Convert Suaalii savouring test experiences with Wallabies

It has been such a heady nine months for Joseph Suaalii since his Australia rugby union debut that the 22-year-old powerhouse finds it hard to pick out a highlight.

A former Australia under-18 international, Suaalii spent four seasons playing as a centre in rugby league before making a high-profile, big-money switch back to the 15-man game last October, quickly followed by his debut for the Wallabies against England at Twickenham in November.

This year he played all three tests for Australia as they lost 2-1 in the home series against the British & Irish Lions and last Saturday scored a first test try in a speedy breakaway to help seal a shock 38-22 win over world champions South Africa in Johannesburg at the start of this year’s Rugby Championship.

“Honestly, I've really enjoyed the whole experience so far,” he told a press conference on Monday.

“Playing at Twickenham and then playing at Ellis Park and then going up against the Lions. It's pretty hard to say which one's the best but yeah I’m just enjoying every single part of what rugby union brings.

“I've been in (rugby) league, in a different environment and then coming across (to rugby union), I feel like you live with the boys here and they become your family away from your family, so I'm really enjoying building different relationships and experiencing different things in different countries with your best mates.

“I feel like travelling the world is something every young kid wants to do, so I’m just enjoying the dream that’s being created,” he added.

Suaalii’s conversion from rugby league saw him hailed as a hope for Australian rugby when he went straight into the test team last November without having played a game since his schoolboy days.

There was a burden of expectation, but Suaalii says he brushed all that aside.

“I've always said it. The game of rugby is just not me," he added. There's 23 players who are playing ... actually, no, there's more. You know, you've got the whole training week with the players that don't get picked and then you've got coaches and everyone. So it's just not me.

“Obviously it was a lot of talk around (his move across from rugby league) but at the end of the day it's a team sport. That's how I just see it. I don't really see it as pressure on me. How can I be best for the team? So that's how I see it.”