'Best winger in the world': Why Eddie is risking it big on the Highveld to try and unlock Suli's NRL mindset

From running, I mean jogging, his way to the tryline against the Western Force in Melbourne to running out against the Springboks in Pretoria, Suliasi Vunivalu has come a long way in the past 12 months.

Turns out, he just needed a cattle prod. Or, at least, that’s what Eddie Jones hopes.

Of all the selections Jones has made, Vunivalu’s is the boldest.

Indeed, his selection wasn’t so much surprising as bold because Jones has always had a soft spot for “leaguies” since watching his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

From ‘Big Dell’ Wendell Sailor to Lote Tuqiri and, later, Ben Te’o, Vunivalu is the latest in a string of players Jones believes has it.

Why? Jones believes the National Rugby League has some of the best athletes in the world and if they’re at the top echelons of the 13-person game, they’re more than good enough to play in rugby.

Suliasi Vunivalu poses during the Australian Wallabies 2022 team headshots session on June 24, 2022 in Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images for Rugby Australia)

Case in point is when Jones sat down with first-year Randwick head coach Stephen Hoiles ahead of the Super Rugby season, the duo spoke about a young player on the rise: Max Jorgensen, whose Wallaby father played at the famous Sydney club.

Hoiles hoped the 18-year-old would be able to put on the green Galloping Greens jersey during the year.

Jones quipped that Hoiles, the former World Cup Wallaby and one of the smartest brains in Australian rugby, would unlikely see much of him.

“If the Sydney Roosters wanted him, he’s good enough to play for the Waratahs,” Jones is said to have responded.

Turns out Jones was right. Jorgensen, who was on the Wallabies’ selection radar before suffering a knee-injury at a cleanout against the Crusaders in May, looked at home for the Waratahs from the outset.

Entirely different players as Jorgensen and Vunivalu are, Jones sees something special in the former NRL flyer and believes he can have a similar impact to the leaping Tuqiri, whose try in the 2003 World Cup final is well remembered.

His 86 tries from 111 NRL appearances is the only evidence Jones needs to see.

But if there is a compare-the-pair moment from Vunivalu’s pre and post NRL days, it’s his intercept try against the Penrith Panthers in the 2020 grand final and his limping effort in Melbourne earlier this year.

Nathan Cleary probed across the field trying to manipulate the Melbourne Storm defence, but as the star halfback attempted to land the killer blow it ended in Vunivalu reading the move like a book as he leapt into the air, banged into centre Tyrone May, shrugged away Josh Mansour and ran 80 metres to score a stunning first-half try.

Suliasi Vunivalu scored a stunning 80m try against the Panthers to help the Melbourne Storm win the 2020 NRL final on October 25, 2020 in Sydney. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Compare that to his hobbling 80m effort to get to the tryline at AAMI Park in March, as he looked to pull a hamstring at the death after three injury-affected years of battling leg injuries.

But there was a time when Vunivalu had tails wagging when he first made the switch, as he sprinted 50 metres to nearly make Joe Powell look silly as he dived deep within the Melbourne Rebels’ tryline to try and catch his opponent napping on debut.

Since then, however, Vunivalu’s divided the rugby community, with many believing Scott Johnson’s decision to throw an estimated $700,000 at the Fijian-born winger wasted money.

While Vunivalu re-signed on a figure worth half that number in 2022, before again extending earlier this year on a new two-year deal, it’s hard to argue that the NRL has been worth the initial figure to lure him across.

Not only has the winger struggled to get on the park, but, when he did, the 27-year-old largely looked disinterested and crawled out of first gear most of the time too.

Suliasi Vunivalu was dropped by the Reds during the 2023 Super Rugby season but will run out against the Springboks. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

It’s why Dave Rennie, who initially rubbed his hands together at the prospect of having the former NRL weapon as a key figure in his team, eventually gave up on the winger. Less than three minutes was all he got under the former Wallabies boss.

Nonetheless, 14 tries for the Reds in 27 Super Rugby matches shows that even a hamstrung Vunivalu still knows his way to the tryline.

But ever since returning to the role as Wallabies coach, Jones has talked up Vunivalu at every chance, believing something amiss.

“Contradiction is a big part of selection,” said Jones after controversially including him in his April training camp.

“You’re always trying to find players you feel can be world class. That’s the ultimate task – to find players who can be world class.

“And I’ve seen Vulivalu play for Melbourne Storm. I’ve seen him play in NRL. I’ve seen bits and pieces of his play for Australia A, and bits and pieces of what he’s done for Queensland. There’s a lot of gaps in his game at the moment. But our job as coaches is to help him fill the gaps.

“So if you’ve got a cattle prod at training get it out, it might help him!”

Eddie Jones brought out a cattle prod to help spring Suliasi Vunivalu into gear. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

While most thought the infamous “cattle prod” line was another Jones special, Wallabies players were taken aback when they saw it at their training base at Sanctuary Cove.  

“I actually didn’t know about the cattle prod,” Vunivalu told the Sydney Morning Herald after the camp wrapped up. “When he mentioned it, I had to ask one of the boys next to me, ‘what do they use that for’?

“It’s funny. Eddie is a funny coach. He has some jokes in him. It’s made me run faster in the last few weeks.

“It was really quiet when he entered. We thought he was going to be really serious, but he was cracking jokes. Everyone enjoyed the camp. I took a lot from it and I know what I need to work on in my game.”

On Thursday, Jones once again went against popular opinion and named Vunivalu to start against the Springboks.

“I don’t think there’s any ceiling. He can be the best winger in the world,” Jones told reporters in South Africa.

“His last season in the NRL he showed he was the best winger. His transition into Test rugby has probably been a bit slower than he would have liked.

“I’ve seen him develop some really good habits in Super Rugby. When he’s come in and trained with us for the last two or three weeks, every session he’s got a little bit better. He’s an exceptional player, strong in the air. He’s a big guy and has got good pace. I’ve got no doubt he’s going to do a good job for us on Saturday.”

Without a specialist back three cover on Saturday, Jones has taken a gamble by naming Vunivalu on the right-wing in his maiden trip to South Africa.

It’s an almighty risk, particularly at altitude.

But to win the World Cup, Jones believes it requires something special, something unique.

Jones knows Vunivalu has something special in him.

It’s why he’s given him every chance to unlock the confidence he had in his body during his runaway effort in the 2020 NRL final.