Latest news with #JosephSuaalii
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Sione Tuipulotu on Joseph Suaalii's ‘enemy list' after autumn bust-up
Around 30 minutes into Australia's defeat against Scotland last November, the Wallabies golden boy Joseph Suaalii lined up centre Sione Tuipulotu for a massive tackle only to injure himself in the process. Tuipulotu made sure to give him a send-off as he left the pitch only for Suaalii to deliver a pointed warning, 'I'll see you next time'. That next time could well be on Saturday in the first Test of the Lions series at the Suncorp Stadium. Suaalii says the prospect of playing in this Lions series was the 'biggest carrot' in his high-profile switch from rugby league where his propensity for acts of retribution was well established. The State of Origin series is Australia's equivalent of the Super Bowl and FA Cup, pitting players who grew up in Queensland against New South Wales in a three-match series. Technically, the sport played is rugby league but it is tribal ultra-violence. The bar for being sent off is so high that Mondo Duplantis would struggle to clear it. In game one of the 2024 series, Suaalii managed that feat inside eight minutes of his debut, nearly decapitating Queensland's Reece Walsh. In short, you do not want to be on Suaalii's enemies list, which is where Tuipulotu finds himself. Even if he was not willing to divulge the pleasantries they exchanged 'Yep, yep, yeah we did,' Suaalii said. 'You know once you do things on the footie field, you keep them on the footie field. I am ready to go and ready to play. I don't have too much to say about that. 'At the end of the day, it is a game of footie. Whatever is said on the field, stays on the field. Who knows what team they are going to pick but whoever they pick we are ready to go.' @maulornothingshow"What the HELL was that"‼️💥😂 Sione Tuipulotu talks us through that MONSTER hit from Joseph Suaalii at Murrayfield 🏟️ 🏴@scotlandteam vs @wallabies 🇦🇺 Go check the full episode with @scotlandteam Captain out now! 🔗 in bio… #sionetuipulotu #scotland #rugby #autumnnationsseries #wallabies ♬ Hip-Hop (Instrumental) - dead prez What Suaalii does not articulate with words, he said clearly with his eyes, causing second row Will Skelton, who was sitting next to him, to start chuckling. 'Ah, that's what you want isn't it?' Skelton said. 'Our 12s going against their 12s, 13s against 13s. No matter what, it's going to be a physical battle and we're up for the challenge.' Even Tuipulotu seems to be aware that he may have ill-advisedly poked a bear in the 21-year-old. 'I don't want to put any targets on my back,' Tuipulotu told the Kick ons and Kick offs podcast. 'I know Eoin Toolan, who is the analyst at the Wallabies, and he used to be our analyst at Melbourne. He's told me to stop talking on these podcasts about Joey, cause he says he's raring to go. I don't want to put any targets on my back from big Joey.' Still Suaalii says that he is a changed man since picking up the sixth and quickest red card in State of Origin history. 'It is just about being neutral – not being too high or too low and not playing the game before playing it,' Suaalii said. 'I think that was my biggest lesson from that game. Just keep neutral. 'Just having that balance between having my own time, spending time with the boys, training hard and finding time for myself to relax and get away from it. That's being neutral. You're never going to be just straight neutral, you're always going to be a bit like this [up and down hand gesture], but I have my processes that I do in the week, which keeps me around neutral.' Part of Suaalii's attempt to remain neutral extends to his idiosyncratic warm-up routine which Telegraph Sport witnessed before Australia's 21-18 victory against Fiji in Newcastle. For at least ten minutes, Suaalii stood barefoot under the posts with a pair of headphones in his ears. Then he began a juggling act with three tennis balls before his friends and family came down from the stands to hug him. 'I am a pretty weird person, I think a lot of people know that,' Suaalii said. 'I like to take in the crowd, where I am right now. I do like to connect with the ground and just be where I am right now with my feet. I don't want to look too far ahead or look too far back. It's all about being as present as I can. That's how I want to play the game of footie. I just try to practise that as much as I can off the field so once I'm on the field I am in the now and the present. 'That [the juggling] is just hand-eye, just getting my stuff going with my peripheral vision and getting all those little details that you get on the footie field because you're going to a lot of different pictures on the footie field. It is all part of my process leading in the game.' Playing in the first Test will be the biggest occasion of Suaalii's career since the Origin game. Growing up in Penrith, a working-class suburb of Sydney, Suaalii remembers watching the 2013 series with his siblings and cousins – and that was a prime reason for him moving to union last year. 'I was nine,' Suaalii said. 'I remember watching it. In my house, all the young kids sit on the floor and I just remember being real close to the TV, watching it. It's something so special as a kid that sparks you to do something great in your life, so to be a part of this squad, it's amazing. 'That was probably the biggest carrot for myself. I've always dreamed I wanted to be a part of something so special that happens every 12 years, so that was probably the biggest thing coming across – to play for the Waratahs and play for the Wallabies. Just to be a part of the squad is something so special for myself, my family and everyone that's gotten me to this point.'
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii carrying weight of Wallabies' expectations ahead of first Lions Test
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii is only 21, he's only played a dozen games of rugby union at professional level and yet, more than anyone else, it appears he carries the hopes of the Wallabies on his broad shoulders. He carries it well. A recent interview in the GQ magazine, in which Suaalii posed in Louis Vuitton clothes, was displayed under the headline: 'Can Joesph Suaalii save rugby union?' No pressure then. 'The first thing is it's a team sport,' stresses Suaalii, with his movie star looks and freakish natural ability. 'It's not just me. I'm just trying to be my best self for my team-mates and that's it. I don't really buy into who's going to save this, who's going to do this. All I know I can do is prepare the best I can for the team, be the best team-mate I can be and that's it. I don't see anything else.' READ MORE There had been fears that the wonderfully skilful and athletic Suaalii – expensively procured from rugby league's Sydney Roosters over a year ago, largely as a gamble for this Lions tour and the World Cup in Australia in two years' time – would come undone when he suffered a fractured jaw playing for the Waratahs against the Queensland Reds last July. Does Andy Farrell know his best Lions XV yet? Listen | 28:38 But Suaalii made a low-key return for the Wallabies in their narrow win over Fiji on July 6th and, still sporting a scar on his left jaw, faced the media in the Wallabies' plush hotel in downtown Brisbane on Monday ahead of Saturday's first Test against the Lions at Suncorp Stadium. The Wallabies lack a little stardust, save for the obvious exception of Suaalii, and it is hoped that he can emulate the extraordinary impact of another expensive ex-league recruit, Israel Folau, in the 2013 Wallabies-Lions series. Inspired by watching Folau as a nine-year-old, Suaalii admits the opportunity to play against the Lions was a major factor in his decision to switch codes. 'That was probably the biggest carrot for myself. I've always dreamed I wanted to be a part of something so special that happens every 12 years, so that was probably the biggest thing coming across to play for the Waratahs and play for the Wallabies. Just to be a part of the squad is something so special for myself, my family and everyone that's gotten me to this point.' Arguably nothing whetted the appetite for this Lions series than his breathtaking, man-of-the-match debut in the Wallabies' win against England at Twickenham last November. There followed a handsome win over Wales, a loss in Scotland and a narrow defeat to Ireland. In the Murrayfield defeat, Suaalii was the recipient of some sledging from the Australian-born Sione Tupulotu, but repeatedly declined to take the bait when asked if that would motivate him should the Scottish centre be picked opposite him this Saturday. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii during Australia's game against Fiji on July 6th. Photograph:From western Sydney, born to a Samoan father and an Australian mother whose own father was from Cambodia, Sua'ali'i set the under-12 Australian high jump record before winning a scholarship to the noted Kings School, where he was selected for representative teams in rugby league, rugby union, basketball, athletics, and Australian football. A non-drinker who has his own daily visualisation routine, the Wallabies' sole warm-up game ahead of this series against Fiji last Sunday week was also notable for his Sua'ali'i's unique prematch routine, conducted bare foot between the posts while wearing headphones, juggling tennis balls. 'I am a pretty weird person, I think a lot of people know that,' he said with a laugh when asked about his decidedly chilled prematch ritual. 'I like to take in the crowd, where I am right now. Honestly just taking the whole experience in, especially leading into these days. These are the things you dream about as a kid. The biggest thing is just enjoying every single moment. 'It could be having coffee with the boys or on the field playing. When I am playing the game, I'm playing in every single moment. That's what I am doing before the game. I see my family, embrace them, embracing team-mates, trying to stay in the now.' Asked what he listens to – apparently he's a fan of the rock band the Seahorses – Suaalii said: 'There's some stuff I like to keep to myself. I do like to connect with the ground and just be where I am right now with my feet. I don't want to look too far ahead or look too far back. It's all about being as present as I can. That's how I want to play the game of footy. I just try to practise that as much as I can off the field so once I'm on the field I am in the now and the present.' Wallabies lock Will Skelton in action for La Rochelle in their Champions Cup Round 1 game against Leinster in December 2023. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho And the juggling is to sharpen his hand-eye co-ordination. 'Just getting my stuff going with my peripheral vision and getting all those little details that you get on the footie field because you're going to a lot of different pictures on the footie field. It is all part of my process leading in the game.' Alongside him, in an even more jocular mood, was Will Skelton, whose presence confirmed the lock has overcome a calf strain which sidelined him for the Fijian game. He was aware of Henry Pollock declaring the Lions are targeting a 3-0 series win, which seemed to spark a clear glint in Skelton's eye. Skelton's star is probably brighter in European rugby due to his successful stints with Saracens and La Rochelle. He has won two Champions Cups under Ronan O'Gara, who has warned that Skelton will be in prime nick for this series which he has been targeting for a very long time. 'I spoke to ROG. He asked me about some golf courses while he was here in Sydney and in Canberra. He's had a massive part (in his career). Moving to La Rochelle was a very big move for me and I didn't have the opportunity to play for Australia because they didn't have the rules. 'So, for him to give his blessing for me to come and learn as much as I can, play for Australia and represent my country, it's very special. I've learned loads from ROG. He's got a very different outlook on rugby and family as well, so that's something I've taken on board and it's helped me loads.'
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Boy wonder Suaalii carries hopes of a nation on his back
It was the hit heard round Auld Reekie, a collision so ferocious that it lifted Sione Tuipulotu clean off his feet and left him feeling like somebody had "climbed through my body".November 2024 at Murrayfield. Scotland hosting the Wallabies, who had just taken Wales to the cleaners following on from beating England at Twickenham. Shoots of green and gold coming through the weeds of previous regimes. Hope under Joe they got to Scotland, where they got a bit a doing. Revival cancelled, but that collision was quite something. Tuipulotu, the home nation's adopted son, versus Australia's wunderkind - the tall, dark, handsome, athletic, outrageously talented poster boy, the 21-year-old Joseph Suaalii, one of the country's hottest sporting tickets."I was like, 'what the hell was that?' because I've never been hit like that, genuinely, in my career," said Tuipulotu. "He got me so clean." In the re-telling of the story, the Scot leaves bits out - what did he say to Suaalii as the Wallaby, on just his third cap, stayed down with a damaged wrist after his howitzer, what words did he use that seemed to drive the young man so scatty on the pitch before he had to go off injured?"I'm not a fan of repeating stuff that's said," was how Tuipulotu side-stepped it. And neither, as it turns out, is Suaalii, who spoke to us at lunchtime on Monday in Brisbane at the start of Test he remember the contretemps at Murrayfield? Oh yes. Does he wish to elaborate? Oh no. "There's been a lot of recounting of that day," he said. "I feel like there's been a lot of talk around that moment. At the end of the day, like I said, it's a game of footy. Whatever's said on the field stays on the field. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to play. Not too much to say about that."He didn't really need to say a whole lot because, on his face, you could tell that something lingers about that coming-together. There was a line picked up by the microphones that day. As he left the field, incensed, Suaalii turned to Tuipulotu and said: "See you next time." Next time might be this Saturday. There's a reasonable chance that Suaalii and Tuipulotu might come face-to-face again in the first Test in Brisbane, one with the 13 on his back and the other wearing 12. Different positions but close enough to each other to do pressure everywhere, of course, but when you scan the internet and find endless commentary about how Suaalii is the "salvation of Australian rugby" then you start to learn about the expectation on this guy's five games into his Test career, but the eulogies have flown indiscriminately. The great Tim Horan talks about his size, speed, his talent in the air and his incredible power. "He tackles like a leaguie [rugby league player], leaps like a basketballer and marks like an AFL player," Horan said. "The Wallabies need pace, agility and deception with a 'no backward step' mentality and he embodies all that."Kurtley Beale talks about his aura. Former Sydney Roosters team-mate Victor Radley calls him a "freak". The director of rugby at his former school says that at 13, Suaalii was 6ft tall and a man playing against children. He's 6ft 5in now. A physical specimen on a deal worth a reported A$5m (£2.4m) over three a cross-code bidding war to tempt him away from the NRL, the Australian Rugby Union did not break the bank for Suaalii just to play well for the Waratahs in Super Rugby. His impact has to be way bigger than that, way more emptied the tank so that he would help lead the Wallabies out of the darkness and into a brighter future and the Lions series is the first, and a major, part of that. He has to light up this series. So, pressure, yes. But does he feel it? Behind his almost other-worldly mature demeanour, it's really hard to tell. He's the most frighteningly-together 21-year-old you're going to see in rugby for a long, long time. Family is huge to him, his music is important - he's in a band called Dreamyourz, external - and meditation plays a major role in who he is. He's a rugby player who has crossed into celebrity. Relationships, public appearances - Suaalii sells. He's helped drive the sale of tens of thousands of tickets since he moved to rugby we get into the Lions Test week with him. Has he seen Henry Pollock's comments about a targeted 3-0 rout of the Wallabies? "Yeah, I've heard about it," he replied, in a way that suggested he wasn't a fan of the remark."We're just focused on ourselves, to be honest. We know there's going to be a lot of talk externally, but our biggest thing going into these big games is just focusing on ourselves and our team-mates."The thought of playing the Lions and how it influenced his decision to move from league to union? "That was probably the biggest carrot for myself. I always knew that I wanted to be a part of something so special."He was only nine years old when the Lions were last here in 2013 but he remembers sitting on the floor of the family home, "real close to the telly" and watching it. "As a kid that sparks you to do something great in your life." 'I'm a pretty weird person... a lot of people know that' Suaalii has this pre-match routine which has captured the imagination - walking on the pitch without boots, some meditation, some juggling."I'm a pretty weird person," he said. "I think a lot of people know that. I just like to take in the crowd. "These are the things you dream about as a kid. My biggest thing is just enjoying every single moment - seeing my family, embracing them, embracing team-mates and just trying to stay in the now."And no boots? "I do like to connect with the ground. I don't want to look too far ahead or look too far back, it's all about being as present as I can. That's how I want to play the game of footy. I just try to practice that as much as I can off the field."And the juggling? "That's just hand-eye. Just getting my stuff going. Peripheral vision. You're going to get all these different pictures on the footy field. It's just all part of my process leading into the game."There was another attempt to get him to revisit Murrayfield but he was steadfast in his resistance. "I'm not going to speak on it, to be fair," he added. I'm sure it's going to be a great challenge and a great battle. I don't give too much energy to the opposition. I respect the opposition, but at the same time, I'm just focusing on myself and what I can bring."Millions of Australians are focusing on what he can bring, too. And they're hoping it's the kind of thing that saw the downfall of England in the autumn. He plays down the pervasive view that he carries the hopes of a nation, but he'll know that this is his status now, this is what is expected of him. At be box office on Saturday. For his explosiveness, his vision, his grace and his raw power, it'll be hard to take your eyes off him - especially if he has Tuipulotu in his crosshairs again. That incident has gone, but clearly it's not been forgotten.
CNA
11 hours ago
- Sport
- CNA
Wallaby Suaalii focusing on himself, not Tuipulotu rivalry
MELBOURNE :Australia centre Joseph Suaalii has brushed aside talk of a spicy reunion with Sione Tuipulotu in the British & Irish Lions series after the pair's heated exchange at Murrayfield in November. Australia-born Tuipulotu was instrumental in the Scots' 27-13 win over the Wallabies, shaking off an attempted Suaalii tackle for the hosts' first try. Rugby league convert Suaalii later got his man with a bone-crunching tackle near the Wallabies try-line but injured his wrist in the contact and had to come off the field at the half-hour mark. Before he exited, Tuipulotu fired a few choice words at the young midfielder, who shot back a few of his own, including: "See you next time." Asked about the prospect of renewing hostilities in the series opener in Brisbane on Saturday, Suaalii played the rivalry down. "(It was) just footy. Once you do things on the footy field, you keep them on the footy field," he told reporters in Brisbane on Monday. "I'm ready to go, ready to play. Not too much to say about that. "I always focus on myself first before I put my energy into someone else. "Obviously, there are fans who want to see a rivalry and all that but, at the end of the day, it's a team sport." Suaalii will be closely watched in the series, not least because of the reported A$5 million ($3.3 million) deal he signed to defect from the 13-man game. The tall and athletic 21-year-old impressed in his first tests on the Wallabies' season-ending tour of the Northern Hemisphere and is already seen as a marketing success for Rugby Australia. Many home fans remember rugby league convert Israel Folau's famous Wallabies debut in the first test of the 2013 Lions tour, when he scored two tries in a losing cause at Lang Park, and went on to score 37 tries in 73 appearances. They will hope Suaalii can have a similar impact in his first Lions outing at the same venue on Saturday. "He's someone I admire for the person he is and the way he plays the game," Suaalii said. "He did kill it in that 2013 series. "It was a dream of mine to play the Lions because of watching him, Kurtley Beale, all these different players do their thing in the game. And it kind of sparked something in myself." Suaalii was joined by big lock Will Skelton at the Wallabies' press conference but drew most of the media's attention. Skelton, who missed the Wallabies' last-gasp win over Fiji with a calf strain, confirmed he was fit and available to play at Lang Park. ($1 = 1.5239 Australian dollars)
Daily Mail
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Australia boss Joe Schmidt admits Wallabies don't have 'real confidence' after struggling in last-gasp win over Fiji ahead of Lions series
There was not much for Joe Schmidt to shout about after his Wallabies salvaged a last-minute victory over Fiji in their one and only Test before they face the Lions. For large parts of the game, the Australians were outmuscled by their Pacific Island opponents, showing little to strike fear into Andy Farrell's camp. Even their poster boy midfielder Joseph Suaalii was kept under wraps. Australia's decision making was poor, gifting Fiji a half-time try when they could have kicked out the ball with the clock in red, and turning down kicks at goal to pull clear on the scoreboard. Asked if his team have shown enough to challenge the Lions, Schmidt said: 'I'm not a really confident sort of person. 'There's not real confidence but there's a quiet resolve. And that quiet resolve, hopefully over the three-match series can build to something. 'It's a great opportunity for us to bring the game back to the focus point that we'd love it to be in Australia. 'We didn't play well enough today for people to have expectation that we'll come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over. 'I'm not sure that expectation was there before today, and so we're going to have to build that quiet resolve and inch by inch we can work our way towards that.' All of Schmidt's fingers will be crossed that big Will Skelton returns in time for the series opener in Brisbane because they looked in desperate need of his clout. They also face new injury concerns over hooker Dave Porecki and No 10 Noah Lolesio.
