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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is pretty 'confident' about return to rugby
By AAP
Fresh off his NRL season with the Sydney Roosters, big-money rugby recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is putting his hand up for game time on the coming UK tour.
The 21-year-old, who signed a multi-million dollar deal to play with the NSW Waratahs and Wallabies, has joined a "training hub" in Canberra this week under the guidance of Test coach Joe Schmidt.
Rugby Australia (RA) will next week announce two squads to send overseas in November, with the Wallabies facing England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
An Australian XV will play English club Bristol Bears and England A.
Suaalii said he had recovered from the NRL season, in which the Roosters progressed to the preliminary finals in late September, and was ready for action.
"If they throw me in, I'm ready to go," Suaalii said on Monday.
"I played the game at school, so it's just fine-tuning and getting the skills back that I had in rugby.
"I've always backed myself going against anyone so I'm very confident in my ability to play.
"I needed rest from that NRL season, it's a long, brutal season.
"Now, it's about learning each day, and sitting down and going through film and little things. I've played the game before, and I'm very confident in my ability."
Suaalii's monster deal, under the previous RA regime, attracted plenty of scrutiny and that spotlight is expected to intensify.
But as a former schoolboy star long courted by both rugby codes, he said he wasn't bothered by it.
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Latest Comments
I'd rate the brothers Hendricks a point or two lower. Jaden has really not delivered on his early promise and Jordan's kicking at posts was quite erratic. Amongst other things.
I was really surprised that DuhDuh was replaced and not Jordan. DuhDuh had a great game and just underlined his class in a backline that was not firing on all cylinders.
Damian Willemse was missed. Hopefully he'll be back to full fitness and have an injury free 2025 (and '26 and '27 and so on until he decides to retire to spend time with his grandchildren).
RG was great. What an athlete.
Very happy that Hanekom made his debut at last. He gave a good account of himself and will hopefully grow into his role on the international stage.
All things considered, this was another frustrating Bok performance. Even though it was a comfortable win, it wasn't a commanding win. This Welsh team should've been put away by a far larger margin.
But I have faith in Dr Rassie. He knows more than I do. Bring on 2027 😁
Go to commentsGo the AB's .. Probs win by about 30 I reckon ... Cheers ..
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