Just forty-seven days after his last game in the NRL, code-switching recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will be thrown in the deep end by debuting at outside centre for the Wallabies against England on Sunday morning.
In a team also notable for the absence of star lock Will Skelton, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt named Suaalii in the starting side, alongside Len Ikitau, who will play inside centre in a new combination made necessary by an injury to incumbent no.12 Hunter Paisami.
Starting Suaalii – who last played rugby as a teenager – in front of 80,000 people at Twickenham is a high-stakes gamble for Schmidt, but one the coach feels is worth taking given the fast-approaching Lions series next July.
The Wallabies play only four Test matches in the UK – and a possible fifth warm-up Test – before the Lions series begins next year.
Suaalii’s debut will come just ten days after his contract with Rugby Australia officially began on November 1, but he has been training with the team for several weeks.
But while there was haste involved in blooding Suaalii, Schmidt pumped the brakes on bringing Skelton and Samu Kerevi back into the team.
All eyes in Twickenham will be on Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii as he earns the 12 jersey on debut against EnglandCredit: Getty Images
Skelton only joined the team from his French club this week, and will be with the Wallabies for three Tests in November. But Schmidt elected to stick with incumbent pair Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams in the second-row, and named Lukhan Salakaia-Loto as the reserve lock on a 5-3 bench.
Kerevi, too, didn’t land a place in the 23-man squad after joining the squad from Japan last week.
Schmidt has otherwise stuck with status-quo for his 23-man squad to meet England, with Harry Wilson retained as captain in an unchanged backrow. The halves are unchanged, and Dylan Pietsch again named to start on the wing after replacing Marika Koroibete in Wellington.
Max Jorgensen was named as the no.23 after missing the Bledisloe Cup series with illness.
“The side has adjusted well to the travel and have had a couple of trainings up here to prepare for what will be a very tough challenge on Saturday,” Schmidt said in a statement.
“Playing in front of vocal home crowds in some of the most renowned Rugby stadiums in the world is an exciting prospect, with many of the players on their first Spring Tour.“
More to come
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