first Test since last year’s World Cup, but Schmidt stunned the rugby world by handing schoolboy rugby prodigy Suaalii his maiden Test cap in a move that proved to be a masterstroke.
Suaalii's expected demotion to the bench is certainly not based on form, with Schmidt perhaps mindful about not asking too much of his star recruit too soon. Wales coach Warren Gatland - who goes into the Wallabies clash under immense pressure after 10 straight losses - was clearly impressed with what he saw from the NRL recruit.
"I think the impressive thing about him was his off-loading game - just being able to get the ball away," Gatland said. "He didn't get a lot of opportunities with the ball in hand from an attacking perspective, but it was just being able to get the ball he got away over the top for a try and not die with the ball.
"I thought he fitted in pretty well for someone to be thrown into his first professional game at international level at Twickenham. I think the game needs people like that. The game needs superstars. For him to be named man-of-the-match as well, and to create that hype. We all know and are pretty aware that rugby in Australia needs a boost."
Joseph Suaalii hailed after superb Wallabies debut
Suaalii's midfield partner for the Wallabies Len Ikitau - whose brilliant offload set up Max Jorgensen's extraordinary match-winning try against England - also hailed the 21-year-old's Test debut and described the former Roosters star as a "freak". Ikitau said one of the things that impressed him the most was that Suaalii went looking for the ball and did not shy away from the contest.
“Just being able to play next to him and see what he can do on the field is awesome," Ikitau said about Suaalii ahead of Monday morning's (AEDT) Test against Wales. “We saw all of that at training. He came in, he did what he needed to learn and just showcased his skills on the field. I thought it was awesome to see him defending the 13 channel. He just wanted to be involved and wanted to get the ball.”
Wales centre Ben Thomas admitted he'd followed Suaalii's career closely after watching him in the NRL with the Roosters. "I think he probably gave us a glimpse of what we can expect on the weekend when we play against him, so it is on us to limit his time and space," Thomas said.
"I wouldn't say we focus too much on containing any individual player. Pretty much every team at this level will have some star power in their back-line. It is probably more about containing them as a team and limiting the time and space that we give them. Those players are going to have key moments, so it's how much we can limit their opportunities. They always get athletes, when they get league players, so we will be aware of it."
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The Wallabies know a win against Wales will leave them halfway towards their goal of completing a 'grand slam' clean sweep of victories, with Tests against Scotland and Ireland to follow. The Mark Ella-inspired class of 1984 is the last Wallabies side to complete the epic feat but Schmidt will ensure the players just focus on improvement and not get too far ahead of themselves.
with AAP
