Australia 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 Schmidt.

Until 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.

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 week.

Does 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.

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 damage.

There’s 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 shoulders.

He’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 years.

Amid 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 profound.

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 – 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 union.

So, 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.”

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 21.