The Joe show has started – for Schmidt and Suaalii

Oh we of little faith. We should have known that Joe Schmidt wouldn’t have thrown Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in unless the upside was greater than the downside, and that’s exactly how it played out. But for all the Suaalii hype, the Wallabies’ 42-37 win against England was really about the team that Schmidt is building by virtue of his selections and the rewards that consistency is starting to bring. The attack from deep philosophy shown against the All Blacks? It was there again. The signs that the Wallabies’ loose forward trio is becoming a genuinely good unit? There was more of that, too. And the best evidence yet that sticking with Noah Lolesio at No.10 was the right call? Yes, again. This win was a quantum leap forward for the Wallabies, built on the foundations Schmidt has been building all year.

Rating Suaalii’s performance

It was promising – a 7/10. We can’t get carried away. He carried for only eight metres – 30th overall in the Test – and couldn’t get into the game in the second half. And, of course, he’s defending like a rugby league player – upright and with the tendency to “bite” in at the ball carrier. But there were signs of his special ability with ball in hand and in the air, particularly the way he set up Tom Wright’s try. The technically minded would have also loved one example of great ball presentation in the first half after a half break. But the most encouraging thing was his awareness of what was happening around him. The potential is there for Suaalii to become a “honey pot” for opposition defenders, opening up all sorts of chances for the players who are around him.

Rugby just gave Suaalii something the NRL never can

There is something special about the Wallabies beating England at Twickenham. It transcends the sport. It’s stirring because even if you don’t like rugby the sight of young Australians defying the odds, in a hostile sporting arena far from home, says something about the country as a whole. Australian rugby has been rubbish at communicating this – really shouting it from the rooftops – but despite all the struggles it remains almost uniquely well-placed to offer this experience for sportspeople. Suaalii obviously gets it, but the Twickenham victory was a perfectly timed reminder of the code’s strengths.

The five Twickenham heroes

The standouts, in no particular order, were Angus Bell, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Len Ikitau and Tom Wright, although everyone stood up. Bell was a brute with his running lines, Valetini bashed the English, McReight displayed a complete skillset and Wright was the Wallabies’ best carrier, with 86 metres. But if you had to single someone out, it would be Ikitau. He made metres every time he had the ball, often in the congested channels, and effectively won the game with the offload that put Max Jorgensen away with the final play of the game.

The unexpected beneficiary from Suaalii’s inclusion

Lolesio’s strength is his kicking game. He was impressive at Twickenham, finding grass with his longer kicks and finding Suaalii with one deft chip over the England defence. But an underrated part of his armoury remains his accurate, hanging restarts. He used this skill to repeatedly get Suaalii into game – the big No.13 knocked back one restart and pressured Maro Itoje into an error with another challenge. It was a classic example of playing to Suaalii’s strengths and Lolesio may have seen off the challenge of Tane Edmed with that showing.