Suliasi Vunivalu won’t play in the remaining Tri-Nations Tests with coach Dave Rennie saying his call-up to the Wallabies is about getting to know the Melbourne Storm rugby convert.
The star winger, who has signed a two-year deal with Queensland and Rugby Australia, joined the Wallabies in their Hunter Valley camp this week, providing both parties with a taste of their future together.
“We’ve bought Suli in to have a bit of a look as we don’t know an enormous amount about him from a character point of view,” Rennie said on Thursday.
“It’s a chance for him to get an understanding of what we think is important and hopefully when he gets back to Super Rugby he has an understanding around two or three key areas that he can put a bit of time into that will help his transition.
“There’s no thinking about using him against Argentina; we want him to earn the right to play.”
Vunivalu, 24, played rugby as a junior and at high school in Auckland before being signed by the Storm as an 18-year-old.
Rennie said his athletic ability – including skills under the high ball and speed – was evident in his NRL career and he felt they would be easily transferable to the 15-man game.
The Wallabies have the weekend off with New Zealand and Argentina to do battle in the Tri-Nations at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday.
Despite coming off a shock 24-22 win over the All Blacks in Brisbane, Rennie said the break was welcome with a number of players carrying injuries.
That includes five-eighth James O’Connor, who has missed the past two matches with a knee injury.
Depending on his recovery the Queenslander could join a number of players leaving camp next week with the squad cut to give players more time off before Super Rugby AU resumes.
O’Connor’s troublesome knee paves the way for Reece Hodge to again wear the No.10 jersey against the Pumas on Saturday week in Newcastle.
In just his second ever start at five-eighth Hodge was a star of their All Blacks upset.
“We were really happy with the way Reece went so he’s putting a lot of pressure on us to give him another crack there,” Rennie said.
“It’s the only game he’s started for us since I’ve been here and I thought he was excellent.
“He delivered on all the areas that were the reasons we picked him and he gave us a bit of experience and he’s got a big kicking game.
“And then he’s a big man who can carry and defend well in that channel so I’m sure he’s pretty rapt with his performance and he had a massive impact on the result.”
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Roar Rookie
as I said....
In brief
Guest
Yeah, just like ‘kick’n’clap’ ...
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Well he should look hopeless at training then
Dunning Kruger
Roar Rookie
The bloke has never played Rugby as an adult...
Try Hard
Roar Rookie
My 4year old son kicks with both feet; can pass equally both left & right. Can beat his 2 year old sister in a fight and is faster than my 8 month old over 20 metres. Can he join the squad too.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Exactly. Though to be fair to Sonny he was transitioning from an NRL backrower to a Rugby Center which is one of the more difficult positions in the backline, especially compared to wing.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Actually Wallabies were 4th after McKenzie's last test. McKenzie's era is slightly skewed downwards because it started with the Rugby Championship and finished with the Rugby championship, so despite only coaching 22 tests, 6 were vs the All Blacks. For example, the Wallabies finished the Rugby Championship in 2013 ranked 4th, and finished their EOYT ranked 3rd.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The effort that MK puts in every game is nothing short of exceptional.
Bobby
Roar Rookie
Fillipo often looks like he's playing sevens. Crazy passes, little ball security
Mike
Roar Rookie
Smart move - give him a look at Wallaby culture, but he will not be considered for test selection until next year at the earliest. He should play a full season of SR before he is considered. Most players take a bit of time to adjust. I remember Sonny Bill Williams getting schooled by Mortlock in a Barbarians-Wallabies match in Sydney, just as he was transferring over. SBW was a huge football talent, but even he needed some time to work out the space-time of rugby.
Mike
Roar Rookie
"I mean the guy took over a top team and turned them into World No 7s " Whoa! Let's cool down the fantasy: Under Robbie Deans, Wallabies started at No 3 in the world, went up to No 2 then dropped back to No 3 Under Ewen McKenzie, Wallabies started at No 3 and finished at No 5. Under Michael Cheika, Wallabies started at No 5 and finished at No 7.
Bobbles
Guest
The baby elephant is still in the room. The poorest wallaby player this season must go for the Wallabies to be a threat. Rennie grow some and get it done. MH OUT !!!
Boomeranga
Roar Rookie
Reds should be very good next year. Real shame about Rodda and the other lock. That's about their only weak area.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Marika also didn't actually get capped for nearly 12 months
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Exactly. They want to give him every possible chance to succeed.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
It's pro sport. No participation awards. If the coach is contemplating somebody who hasn't played rugby for a few years, clearly you haven't done enough to cement your position.
nroko
Roar Rookie
When his employers are paying him 900k a year I'm sure they want him to be getting up to speed with rugby asap.
Rugby wizard
Guest
These are exciting times for Reds fans,I think we might see Petai at 15 and Filipo and Vuni on the wings. No shifting Stewart he is integral to how the Reds want to play. Paisami and Campbell are the two players who will have to watch their backs,Flook IMHO is a top talent,I reckon he can be the best since Horan/Little and Grealy of what I have heard is good aswell.
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Roar Rookie
NRL fan boys won't go crazy, the generally enjoy both codes rather than looking down their nose at the other...
Aiden
Guest
He’s not in the WBs though is he. Did you even read the article.