Suaalii embraces Wallabies wing role as part of journey to becoming a great rugby player

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has backed his move to the wing under Wallabies coach Les Kiss, describing the positional shift as a key part of his growth as a player following back-to-back Tests in the unfamiliar role.

Suaalii had started exclusively at outside centre for Australia before Kiss made the call to shift him wide ahead of the Perth Test against the Springboks. Hunter Paisami and Len Ikitau were paired in the midfield in his absence, and the 23-year-old responded well — rising to claim the opening kick-off and contributing to two first-half tries in a 42-38 Wallabies win.

Kiss retained Suaalii on the wing for the Bledisloe Cup series opener at Eden Park in Auckland, though the All Blacks ran out dominant 50-19 winners. The Wallabies were reduced to 14 backs early when Ikitau was replaced around the 30-minute mark by Harry Potter, and New Zealand pulled clear after the break through tries to Cam Roigard, Codie Taylor, Leroy Carter, Josh Moorby and Will Jordan.

“It’s been good. I played a lot of juniors on the wing, played a lot of juniors at centre as well,” Suaalii told reporters in Sydney. “Part of my journey of learning to be a great rugby player is to learn different positions and I’m enjoying it.”

The defeat ended a six-match unbeaten run for the Wallabies, a sequence that included the Perth victory over South Africa and a 28-all draw away to Argentina. Kiss had overseen five of those Tests since replacing Joe Schmidt. The All Blacks, meanwhile, were looking to end a run of three consecutive defeats to the Springboks and extended their remarkable unbeaten record at Eden Park — which stood at 53 Tests entering the match — with the win.

Suaalii was measured in his assessment of the loss, pointing to the broader momentum the squad had built. “We reviewed the game brutally and honestly. I feel that’s one thing you do after a loss and also the last seven games we had,” he said. “There’s a bigger plan to what we’re doing… we’re real confident that this week we’ll be great.”

The now 26-Test Wallaby said the squad feels they “owe it to the fans” heading into their final home Test of the year, with Australia set to feature in a historic quadruple header at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.