Suaalii’s dream Twickenham debut is a millstone around his neck

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s muted return against the Western Force in Sydney on Friday night was partly due to the visitors’ smart tactics of starving the Waratahs of the ball.

It was further evidence of how adept Australian teams are at shutting each other down.

It was also because he missed more than a month of rugby due to a hamstring injury, and his timing isn’t quite in sync with his teammates.

But the third part of this narrative is that the quality of Suaalii’s debut performance against England at the end of 2024 was inflated far above reality.

It has set an expectation that he will dominate every contest, and no other No.13 in the world is doing that. That Twickenham Test against England, won 42-37 by the Wallabies, has been like a millstone around his neck ever since, though it’s clear he is still very much in the learning stage of his rugby career.

But don’t be surprised if he is much more influential against the Highlanders in Dunedin next Saturday afternoon.

The Force’s ability to limit Suaalii’s impact was mirrored by how cleverly the Waratahs limited Zac Lomax’s influence under the high ball and........

© The Sydney Morning Herald