'An honour to be in the presence of Joseph': Suaalii compared to Lomu as UK press goes gaga
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii's man of the match Wallabies debut has not just caught the imagination of long suffering Australian rugby fans.
England has gone gaga over the 21-year-old code-hopper too in the wake of Australia's remarkable 42-37 upset on Sunday (AEDT).
Playing at outside centre, Suaalii earned the ultimate comparison in The Telegraph after his first game of senior rugby.
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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of Australia offloads for teammate Tom Wright's try. Getty
"A stunning Test match, one that launched Joseph Suaalii onto the international stage as a new global superstar, one that has salvaged next year's British and Irish Lions tour and has left England's autumn campaign in absolute tatters," the report read.
"The 21-year-old former NRL star had such an all-court impact on this stunning victory for the Wallabies that it rekindled memories of Jonah Lomu's contribution at the 1995 World Cup."
All Blacks icon Lomu is widely regarded as the most impactful player in rugby history as he catapulted the game into the professional era.
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Jonah Lomu of New Zealand goes past James Simpson-Daniel of England. Getty
Veteran rugby writer Stephen Jones was positively giddy in his report for The Times.
"It was an honour to be in the presence of Joseph Suaalii, the recruit from rugby league playing his first game of senior rugby union," Jones wrote.
"Most converts in Australia have been useless at union but the 21-year-old looked to have the physique to play with ferocity; he also had an aching ability to almost stand aside from the sound and fury to delight with his passing and running angles. (Rugby Australia) paid a lot of money for him, but here he looked like a bargain. Glorious."
Ex-England halfback Danny Care watched Suaalii closely and was in awe of his presence.
"Joseph Suaalii is a superstar in the making," Care said.
"Well, he is a superstar already. You can see he already has that Israel Folau, Sonny Bill Williams superstar mindset. You could see it before the game.
Australia's Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii before the match. Getty
"I've not seen many lads walk out with bare feet, just feeling the game, just feeling the environment, like 'this is my turf, I'm born to play here, I'm gonna show what I can do.' You can do that and then the best players come and back it up.
"He certainly backed it up, he was brilliant."
Former England lock Ben Kay joined the growing fan club.
"Looks like a world star already. Absolutely outstanding future ahead of this guy. The ceiling is massive and he could very well become an absolute star of this game."
Fellow TNT Sports pundit Austin Healey - the ex-England winger - was wowed by Suaalii's aerial ability in particular.
"He wears anti-gravity boots by the looks of things. What an incredible rugby player that guy is."
