Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.auOct 28, 2024, 09:30 PM ET
CloseSam was brought up on long drives and the dusty fields of north-west New South Wales, where he developed his love of rugby from an early age. He joined ESPN after a five-year stint heading up Fox Sports Australia’s digital rugby coverage.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has opened up on the seed of his Wallabies dream, reflecting on Israel Folau’s breathtaking British & Irish Lions debut and how the “great man” continues to be a mentor to this day.
Suaalii was in Wallabies gold for the first time on Tuesday as he joined his new spring tour teammates Angus Bell, Allan Alaalatoa, Max Jorgensen, Fraser McReight and Dylan Pietsch to launch the jersey Australia will wear in the much-anticipated Lions series next year.
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While Suaalii is yet to win selection in a Wallabies 23, coach Joe Schmidt last week indicated that the 21-year-old could make his Test debut as early as the tour’s second Test, against Wales in Cardiff, having already made an impression at training.
That is certainly what Folau did on his Test debut in Brisbane in 2013 and while things would take a turn for the worse later in the fullback’s career, he proved an ongoing performer for the Wallabies, picking up three John Eales Medals along the way.
Speaking to reporters bathed in the historic Wallabies strip, Suaalii opened up on his relationship with Folau before declaring there was not “one doubt” in his mind that he would play rugby professionally at some point.
“I actually met Israel when I was 14, I really looked up to him when I was younger,” Suaalii said. “For a young kid, I really wanted to ask a lot of questions, I feel like that has been one of my strengths, just learning. And I feel like Israel was someone I could look up to and ask questions to; every now and then I do catch up with him and he’s a great mentor in my life.
“Izzy is a man that doesn’t speak a lot, but it’s more his actions that I’ve picked up on. He’s a great man first of all and I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learnt, is to always be a great man outside of footy.”
While Folau’s time in Australian rugby was eventually brought to an end when his contract was torn up over repeated anti-gay social media posts, it appears tensions are thawing with Rugby Australia. While he is no longer eligible to play for the Wallabies, Folau could be welcomed back into the fold of gold in some capacity down the track.
That will be music to the ears of Suaalii, who also spent time with Allan Alaalatoa, James Slipper and Kurtley Beale after he was invited into a Wallabies training camp as a teenager still at school, the youngster recalling how the 2013 Lions series left a lasting mark on his own sporting dreams.
“2013, I remember watching the Lions tour, and I still remember to this day Israel making his [Test] debut, and Kurtley having a kick to win [the first Test] and he slipped,” Suaalii recalled.
“I feel like the memories of seeing that on the TV and watching that, it’s always been a dream of mine to put the Wallabies jersey on, especially with the spring tour and the Lions tour ahead.”
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii poses in the Wallabies’ jersey for the 2025 British & Irish Lions series when he hopes to emulate the on-field deeds of his mentor Israel Folau Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Suaalii’s multi-million dollar code switch continues to divide opinion, in both rugby and rugby league, while some sections of the media have questioned his immediate injection into the Wallabies wider squad when he has not played a game of rugby since 2020.
From a rugby perspective, off the field, the marketing and exposure Suaalii has brought the game in Australia inside two weeks suggests the lofty investment is already paying off.
Suaalii is meanwhile also making the necessary adjustments to his tackling technique and believes that while his infamous State of Origin debut lasted only seven minutes following a terrifying hit on Queensland fullback Reece Walsh, it can still help him prepare for what is in store on the Wallabies’ spring tour.
“It is different tackling, I feel like league is all about tackling high and getting the wrestle,” Suaalii said. “But union is a lot about the chop tackle, and I feel like that is one of my strengths too. So it’s just about practicing more, practicing every day, that’s the way I’ve got to do it, but it is exciting.
“I feel like I learned a lot from that Origin game where I only played seven minutes. I feel like I learned a lot about the preparation going into the game, how exciting it can be, and how it’s a balance between a lot of things when you go into [big] games.”
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