'Go get him': Hamish McLennan's Nathan Cleary message to Rugby Australia bosses ahead of home World Cup
Former Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan has urged those who replaced him to go after Nathan Cleary ahead of the 2027 home World Cup.
McLennan said the boost Joseph Suaalii has given the code – before he's so much as played a game for the Wallabies – is proof the hefty pay packet Cleary would demand would be worth it.
"Joseph has already driven massive interest in rugby union and paid for himself over and over again," McLennan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Nathan Cleary during the Rugby League World Cup final at Old Trafford in 2022. PA Images via Getty Images
"He's a global rugby superstar before he has even pulled on a Wallaby jumper, and he'll be a wonderful role model for aspiring young players.
"The decades-long under-performance of the Wallabies means they need investment in the top tier to drive value in sponsorship, media rights and crowds.
"We haven't won a World Cup since 1999, and a Bledisloe Cup in 23 years, so you don't need more evidence the system needs an overhaul and to be centralised."
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Former Rugby Australia boss Hamish McLennan has urged his replacements to go after Nathan Cleary. Getty
Australia will host the Rugby World Cup in 2027, and McLennan said the Wallabies are short of superstars on which to sell the event.
"I'd be having a crack at the likes of Nathan Cleary and a few others," he said.
"The game needs another five Josephs as the World Cup for '27 is just around the corner and the clock is ticking ... Thank god for Joseph, because that's all everyone is talking about.
"Australia is No.10 in the world [rankings] and needs an injection of talent or there will be nothing left to sell."
Suaalii is on a five-year contract worth $8 million - the biggest deal in either code. Just two weeks after the Roosters' preliminary finals loss to the Storm, Suaalii was in a Wallabies camp in Canberra.
He will be on tour to the UK next month, although with which Australian team remains to be seen.
The senior Wallabies team will play Tests against England, Wals, Scotland and Ireland, while an 'Australa XV' side will play matches against the Bristol Bears and an England A team.
There are rumours of discontent among others in the Wallabies squad about just how much cash McLennan and RA bosses threw at Suaalii.
But McLennan suggested he'd do it again.
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"Anyone who thinks that Joseph is the only player who has earned over a million dollars a year in Australia or overseas is kidding themselves," he said.
"Yes, he is earning more, but the additional amount he is getting above the other players is worth it ... he is worth every cent."
