Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii afforded himself some quiet satisfaction after making his senior rugby debut.
Probably fair enough too, given he had just won man of the match in one of the greatest ever Wallabies victories in front of 80,000 in London.
But the 21-year-old is not built like most 21-year-olds and there has been no wild victory lapping.
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Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii of Australia offloads for teammate Tom Wright’s try. Getty
Suaalii carries himself with an almost eerie maturity and poise that must give the Wallabies staff confidence that he can do it all again against Wales in Cardiff on Monday (AEDT).
The NRL convert told Stan Sport’s Rugby Heaven that roommate Angus Bell and centres Len Ikitau and Samu Kerevi had given him the information and support he needed to thrive against England.
Former Wallabies captain Will Skelton revealed that Suaalii’s pre-match meditation techniques were already rubbing off on his teammates – just as they had in Samoa’s league team.
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“It was pretty cool just to see how many people were there, maybe an hour and a half before the game,” Suaalii said.
“That was pretty surreal. I got to the stadium and I knew where my parents were sitting so I went straight there and saw them, which was pretty special. Even just getting my (bare) feet on the grass, kind of just grounding myself before everything started and singing the national anthem.
“The first time putting the Wallabies jersey on was unreal and I could see my parents in the crowd as well, so that just made it even better.
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“They’re quite emotional too… singing the anthem, that’s when I kind of had that time to reflect back and see how far I’ve come.”
Suaalii did not carry much at outside centre but provided a delightful try assist for Tom Wright and attracted plenty of attention from England defenders.
His also caused havoc at restarts by repeatedly leaping above star England lock Maro Itoje.
The potential seems almost limitless.
His former Samoa coach, Matt Parish, confidently told Wide World of Sports in October that he would become “the greatest league convert to union.”
Ex-Wallabies backrower Stephen Hoiles told Between Two Posts that Suaalii would develop into a better player than his mentor Israel Folau and become “the next superstar of Australian rugby.”
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in action on debut at Twickenham. Getty
The man himself seems laser focused.
“I feel like there was a lot of things I want to work on,” Suaalii said.
“For my first game since school, I feel like I’m pretty proud of myself here. I went out there and just gave it a crack straight away.
“I didn’t let the game get away from me kind of thing. But look, I had a lot of help from Lenny (Ikitau), Noah (Lolesio), Wrighty (Tom Wright) – all the backs were big, obviously throughout the whole game and for myself, just to ease me into the game.
“But, yeah, there’s a lot of things I want to work on. Breakdown and getting the ball more in my hands. I feel like there’s a lot of positives I can take from the game but a lot of work-ons I can take as well.”
Ikitau – who is now called Len ‘Flickitau’ by his teammates after his match-winning try assist – remains in awe of Suaalii.
Len Ikitau of Australia passes the ball under pressure from Ollie Sleightholme of England. Getty
“He’s a freak, man! Just being able to play next to him and just seeing what he can do on the field is awesome,” Ikitau said.
“And we’re expecting more from him, especially now that he’s had his first game.”
Rugby World Cup winner Liam Messam was equally blown away by Suaalii’s immediate impact.
Liam Messam leads the haka at Twickenham in 2013. Getty
“For your first game of rugby to be a Test match – and not just any Test match – in England, at Twickenham,” Messam told Wide World of Sports.
“Which is one of the hardest places to play rugby – and then win and to do what he did… like he’s always been an amazing athlete but to be put at centre and do that and be man of the match.
“Full, full respect for him and I’m sure Australia got their money’s worth out of him on day one, 100 per cent.”