'A crazy year': Wallaby star winging it in Paris
SPOTLIGHT: When Mark Nawaqanitawase was left out of the Wallabies squad he was worried he might not have much to do.
But now the flying wing is doing pretty much everything, with the 23-year-old about to become an Olympian before jetting home to potentially make an NRL debut.
The 23-year-old is back in Paris after playing every World Cup match in the country last year.
Australia will kick off the Sevens action at Stade de France against Samoa on Wednesday, two days before the Olympic opening ceremony on the River Seine.
They will be among the first of the 10,500 athletes in action, two football games between Argentina and Morocco and Uzbekistan and Spain starting 30 minutes earlier beating them to the punch.
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There are going to be some belters on day one of #Paris2024 🤩
Who are you looking forward to seeing most in #RugbySevens action? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/P30n4xJ1LM
— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) July 23, 2024
The rugby will captivate the country, with French XV-a-side captain Antoine Dupont’s successful transition to the seven-man version one of the Games’ most-hyped storylines.
Nawaqanitawase is still coming to terms with his whirlwind year that took a sharp detour when he signed with the NRL’s Sydney Roosters in December.
The flying wing then completed a disappointing campaign with the Waratahs and was overlooked by new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
But then men’s Sevens coach John Manenti, who parachuted him into Australia’s 2022 Commonwealth Games team, came calling.
A training camp in Darwin, including games against Fiji, was his chance to seal a spot.
And when the Roosters managed to register him as their 30th contracted player for this season, suddenly Nawaqanitawase’s plate was full.
“Sometimes it’s a bit tricky when you don’t know what you’re doing,” Nawaqanitawase, who begrudgingly admitted he was surprised by his Test squad omission, explained.
“From not getting picked from the Wallabies, there was quite a long bit of time where I didn’t have anything to do.”
Or so he thought.
“It’s been quite a crazy year; my mum was mind-blown to think this [Olympics] was even an opportunity,” he said.
He could now be the first man to win Olympic gold and and NRL title, the Roosters currently fourth and destined for the finals.
“I’m still trying to get my head around it,” he said.
“There’s been a lot going on this year. Still trying to get it all together.
“If I get too far ahead it kind of ruins things.”
Nawaqanitawase’s raw pace and physicality are essential Sevens ingredients but it’ll be his work under the high ball that could move the needle for a side capable of winning gold in a wide-open Paris field.
An inability to collect restarts crippled them against Argentina in a loss to begin the Tokyo 2021 campaign that proved deadly.
In another big move, Manenti has also welcomed back former Sevens speedster Corey Toole after his brilliant Super Rugby season on the wing for the Brumbies.
But there will be no fairytale finish for former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, as the tenacious flank’s efforts to transition were scuppered by injury.
