FORMER Wallaby wing Joe Tomane says Joe Schmidt‘s coaching qualities are the reason why Joseph Sua’ali’i has had such a seamless transition to rugby union from league.
Sua’ali’i made his professional rugby union debut in Australia‘s dramatic win over England last weekend, with the 21-year-old playing a starring role in the win to earn the man of the match award.
Speaking on The Rugby Paper podcast, Tomane, who made the switch from league to union in 2012, believes Schmidt brings out the best in players.
“Every single rugby player has their strengths and weaknesses. The great coaches find a way to bring out the strengths every week of each player. That’s also got to be a strength of Joey Schmidt.
“Joe has that confidence in the abilities that Sua’ali’i has, and it shows what kind of coach he is as well.”
Despite it being his professional debut, Sua’ali’i, right, has a background in union, playing as a schoolboy, which is similar to Tomane’s rugby journey.
Tomane, who made 17 Wallabies appearances, believes that this background in union is hugely beneficial and allows for the transition between codes to be easier.
He said: “I think the biggest blessing for him is the fact that he started playing union so he had that groundwork of how to play the game before he went to rugby league.
Hats off to him and obviously I’m very happy for him.
“Rugby league and union are completely different games. It’s not easy to come in and flip flop between the two.”
Another player who switched from league to union and had huge success was Israel Folau.
Tomane and Folau went to high school together for a period, and the two played rugby league together in their youth.
Folau, as well as Australian Lote Tuqiri, are two of the most successful cross-code players of all time and Tomane added: “He’s (Sua’ali’i) an incredible athlete and that’s the thing that helps him the most, I don’t think Izzy had the same background in rugby as Joey did, so the transition might seem a little smoother than with Izzy.
“Lote was a really decorated NRL player, played for Australia, played multiple Origins, came over. His transition was also seamless, pretty dominant from the get-go.”
Over recent years, there has been a big change in tactics among outside backs, with versatility extremely sought after.
With outside backs now able to cover four or five positions, Tomane reflected on how skillsets have changed in the position since his playing days.
He said: “I think when you look at the game now the backline is pretty interchangeable when they are playing in the shape. You’ve got guys that can come in at ten and call the shots. The game has changed like that.
“When you’re playing that way it takes time to build up connections. Switching guys over you’re going to see those rough patches in the game when they’re playing out of position because it takes time to build combinations.”
The tactical change that rugby has undergone also includes defensive structures and the former Montpellier man explained what has changed.
“Back in 2015 a lot of people were playing that pendulum system where you’d have two/two and a half guys in that backfield and sometimes you’d have the nine sweeping behind.
“Now the defence has changed where they have a full front line, it’s hard to penetrate through the middle. For you to create space on the edge you need that guy with the footwork or the kicking ability because that causes doubt.
“I think the game has changed in that sense in that your ball players are more useful in the wider channels and your bigger bodies are more useful in the middle because you need to find a way to bend the middle to create space on the side.”
