Marika Koroibete admits he feared his days in a Wallabies jersey were over, and has vowed to repay the faith after entering the pantheon of Australian rugby’s greatest individual moments.
Koroibete sent the rugby world into a spin with a spectacular try-saving tackle to help Australia to a stirring victory over South Africa in Adelaide on Saturday.
Now the Wallabies have vowed to “go to another level” as The Rugby Championship heads to the newly-built Allianz Stadium in Sydney and a rematch with the Springboks on Saturday night.
The rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium is the site of perhaps the greatest individual tackle in Australian rugby history – George Gregan’s miraculous try-saving effort against the All Blacks in 1994.
Now Koroibete will arrive in Sydney off the back of an effort to match Gregan’s, with the tackle that denied Springboks winger Makazole Mapimpi set to find a home on highlights reels long after the dust from this tournament is settled.
The 30-year-old winger surged from one side of the field to the other to cover a gap for the 14-man Wallabies, barrelling into Mapimpi to force an error and bring Australian fans to their feet.
Marika Koroibete’s try-saving tackle will be played on highlight reels for a long time.Credit:Stan Sport
“I was just running, I knew he was not going to step in, I knew he was going to jump for the corner. I put my head there and hoped for the best,” Koroibete said.
“The tackle had to be made. We’ve got a man in the bin. I have to make that cover. We spoke about it this week, effort and that sort of thing. You have to work for each other. The forwards had been doing their job, mauling and that sort of thing, and the backs were able to do our job. It’s just for the boys.”
Koroibete knew his move to Japan last year could spell the end of his Wallabies career due to the terms of the Giteau Law, but had made peace with the possibility.
Yet there is a sense that even if Samu Kerevi and Quade Cooper are fit for the World Cup, Koroibete would be the first picked by Wallabies coach Dave Rennie under the current eligibility laws.
Former Wallabies flyer Drew Mitchell took to social media to declare Koroibete ranked as one of the game’s greatest left-wingers as the Fijian product vows to make the most of his chance to represent his adopted country.
“Being overseas, I thought my Wallabies [opportunity] was not going to come again,” Koroibete said.
“I get a privilege to be one of those three players to get back to Australia with the Giteau Law. I just took that opportunity. There’s a lot of noise been around, so I just wanted to prove everyone wrong.
“As a kid growing up in Fiji, coming over to Australia, this country gave a lot to me and my family. [I want to] return that gesture. [I want to] give back to the country and what they’ve done for me and my family.”
The Wallabies’ form line is hard to read as they head to Sydney to face the Springboks in a return bout. A win in Argentina was followed by a nightmare in San Juan, before the Australians rallied to beat the reigning world champions with their regular captain watching from afar.
“It’s such a tough tournament to play in, so we expect a response from the Springboks,” Rennie said. “Safe to say we’ve got to go to another level. It’s not relief, there’s a bit of satisfaction that we’ve implemented a plan and the boys have played well. Now we’ve got to make sure we build on it.”
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