Why code-hopping Roosters star will snub rapid Wallabies return
Dual-international Mark Nawaqanitawase might be returning to rugby union, but the outgoing Sydney Roosters star has given the clearest indication yet that he won’t be available to play for the Wallabies in November’s Nations Championship Tests.
“From what I know now, I'm just going to obviously have the next month after I finish and then probably start up with my club in Japan,” the winger told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
Mark Nawaqanitawase will make a return to rugby union. CameraSport via Getty Images
Nawaqanitawase isn’t yet on his way back to the 15-person game.
The try-scoring machine hopes he’s got at least another week as an NRL player, with the Roosters one match away from qualifying for a first NRL final since 2019.
But ever since deciding to return to rugby union, the question hovering over Australian rugby is whether he’ll feature with the Wallabies in November ahead of next year’s World Cup on home soil.
While World Rugby’s regular nine window allows the Wallabies to pick him, Australians playing in Japan haven’t always made themselves available as they’ve tried to navigate the delicate line of pleasing their employers, resting up and wanting to pull on the golf jersey.
That certainly is the case for Nawaqanitawase, the Wild Knights’ new $1 million man.
But for Nawaqanitawase, who has made every post a winner since joining the Roosters two years ago, it’s also about setting up camp in an unfamiliar environment.
“I think for me personally as well, just having a bit of time off before I leave the country. Spend the time with my family and my friends, and then having that respect just to start up with a new club and find my feet there,” he said.
“It’ll be my first time living out of home, so just get my head around cooking for myself, working out how things work around the house. I’m not that bad, actually. Just getting an idea of how it is to live by myself. I think that’s going to take a few weeks. I just feel if I’m going in and out, it could just shock me for a bit.”
Should Nawaqanitawase indeed miss the November Tests, the 2023 World Cup member will still have more than enough time to make next year’s tournament.
Although he’s unlikely to feature in next year’s Anzac Day fixture against the All Blacks because the Test will be played outside World Rugby’s international window, SANZAAR’s six-Test Nations Championship will give Nawaqanitawase a chunk of time to push for World Cup selection.
Before then, Nawaqanitawase hopes to bow out from the NRL with a ring on his finger to go with a Kangaroos jersey last year and a State of Origin title under his belt earlier this year.
“It'd be great,” he said.
“Obviously, it’s a bit of a process still. We’ve got another game this week, so it’s going to be tough up there against the Dolphins in Suncorp, but I’m looking forward to it.”
While Nawaqanitawase shocked many when he left Australian rugby, the walking highlights machine says it’s “the best decision” he’s made.
“It was very tough (making the call to leave the Waratahs),” he said.
Mark Nawaqanitawase bagged a hat-trick when he returned from an ankle injury against Canberra last Friday. Getty Images
“It was a long month and a half trying to figure out if I was going to do it or not. Do I pinch myself? Now, I’m just like it’s the best decision ever. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Although Nawaqanitawase had little trouble finding the tryline during his career with the Waratahs and Wallabies, he’s since become a household name in Australian sport for his ability to make the impossible seemingly possible.
That was certainly the case with his try against the Bulldogs last season going viral and ultimately winning NRL try of the year.
Earlier this month, his intercept take against the Panthers in the Roosters’ qualifying final earlier this month was another moment that went global.
But the freakish athlete says his try against the Rabbitohs on debut in September 2024 remains his proudest moment in the NRL to date because it made him feel like he belonged.
“I'd probably have to say the start. My first game, probably that first try,” Nawaqanitawase replied, when asked about his favourite moment to date in the NRL.
“The whole thing, coming to league, that was an important moment for me and my family and friends, and I vividly remember that night.”
While the NRL could farewell Nawaqanitawase this weekend, the code-hopper says he hadn’t shut the book on returning to the game.
But the winger emphatically shut out any possibility of playing for a rival NRL club.
“If I was to ever come back, it would only be for the Roosters,” he said.
