Wallabies coach Les Kiss says Joseph Suaalii embraced his surprise positional switch ahead of Sunday’s Test against the Springboks in Perth.
Suaalii has been named on the left wing for the Optus Stadium clash, with Len Ikitau returning to outside centre and Hunter Paisami starting at 12.
It will be a new challenge for Suaalii, who has established himself primarily as an outside centre since switching codes from rugby league, but Kiss says the 23-year-old did not need convincing about the move.
“Nothing but positive,” Kiss said of Suaalii’s reaction to the news. “I didn’t even have to explain some of the rationale around it or the reasons why we went that way. He was up for it, no doubt.”
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Kiss has also opted for a 6-2 bench split, leaving the Wallabies without a specialist playmaking option among the replacements. The coach said it was a decision that had been carefully considered by the coaching staff.
“It is a question that we went through as a coaching group,” Kiss said. “We’ve prepared the team to make sure we’ve got the coverage.”
The Wallabies head into the Test knowing the recent record between the sides favours the Springboks, with Rassie Erasmus’ men having won five of the last six meetings.
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Kiss, however, expects Australia to rise to the occasion.
“We expect nothing but a massive, massive Test against them,” he said. “The boys have not lowered anything in terms of their expectation of themselves to actually get better every day.”
Photo: Janelle St Pierre/Getty Images
The post Kiss: Joe was up for it appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Wallabies coach Les Kiss says Joseph Suaalii embraced his surprise positional switch ahead of Sunday’s Test against the Springboks in Perth.
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