‘Interesting’: Joseph Suaalii hug says it all as Wallaby explodes on debut
NRL code-hopper Joseph Suaalii has exploded on the international stage and a Wallaby legend spotted an intriguing moment as wild scenes unfolded.
Joseph Suaalii needed just 84 minutes to explode onto the international stage as the Wallabies stunned England in an thriller on Sunday morning.
Making his Wallabies debut at the intimidating home of rugby — as the first Wallaby debutant without any Super Rugby experience since 2002 — Suaalii instantly showed he belongs at the elite level.
It took an 84th minute miracle try from Max Jorgensen to get the job done against England and there were wild scenes as the final whistle was blown on the epic ten-try shoot out.
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Jorgensen’s try — off the back of a classy flick pass from centre Len Ikitau — in added-on time saw Australia to a stunning 42-37 win at Twickenham on Sunday morning (AEDT).
Much of the pre-match build-up had focused on coach Joe Schmidt giving a Test debut to the so-called $5 million dollar man even though this was the 21-year-old’s first senior game of rugby union.
Suaalii, however, showed his class when, after Australia declined a kickable penalty, his sublime one-handed pass sent in full-back Wright for a 26th-minute try.
Suaalii was awarded the man of the match award and every commentator was left saying the same thing.
Wallabies great James O’Connor said on Stan Sport: “He’s class. At 21, it’s astonishing what he can do with the ball in hand and he’s only going to get better.
“I think the thing for me... it was his energy as well. He was getting around the players all over the field and you could see the boys lift as well when he would come in.
“It’s a player with big energy and a big-game player and he’s got a big future in our game.”
Wallabies legend Tim Horan also spotted an intriguing moment after Jorgensen’s match-winner where Suaalii raced over to hug Ikitau instead of charging over to jump on Jorgensen, like most yahooing teammates did.
“He got a lot of players around him,” Horan said, also noting the impact of Suaalii’s leadership.
“The enthusiasm that he had. He had great touches and defensively, he was outstanding as well. And just brought that enthusiasm for the players around him.
“It was interesting when Jorgensen scored the try at the end. I was watching Joseph. The first thing he did was run over to Len Ikitau, the first player he went to, his centre partner. That combination might be there for a little while I think.”
Wallabies great Justin Harrison also highlighted Suaalii’s leadership when speaking to the former Roosters star on the Stan broadcast.
The former NSW State of Origin centre brushed off the attention about his impact, but showed he was humbled by the suggestion his teammates have embraced him.
“To play against England today at Twickenham is just amazing,” Suaalii said.
“That’s a good thing for them to say… honestly, I’m just being myself. I’m 21 years’ old now and I feel like I can just be myself. I feel like people do gravitate towards that. I just love the energy from all the boys.”
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt also praised Suaalii’s performance, but singled out Ikitau’s efforts.
“I though he (Suaalii) was strong. He was really well supported by Len Ikitau,” Schmidt said.
“Leni was outstanding. Even right at the end of the game, he took the corner, threw the defender and released Max Jorgensen.
“Joseph obviously got a few kick-offs back for us. He’s a bit of an aerial freak. But at the same time, it was a good learning experience for Joseph as well.
“I know there were some doubts about him being selected and the risk. I think now people see the opportunity in involving a young man like that. Particularly with the way he prepared during the week, I thought he was really professional.”
Kiwi Ben Smith wrote on Twitter: “Suaalii worth every dollar. Has there ever been a debut like that?”
Rugby reporter Chris Foy posted: “Suaalii is going to light up this code”.
The lead changed hands four times in the closing 15 minutes, with England 37-35 ahead and 80 minutes already played after lock Maro Itoje’s try was converted by fly-half Marcus Smith.
Noah Lolesio converted as the Wallabies beat England at Twickenham for the first time since they knocked the Red Rose brigade out of the 2015 World Cup.
This was also just Australia’s second win in their last 12 Tests against England, with the Wallabies the underdogs after losing five of their six games in this year’s southern hemisphere Rugby Championship.
Aussie Allan Alaalatoa said after the match: “It was awesome. It was a really good feeling to be out there. In the second half there was a lot of relief on the back of not the start we wanted, it was a bit slow, but we started dominating in the contact areas and it gave us a lot of frontward ball.
“I am really proud of the boys. Again, that belief that came off a good week. We know how hard it is to beat England in a sold-out Twickenham Stadium and we knew that it was going to go down to the wire.”
Victory for Australia kept alive their hopes of emulating the celebrated 1984 Wallabies’ Grand Slam tour of Britain.
“It wasn’t a great start, but I’m really proud of the way the boys fought back,” Schmidt told Stan Sport.
The New Zealander added: “I am really proud of the tries that we put together too... I was blown away at how we got out of jail at the end.”
Rugby commentators have described it as one of the best wins the Wallabies have had in recent memory.
Stan Sport’s Sean Maloney on Twitter said the Wallabies were “unbelievable” and called it “one of the greatest Wallabies wins in their 125yr history”.
Wallabies legend Michael Hooper said on the TV broadcast: “I’m a little bit speechless”.
Leading rugby reporter Iain Payten also wrote on Twitter: “Not sure I have seen a better win than that”.
Michael Atkinson said on Stan: “No. He didn’t. Oh my goodness me. It’s unbelievable. It’s one of the greatest moments in Wallabies history.
“One of the most stunning finishes we have seen in the history of the green and gold.”
Defeat meant England had lost four Tests in a row after last week’s agonising 24-22 loss to New Zealand — their third straight reverse against the All Blacks this year.
Turning narrow leads into wins has been a recurring problem for England and their task won’t get any easier when they face world champions South Africa next weekend.
England coach Steve Borthwick, reflecting on Saturday’s reverse, told TNT Sport: “When you make that number of errors, seven handling errors and 20 turnovers in total, you give the opportunity to the opposition to run in space and score tries and they did.”
— with AFP
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