Rugby league-Australia's Nawaqanitawase to make mark as dual code international

MELBOURNE, Oct 22 (Reuters) – Two years after Australia's Rugby World Cup disaster in France, Mark Nawaqanitawase will be back in the international spotlight at Wembley on Saturday but this time as a rugby league phenomenon in a Kangaroos jersey. Coach Kevin Walters included Nawaqanitawase in his match-day squad for the 'Ashes' series-opener against England, confirming the dashing 25-year-old as a dual code international. Even for the most rusted-on fans of rugby union, Nawaqanitawase's rise to the peak of the 13-man game has been grudgingly celebrated. Few players make it to the highest level in both codes, and even fewer do it the way "Marky Mark" has. When he signed with the Sydney Roosters after the 2023 World Cup, the winger became the first capped Wallabies player to switch to Australia's National Rugby League in nearly 20 years. The Roosters knew they were adding a rare talent to their roster but could scarcely have imagined Nawaqanitawase would become the league's highest try-scorer in his first full season this year, racking up 24 in 23 games. In May, one of his four-pointers against the Canterbury Bulldogs went viral on social media as the "try of the decade" as he pulled off an audacious chip-and-chase that flirted with the touchline. NO REGRETS His rich highlights reel in rugby league has been bittersweet for Wallabies fans who watched Joe Schmidt's team lose the British & Irish Lions series 2-1 and surrender the Bledisloe Cup for another year to New Zealand. What difference might Nawaqanitawase's skill and enterprise have made for a Wallabies team who suffered several tight test defeats this season? Nawaqanitawase told Reuters he had no regrets making the switch from union, saying the demands of league had made him tougher and more athletic. "I wouldn't say complete, but it definitely makes me better than I was," he said. "It's definitely improved me from the player I was 12 months ago. Hopefully in 12 months' time, I'm even better than I am now. We'll see." Nawaqanitawase has a year left on his Roosters contract but his time in a Kangaroos jersey may only be fleeting. He has confirmed he will be leaving the Roosters at the end of the 2026 season, paving the way for a return to the Wallabies before they host the World Cup the following year. A widely-shared video clip of Nawaqanitawase bringing a Wallabies-branded suitcase to the airport with his Kangaroos teammates captured the duality of his ambition. Much can happen in a year, as Nawaqanitawase has shown NRL fans, but his return to the Wallabies setup would likely come with a much higher price for his signature. Nawaqanitawase's last days in the Wallabies' gold jersey were painful ones as the nation crashed out of the World Cup group phase for the first time under former coach Eddie Jones. Plenty has changed since, with Jones taking over Japan and New Zealander Schmidt succeeding the Australian at the Wallabies. A number of Nawaqanitawase's former teammates will face Jones and their World Cup demons in Tokyo when Australia meet the Brave Blossoms on Saturday. Some may tune into the Wembley clash later in the Tokyo evening to see Nawaqanitawase in action and imagine what the new Kangaroo might do as a rebooted Wallaby. (Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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