Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii named at centre for Wallabies against England
By Simon Smale
Topic:Rugby Union
Joseph Suaalii will debut in the 15-man code at outside centre for the Wallabies.
In short:
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will play at outside centre for his Wallabies debut against England at Twickenham on Sunday (AEDT).
England has made just one positional change, also in the centres, from their narrow defeat against New Zealand.
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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has been named to make his Wallabies debut against England at Twickenham on Saturday.
Suaalii, who has not played a competitive game of rugby union since his schoolboy days, will line up at centre alongside Len Ikitau.
The 21-year-old, who only officially made the high-profile switch from NRL side Sydney Roosters on November 1, is the only change from the Wallabies side beaten by New Zealand 33-13 in Wellington in September.
With usual centres Samu Kerevi only recently joining the squad from Japan, and Hunter Paisami injured, Ikitau moves to inside centre for the first time in his international career, while Suaalii will don the number 13 jersey for this first taste of professional union.
Suaalii has been touted as being able to play anywhere across the back line in union, having been a wing, centre or fullback in league.
Nevertheless, it is felt that playing in the centres in his debut is a huge risk given the additional defensive structural commitments he will face there in the 15-man code.
"We have confidence he will adapt very well," Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt told a press conference on Thursday.
"The thing that gives me confidence around Joseph is how well he prepares himself. He's a very professional young man and hopefully he can hit the ground running in a couple of days' time.
"Everything's a risk, but I would challenge that with 'everything's an opportunity', and it's a fantastic opportunity for a young man who's really excited about getting the chance."
Suaalii is the 17th player to make their debut in the fledgling Schmidt era.
The selection raised eyebrows in the England camp, but the hosts said they would be wary of what the youngster can produce.
"It will be really interesting won't it?" England assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth said.
"I don't think Joe Schmidt, the world-class coach that he is, puts him in unless he's ready.
"He's played at school and has been ready for this move for a while. He's obviously an incredible athlete and talent, which is why he's come over with the reputation and the price tag he's got.
"We'll look at him in his rugby league. Kev [Sinfield, defence coach and former Great Britain rugby league international] will give us a good insight there and we'll make sure we do our due diligence in the next couple of days."
England has also made a minor change from its last international — a narrow defeat to the All Blacks last weekend — a positional change in the centres with Ollie Lawrence shifting to outside centre, with Henry Slade sliding back to 12.
The 25-year-old, 27-time-capped Lawrence is a powerful ball runner and has been superb in punching holes in opposition defences for Bath this season.
Standing just 180cm tall though, there is a significant height disparity between him and Suaalii, who stands at 198cm.
"I've seen some of his league stuff as I watch some league and he is a great player," Lawrence told the BBC.
"Switching codes to union is a challenge in itself, he will want to just enjoy the occasion more than anything.
"It is tough coming into this environment and the outside noise to be a certain player or do what you are doing in league, but hopefully he goes out there and enjoys it.
"There are no mind games from my perspective, just an opportunity to play against great players."
The Wallabies lost five of their six games in the Rugby Championship.
England captain Jamie George said the side did not know much about Suaalii but was preparing to give him a strong welcome to the international game.
"Joe Schmidt is someone that I've been a massive fan of, I respect hugely in terms of his understanding and knowledge and I know that if he wasn't ready to play, then he wouldn't be playing," George said.
"So that's something that we've got to be very aware of. There's this element of the unknown. But at the same time we've got to make sure we're as clued up as we possibly can be.
"And we also need to make sure that he knows what Test match rugby is all about."
The rest of the Wallabies line up sticks with the combinations that Schmidt used in Wellington.
Angus Bell, Matt Faessler and Taniela Tupou reprise their front-row partnership, with Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams lining up in the second-row.
That means former captain Will Skelton will not be thrown straight back into international rugby, after missing the Rugby Championship, despite his impressive form in the French Top 14 with La Rochelle.
Harry Wilson will be captain, while Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight will line up alongside him in the back row.
Jake Gordon and Noah Lolesio retain their 9-10 combination, with Dylan Pietsch, Andrew Kellaway and Tom Wright making up the back three.
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