When Mark Nawaqanitawase looks you in the eye and says those words, it is a powerful statement \u2013 and one Wallabies coach Eddie Jones would love to hear before the World Cup opener in France.<\/p>\n
There is a difference between confidence and arrogance and Nawaqanitawase, who has Fijian and Italian heritage, has none of the latter.<\/p>\n
Nawaqanitawase, 22, has the biggest tongue-twister of a surname in the Wallabies squad. For the record, it\u2019s pronounced nuh-wonga-neetar-wahzee<\/em>.<\/p>\n By the end of the World Cup, the Nawaqanitawase surname could be on many rugby lovers\u2019 lips.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mean to toot my own horn. You need to [back yourself] when you\u2019re on the field,\u201d Nawaqanitawase tells this masthead. \u201cIf you don\u2019t believe you\u2019re going to do things, you\u2019re not going to do them.<\/p>\n Mark Nawaqanitawase poses for a photo during the Wallabies\u2019 World Cup welcome ceremony in Saint-Eteinne. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cI just feel in myself when I get the ball, I can beat a player. If not, I can beat a few and set up someone else. I just feel like I can do things that can open up games.\u201d<\/p>\n Nawaqanitawase epitomises the fearlessness of a youthful Wallabies squad that wants to change perceptions in France following five losses in a row.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s first examination takes place against Georgia on Saturday (Sunday 2am AEST) and Nawaqanitawase will be hunting five-pointers.<\/p>\n From seven Tests, since his debut against Italy on last year\u2019s spring tour, Nawaqanitawase has accepted every challenge thrown at him, be it in the air, with ball in hand, or even in defence \u2013 an area of his game that was a major problem when he burst onto the scene in 2020 during his first season of Super Rugby at the Waratahs.<\/p>\n Mark Nawaqanitawase scores a try against France. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n His 90-metre intercept try against Argentina in Sydney this year should have been a match-winning moment, but it was not to be as the Wallabies conceded a late try.<\/p>\n His mother, Fiona, told him during high school it might be time to consider a plan B because she wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d make it as a rugby player. Nawaqanitawase proved her wrong and the pair laugh about it today.<\/p>\n At the beginning of last year, the product of St Patrick\u2019s College, Strathfield was so far down the pecking order at the Waratahs he missed selection in an-intra squad trial match.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasted those two years prior [to my Wallabies debut],\u201d he says. \u201cLast year I learned so much personally about myself and what I can do and how I [can] use my skills better.<\/p>\n Mark Nawaqanitawase with his mother, Fiona Tovehi, stepfather, Aisake Tovehi, and relative Malakai.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Wolter Peeters<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started, I had that big start to my career at a young age, which you don\u2019t see very often. If I wasn\u2019t where I was now, you\u2019d say, \u2018Oh, he was one of those guys who had a good start and then let it all go\u2019. If I knew what I knew now, maybe I would have made my Wallabies debut earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I now know is the professionalism and realising I had a job that was pretty cool. I get to train all day and play footy on the weekend. There\u2019s people out there digging holes and sitting at desks for hours and hours … I could have been doing that.<\/p>\n \u201cI realised what I could do in footy, so I was like, \u2018Why waste it?\u2019 I had to switch on. I trained a little harder and focused on the little things like diet and maybe not playing as much video games. I had to grow up a bit. It\u2019s two years where I could have grown up. Imagine where I could be if I had grown up.\u201d<\/p>\n Four years ago, the Herald<\/em> ran a story comparing a young Nawaqanitawase to Israel Folau. Former Wallabies figures are often reluctant to put such high expectations on the next big thing, but Nawaqanitawase loved the \u2018Next Folau\u2019 tag and feels it helped his rugby as he rose through the professional ranks, starting with a two-month trial at the Waratahs in late 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cDid it help? I would say yes,\u201d said Nawaqanitawase of comparisons to the 73-Test Wallaby. \u201cHe\u2019s my favourite player. I used to watch him and I still love watching him. Getting compared to someone like that, I was stoked. You go out there with more confidence. Did it hinder me? I don\u2019t think it did. I wouldn\u2019t let it hinder me.\u201d<\/p>\n A world ranking of ninth and five straight losses have hardly inspired a notoriously fickle Australian rugby public, despite Jones\u2019 best attempts at promising that the team is moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n Nawaqanitawase will want to get into the Georgia game. An early touch will calm the nerves in front of thousands of travelling Wallabies fans who have seen the New South Welshman\u2019s prowess at Super Rugby level.<\/p>\n Now it\u2019s time for the world to see it.<\/p>\n \u201cTo think where I was there four years ago and now I could have the chance to play at a World Cup … I didn\u2019t think this would happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Watch all the action from <\/b>Rugby World Cup 2023<\/b> on the Home of Rugby, <\/b>Stan Sport<\/b>. Every match ad-free, live and on demand in 4K UHD from September 9.<\/b><\/p>\n Sports news, results and expert commentary. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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