Joe Schmidt responds to surprise Spring Tour claim made by Joseph Sua’ali’i

With a smile and a brief chuckle, coach Joe Schmidt responded to comments made by Joseph Sua’ali’i about the Wallabies’ upcoming Spring Tour. Sua’ali’i is bound for rugby union after the Sydney Roosters were knocked out of the NRL finals on Friday night.

Before a seismic few years for Australian rugby with the British & Irish Lions Tour in 2025 and the Rugby World Cup on home soil a couple of years later, Rugby Australia made a significant decision in March 2023. Sua’ali’i was offered a lucrative deal to jump codes.

Sua’ali’i hadn’t played a game of State of Origin by that stage but was earmarked as a key figure for the 15-player code in Australia moving forward. The Sydney Roosters flyer put pen to paper on a three-year deal which is set to get underway in October.

Following the Wallabies’ last-placed finish in The Rugby Championship, the team’s end-of-year tour was brought up during the post-match press conference in Wellington. The Wallabies had just fallen to their fifth defeat in six Tests, losing to the All Blacks 33-13.

Schmidt was asked about Sua’ali’i after the second Bledisloe Cup Test, as the 21-year-old said earlier this month that he was “going on that Spring Tour at the end of the year.” It seems that was news to the Wallabies’ head coach, though.

“Yeah, I was interested that Joseph mentioned that. I haven’t spoken to him directly yet because I wanted to leave him to play for the Roosters, obviously, they played last night and were knocked out by the Melbourne Storm,” Schmidt told reporters.

“Joseph now, we will potentially have a conversation. We’ve just got to wait for the powers of be to deem that he’s available to us and then post that, he’ll be a guy that we’ll have a conversation with for sure.

“He’s obviously coming across to rugby and we’d be pretty happy to have him. He’s a good athlete and a good player. He kicks well, he goal-kicks well. Having said that, I think Noah (Lolesio) kicked well tonight.”

It’s clear the Wallabies could use someone who boasts such a high level of skill and X-factor much like Sua’ali’i. The rising star has played representative rugby league for New South Wales and Samoa, and was also one of the Roosters’ best during this year’s NRL campaign.

But, as Schmidt insisted, the Wallabies already have plenty of quality at their disposal in the backline. Jake Gordon and Noah Lolesio linked up relatively well in the halves this week, while the midfield of Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau also worked well.

Then, in the outside backs, Dylan Pietsch and Andrew Kellaway also made the most of their opportunities. That was Pietsch’s first start in Wallaby gold, too, with the Western Force recruit replacing the injured Marika Koroibete in the starting side.

At fullback, Tom Wright has been one of Australia’s best in 2024.

“I felt Hunter Paisami, he worked his butt off today. Lenny Ikitau did some great stuff. Dylan Pietsch came in for his first start and he did really well, he was cramping in both calves and he still played, I felt, pretty well,” Schmidt explained.

“We’re probably more solid than spectacular and spectacular would be nice but I’ve got huge admiration for the guys who went out there and I felt fronted it really well.”

The Wallabies start their Spring Tour on November 10 against England at Twickenham. They will Wales, Scotland and Ireland - the four teams that make up the British & Irish Lions - before their international season comes to a close.