Meet Josua Tuisova: the 113kg Fijian bulldozer tasked with stopping Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii
Fiji are on high alert for a Wallabies side seeking revenge for their 2023 World Cup embarrassment – and have tasked a 113kg monster called ‘the bulldozer’ to do some damage.
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Mick the Kick knows a thing or two about high flyers.
And that’s why the man who in 1983 won a VFL premiership with Hawthorn says the inclusion of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in the Wallabies side to play his Fiji team on Sunday has left the flamboyant Pacific Islanders thinking twice about how they can pull off a second miracle.
International rugby’s most unpredictable side, Fiji forever forfeited their chance of sneaking under Australia’s guard when they famously beat the Wallabies at the 2023 World Cup in France to qualify for the quarter-finals.
With the element of surprise now gone, Fiji’s new Aussie coach Mick Byrne believes a win over the Wallabies at Newcastle on Sunday would be an even bigger achievement than his side’s showstopping victory at the World Cup.
“The last start was two years ago, so different coaching regime, different players on the field, and I like the way (Australia coach Joe Schmidt) has got the Wallabies playing and now they’re playing great footy,” said Byrne, who won a premiership flag with Hawthorn in 1983 before later transitioning to coaching rugby.
“So they’re a completely different proposition to previous and we’ve got to be ready for that as they’ve got threats across the field.
“I think it’d be great to beat Australia in Australia, to get a victory on Australian soil.”
But Byrne’s biggest fear about trying to beat the Wallabies has nothing to do with home ground advantage or the change of coaches.
Rather, it revolves around Suaalli, the former NRL convert who has taken rugby by storm.
Byrne has always had a good eye for talent and he has been paying close attention to Suaalii’s progress since he was introduced to him by former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika long before he had signed a $5 million deal to be the face of the game.
“I remember when ‘Cheik’ and I first met him when I was at the Wallabies and a young schoolboy came in, before he signed with rugby league, and we knew then that he was a tremendous athlete,” Byrne said.
“I think he offers a dimension to the game that not many athletes can .... it’s a bit like Izzy (Israel Folau) in his day as well, that aerial skill set as well as being really well balanced across the ground.
“Like a lot of international players we come up against, we’ve got to keep our eye on him, but I think as a player he just offers another sort of dimension, being that aerial skill set that we’ll have to be aware of as well.”
Byrne does have a plan to try and stop Suaalii – a big centre of his own, known as the “bulldozer”.
Tipping the scales at 113kg, Josua Tuisova, is one of 13 Fijians selected for Sunday who also played in the win over the Wallabies at the World Cup. An Olympic gold medallist in Sevens rugby at Rio in 2016, Tuisova scored the winning try against the Wallabies.
Tuisova suffered a family tragedy during the World Cup when his seven-year-old son died from a long illness. Tuisova received condolences from all over the world. In a tribute to his son, he remained with the team and played on, missing the funeral.
Tuisova won’t line up directly against Suaalii, he’ll start at inside with Suaalii at outside, but Byrne says he’s planning to take on the challenge head first.
“Josh shifts the ball well and he’s got great feet and he’s a big, strong player,” Byrne said.
“We’ve got the opportunity to use him to get across the gain line early ...so being able to have Josh there is awesome for us because he does give us a pretty good go-forward.”
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Originally published as Meet Josua Tuisova: the 113kg Fijian bulldozer tasked with stopping Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii
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