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Suliasi Vunivalu, the former NRL superstar who played 111 games for the Melbourne Storm, has officially landed himself into the Wallabies’ 23-man team list for the very first time.
With some serious accolades to his name in rugby league, including two NRL premierships and the top NRL try scorer award in 2016 and 2017, Vunivalu has added Wallaby cap number 954 to his long list of achievements; the first major step in his union career.
Vunivalu has been presented with a golden opportunity, pardon the pun, to announce his name on the world stage in the decider test match versus England at the SCG.
Named at number 23, coach Dave Rennie will aim to inject Vunivalu late in the match as a potential game-changer. With freakish aerial skills under the high ball and roaring pace despite a series of hamstring injuries, Vunivalu, if given the opportunity, could shine bright on his international debut.
The Fijian flyer has been on big national stages before, scoring a crucial length of the field intercept try for the Storm in their famous 2020 NRL premiership win over the Penrith Panthers.
He has played in four NRL Grand Finals, and a Super Rugby quarter-final against the Crusaders earlier this year, giving the outside back some much-needed big game experience for his Wallabies debut.
Despite struggling with a series of hamstring injuries that have kept the former NRL flyer struggling for game time, Vunivalu has mostly impressed in his 15 games for the Reds over the past two seasons of 2021 and 2022.
Suliasi Vunivalu poses for a photo before an Australian Wallabies training session on June 21, 2022 in Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
He has scored seven tries, with six of them against New Zealand Super Rugby sides. Arguably his best performance for the Reds was his two-try performance as a replacement versus the Highlanders in 2021, where shortly after the half-time break, Bryce Hegarty kicked cross-field to a leaping Vunivalu, who won the ball in the air against Sam Gilbert to score in the corner for the Reds second try.
Similarly, in the 81st minute, Vunivalu scored another cross-field kick try to finish the match with a double.
Again this year, Vunivalu performed strongly against both the Blues and Crusaders, scoring tries in both games, including several other crucial line breaks. Despite some strong performances, Vunivalu did struggle finding rhythm in a few matches this season, most notably against Moana Pasifika at Suncorp Stadium, and his returning match against the Melbourne Rebels; where he found very little space, with a limited number of carries. B
ut as the season progressed, Vunivalu’s confidence and positional play improved significantly, becoming one of the Reds’ few shining brights by the end of the season.
With 15 matches for Queensland over the past two seasons, and a solid four-week training block with Wallaby coaches, Vunivalu is primed for a promising debut, with the potential carrot of a Rugby World Cup spot for next year in France.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.