Rugby-No Lions regrets for former Wallaby Nawaqanitawase

Riding high in Australia's National Rugby League, Mark Nawaqanitawase has no regrets about spurning a once-in-a-career chance to play the British & Irish Lions but the lure of a home World Cup could see the former Wallaby back in a gold jersey.

Nawaqanitawase's switch to the 13-man game has been an unqualified success, and he currently ranks joint-fourth among try-scorers in his first full NRL season with the Sydney Roosters. In May, one of his four-pointers against the Canterbury Bulldogs went viral on social media, generating over 70 million views of an audacious chip-and-chase that flirted with the touch-line and was lauded as the "try of the decade".

Little wonder the frizzy-haired 24-year-old feels comfortable with his defection, which made him the first active Wallaby to cross to rugby league in nearly two decades. "Life is great. It is amazing, I'm living the dream," Nawaqanitawase told Reuters.

"I'm very happy with the decision I've made. That feeling hasn't been there in terms of missing out (on the Lions) or anything like that." And yet Nawaqanitawase cannot help but be swept up in the rush of the Lions tour.

He will be in the crowd cheering on his former Super Rugby teammates when the New South Wales Waratahs take on Andy Farrell's men at Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday. Nawaqanitawase has another 18 months left on his Roosters contract and boxes to tick; an NRL championship being high on the list and maybe selection for New South Wales in the annual State of Origin series next year.

Though capped 11 times for the Wallabies and having represented Australia in rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics, his NRL experience has boosted his profile to another level. He recently extended an endorsement deal with sports apparel maker Under Armour, and the Roosters are likely to fight hard to retain him.

NO DEADLINES Yet the pull of his former career will likely grow stronger as Australia counts down to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The NRL, for all its popularity in Australia's eastern states, barely registers elsewhere -- but the entire country will be sure to rally around the Wallabies in 2027. Nawaqanitawase speaks of making a call on his future by the end of the year but is not setting himself deadlines.

"For the moment I'm just trying to focus on the week that I'm in," he said. "I'm leaving it until I have more time to think about it and understand what's going on in my life and then figure out my decisions from there.

"Not worrying about it right now is a big thing for me." What Nawaqanitawase is certain of is that rugby league has made him a better all-round footballer, which can only bode well for Australian rugby if he decides to return.

He said his time at the Roosters had stretched his aerobic capacity beyond what he could have imagined. "Every day, every week there's so much contact," he said.

"The game is also very fatiguing, so just realising how far my body can actually go has been a surprise." He laughs at the idea he might end up like New Zealand's dual code international Sonny Bill Williams, a player who seemingly effortlessly switched back and forth between rugby union and league over a long and decorated career.

Williams won two World Cups with the All Blacks but Nawaqanitawase's sole World Cup experience at France 2023 was mired in disappointment as part of the first Wallabies squad to be punted from the group phase of the tournament. Perhaps wisely, Nawaqanitawase stopped short of backing Joe Schmidt's Wallabies for victory in the three-test series against the Lions, while offering his best wishes to his former teammates.

"I hope they become more competitive," he said. "There's no ceiling. They're very talented, all of them. I just don't know where they can get to."

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