Dave Rennie reveals plan for NRL convert Suliasi Vunivalu
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Wallabies boss Dave Rennie has revealed his plan for NRL convert Suliasi Vunivalu who has joined the Wallabies Tri Nations squad just two weeks after winning the NRL final with the Melbourne Storm.
24-year-old Vunivalu signed with the Queensland Reds ahead of the 2021 Super Rugby AU season and went on to score a stunning try in the NRL grand final for the eventual winners the Melbourne Storm.
Suliasi Vunivalu has joined the Wallabies squad, here is what he did in his final NRL game 🔥
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) November 10, 2020
pic.twitter.com/ksw7lssL4u
A try-scoring machine, Vunivalu dotted down 86 times for Melbourne during his five-year career with the Storm.
Vunivalu is expected to feature on the wing in the 15 aside game with Dave Rennie saying that he has a “pretty impressive skill set” that should translate well into the 15-man game, but “there’s no plan” to throw him into action straight away.
Rennie told the media on Thursday: “It’s a good chance for us to bring him in get to know him a little better, a chance for him to get an understanding for what we think’s important.
“Hopefully when he gets back to Super Rugby (he has) a bit of understanding around two or three key areas that he can put a bit of time into that will help his transition.
Rennie confirmed: “There’s no thinking about using him against Argentina. We want him to earn the right to play here.”
The Wallabies boss backed the flyer to settle back into rugby union quickly having played the 15s game during his youth.
“It’s what he played in high school. He played a lot of rugby and obviously got targeted to go to league. He’s just been away from the game for a while. He understands the game. He’s just got a lot to learn around all of our structures and the role of our back three is a little different in our game obviously.
“That’s the reason for bringing him in. He’ll get a bit of time here, hopefully learn a bit and get a bit of clarity (around what he needs to learn), and go away and get into some work post-Christmas.
Australia have a history of bringing league converts into the national set-up early into their rugby careers with Marika Koroibete joining the Wallabies for their 2016 Spring Tour.
- Image: Wallabies/twitter
