Joseph Sua’ali’i, Australian rugby's expensive gamble, is fast-tracked for debut against England

Time is of the essence for the purported savior of Australian rugby.

There'll be no easing in 21-year-old Joseph Sua’ali’i after his expensive, much-hyped switch to the 15-man code.

Less than a month after hopping over from rugby league, Sua’ali’i will be lining up at Twickenham, one of rugby's storied stadiums, against England, one of the world's top teams, on Saturday.

Talk about a baptism of fire for someone who has never played a senior game of rugby.

“If not now, when?” Australia coach Joe Schmidt proffered.

The end-of-season European tour, which starts against England and includes further test matches against Wales, Scotland and Ireland, provides Australia with its final games before the visit of the British and Irish Lions for a tour starting in June next year.

Schmidt felt like he had no choice but to throw in Sua’ali’i.

After all, Sua’ali’i is richly talented, is full of self-belief and is someone Rugby Australia, which is hardly flush with cash, is betting the house on after handing him a contract worth 5.3 million Australian dollars ($3.5 million) for three years to the 2027 Rugby World Cup. It all comes in a tough period for an ailing rugby giant languishing at No. 9 in the world rankings.

No wonder Sua'ali'i is all the rage at the moment.

“We don’t do press conferences about the team anymore. We do them around Joseph,” Schmidt said.

“It’s unusual,” Schmidt added about the player's fast-tracking, "but we have a very limited time frame. We have these four weeks, then six months where they go back to Super Rugby teams and you get a couple of weeks before a massive Lions test that the whole country, certainly the rugby community in Australia, is excited about. We need to plan for that.”

Sua’ali’i, a strapping, skilful and fast runner, will play at outside center against an England team coming off a frustrating 24-22 loss to New Zealand last weekend.

He last played in the 15-man code as a winger, for Australian Schoolboys in a victory over New Zealand in 2019 when he was alongside current Wallaby Josh Flook. He was also a teammate of Australia captain Angus Bell. Since then, Sua'ali'i has become a star in rugby league, playing for Samoa when it reached the World Cup final in 2022, for Sydney Roosters in the NRL and also in the State of Origin.

Schmidt has been around Sua'ali'i for the past couple of weeks and describes him as a “very professional young man.”

“He is meticulous with his planning before he even gets to his preparation,” Schmidt said. “He asks a lot of questions — most guys who come in are relatively shy. He is a very humble young man but he is forthright about his preparation."

Helping Sua’ali’i to get his chance is that centers Hunter Paisami and Flook are unavailable for Australia's first test match since a 33-13 loss to the All Blacks in Wellington in the Rugby Championship. That was one of five losses in six games in that competition for the Wallabies.

England's recent record isn't much better, having lost five of its last seven tests dating to late February. The last three defeats have all come against the All Blacks, with England throwing away final-quarter leads on each occasion and losing by a combined total of 10 points.

“We can’t be making excuses. As players we have to step up and be more consistent,” England flanker Tom Curry said.

“We won’t make promises, but we’ve not been good enough. In the last quarter we as players definitely have to stand up. It’s about the full 80 minutes.

England coach Steve Borthwick selected an unchanged team for Saturday's game.

Teams:

England: George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Chandler Cunningham-South, George Martin, Maro Itoje, Will Stuart, Jamie George (captain), Ellis Genge. Reserves: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme.

Australia: Tom Wright, Andrew Kellaway, Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch, Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; Harry Wilson, Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Nick Frost, Taniela Tupou, Matt Faessler, Angus Bell (captain). Reserves: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Max Jorgensen.

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

England's players show dejection, at the end of the Autumn Nations Series rugby match between England and New Zealand, at Twickenham stadium, in London Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

England's head coach Steve Borthwick, left, chats with a player as the team warm up for the Autumn Nations Series rugby match between England and New Zealand, at Twickenham stadium, in London Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

FILE- A Nov.19, 2022 file photo of Samoa's rugby player Joseph Suaali'i made available on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Tim Goode/PA via AP)

Joseph Sua’ali’i, Australian rugby's expensive gamble, is fast-tracked for debut against England

FILE- A Nov.19, 2022 file photo of Samoa's rugby player Joseph Suaali'i made available on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Tim Goode/PA via AP)

Joseph Sua’ali’i, Australian rugby's expensive gamble, is fast-tracked for debut against England

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The person inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel suffered a gunshot to the head before the explosion, officials said Thursday.

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man who's been identified as Matthew Livelsberger. Officials believe the shot was self-inflicted.

Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.

He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.

The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday's explosion but provided no other details.

The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.

Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.

Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.

Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “we have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."

"All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.

Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle. Neither Trump nor Musk was in Las Vegas early Wednesday. Both had attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party at his South Florida estate.

Authorities know who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado, Kevin McMahill, the elected sheriff of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, said Wednesday. He did not release the person’s ID, however.

Copp, Richer and Long contributed from Washington.

Investigators enter a townhouse in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)

Investigators stand outside a townhouse complex in northeastern Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, as the investigation connected to the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel continues. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP)

Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

Police block the area after a vehicle caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)