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Former All Black James Parsons has come to the end of his relationship watching the Wallabies fail to capitalize on Joseph-Aukuso Suaali’s X-factor in the air, saying “it eats at me at night.”
After defeating a Springboks side that enjoyed the All black people‘ aerial weaknesses on the Greatest Rivalry tour, the Wallabies struggled to cope with New Zealand’s aerial resurgence in the Bledisloe Cup series, with their 196cm athletic freak, Suaalii, barely featuring in the aerial competition.
Much of the debate surrounding the 23-year-old has centered on his best position, with a brief stint on the wing giving the Wallabies some big plays in the air against South Africa, before midfield injuries forced him back into the No.13 jersey in the last match.
But Parsons says he is tired of the debate and wants to see Suaali play to his full potential. The passionate plea happened in the last episode New Zealand Rugby Sub.
“I’m going to sound like a broken record, and I have to stop saying that, but mate, Suaalii needs to blow up,” he said. “It just has to happen. It kills me. It literally does. I think it eats at me at night. I just don’t understand how the hell they don’t use it. Like, to me, it’s an offensive platform.”
“There’s a lot of people asking the same question. He’s a multimillion-dollar-a-year player. Let’s take advantage of that. I really don’t understand it. Why would they do that with Israel Folau, why can’t I do that with this guy?
“They could go to the wing, they could go to fullback. Put him somewhere he can make an impact, or do what we did with Jordie Barrett last week and get him in a position to do something. I’m actually sick of worrying about the number on his back. Let’s just do something to put him in the game.”
In the weeks leading up to both Bledisloe Tests, All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie often referred to the statistics surrounding aerial contests and how difficult it is for defensive teams to deal with the high ball.
“There is no side in the the world dominating the the ball will be kicked that to themRennie said.
“It is the teams that a blow the the ball WHO are victory a a lot in the air, or getting a a lot of notes. It’s Fr one in four that are caught clean by the receiving team.”
Fellow Aotearoa Rugby Pod analyst Bryn Hall had several suggestions for incorporating Suaali into the game.
“The easiest way you can actually do that is kick-offs, right? Put it in the middle of the field. Usually there’s only one setter, or only a midfielder. And it’s like 70-30, and you’re immediately going into a counter-attack, click-attack game in the next 20 seconds, which Australia i like to work.
“Even (a contested kick), like straight from the nine, put it right in the middle of the field. If all the guys are chasing back the All Blacks, they have to go forward and it’s 60-40.
“To Jip’s point, they can actually create scenarios for Suaali to come into the game, but for whatever reason, they just can’t make the most of his skill set.”
You can catch New Zealand Rugby Sub‘s full review of the Bledisloe Cup RugbyPass TV.