A reinvigorated Suliasi Vunivalu on how Eddie Jones' 'jokes' have made him run faster
Suliasi Vunivalu's code switch has been far from the journey the former NRL champion expected, injuries have kept him off the field while certain coaching directives have taken his mind away from the game he loves.
Earlier last month, Eddie Jones hosted his first Wallabies Camp of 2023 and while selections for the camp was the primary talking point, the presence of a cattle prod on the camp's first day also found its way into public knowledge.
The cattle prod was intended as a comedic method of sending Vunivalu a message, and it was well received by the one-time Wallaby.
“I actually didn’t know about the cattle prod,” Vunivalu told The Sydney Morning Herald ahead of Saturday’s clash between the Reds and Waratahs. “When he mentioned it, I had to ask one of the boys next to me, ‘what do they use that for?'
“It’s funny. Eddie is a funny coach. He has some jokes in him. It’s made me run faster in the last few weeks.
“It was really quiet when he entered. We thought he was going to be really serious, but he was cracking jokes. Everyone enjoyed the camp. I took a lot from it and I know what I need to work on in my game.”
Eddie Jones' message was clear for Vunivalu; keep it simple and be yourself.
“He just said, ‘mate, I want you to be you. Try and be yourself. You’re a try-scoring bloke. Go back to being that bloke. Don’t try and do other stuff. You’re getting away from your football’.
“I thought, ‘it’s true’. I just have to do my job so I can help the team out."
A simple message might just be the perfect prompt for a remarkable athlete who admits he's struggled when his focus is taken away from the fundamentals of the game.
Under previous Wallabies coach Dave Rennie, Vunivalu suffered a number of setbacks while chasing the goals set out for him.
“Every interview (with Rennie) was just based on speed, speed, speed,” he told AAP earlier in the Super Rugby Pacific season.
“It put pressure on me; I started getting my technique wrong and I kept pulling my hamstring.
“I struggled mentally, dealing with serious back-to-back injuries for the first time, I didn’t have confidence getting back and running full speed.
“I’ve never been that guy, I never hit top speed until game day… I’d been focused too much on trying to get my speed back, I forgot about the footy.
“Now that’s behind me… I just want the footy in my hands again.”
Despite the struggles, there's been no second guessing his decision to switch to rugby union, with a clear goal in sight and now a clear pathway for how to achieve it.
“Everyone wants to play in a World Cup. It’s always in my head. I want to represent Australia. If I do, it’s a big goal for me and my family. I have to put my head down, put the work in and let my footy play out.”
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I have heard it asked if RA is essentially one of the part owners and I suppose therefor should be on the other side of these two parties. If they purchased the rebels and guaranteed them, and are responsible enough they incur Rebels penalties, where is this line drawn? Seems rough to have to pay a penalty for something were your involvement sees you on the side of the conned party, the creditors. If the Rebels directors themselves have given the club their money, 6mil worth right, why aren’t they also listed as sitting with RA and the Tax office? And the legal threat was either way, new Rebels or defunct, I can’t see how RA assume the threat was less likely enough to warrant comment about it in this article. Surely RA ignore that and only worry about whether they can defend it or not, which they have reported as being comfortable with. So in effect wouldn’t it be more accurate to say there is no further legal threat (or worry) in denying the deal. Unless the directors have reneged on that. > Returns of a Japanese team or even Argentinean side, the Jaguares, were said to be on the cards, as were the ideas of standing up brand new teams in Hawaii or even Los Angeles – crazy ideas that seemingly forgot the time zone issues often cited as a turn-off for viewers when the competition contained teams from South Africa. Those timezones are great for SR and are what will probably be needed to unlock its future (cant see it remaining without _atleast _help from Aus), day games here are night games on the West Coast of america, were potential viewers triple, win win. With one of the best and easiest ways to unlock that being to play games or a host a team there. Less good the further across Aus you get though. Jaguares wouldn’t be the same Jaguares, but I still would think it’s better having them than keeping the Rebels. The other options aren’t really realistic 25’ options, no. From reading this authors last article I think if the new board can get the investment they seem to be confident in, you keeping them simply for the amount of money they’ll be investing in the game. Then ditch them later if they’re not good enough without such a high budget. Use them to get Jaguares reintergration stronger, with more key players on board, and have success drive success.
Go to commentsYeah, and ours is waaay bigger than yours. Just as you's get a semi…oh hold on that never happens
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