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Expect a call: Wallabies coach on cross-code wonder
Murray Wenzel, AAP •  October 8th, 2026 5:21 pm
Mark Nawaqanitawase's Wallabies return timeline is expected to be discussed in coming days | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Wallabies coach Les Kiss kept his distance during Mark Nawaqanitawase's barnstorming NRL farewell but will reconnect with the outstanding winger ahead of a possible Test return next month.
The Sydney Roosters' premiership highlight reel signed off on a two-year stint in historic fashion as the first player since Reg Gasnier almost 70 years ago to score multiple tries in three consecutive finals games.
His exhilarating play had tongues wagging and the NRL community hopeful he would return to the code after a two-year stint with the Saitama Wild Knights in Japan's League One.
Freakish athlete Mark Nawaqanitawase couldn't stop scoring rugby league tries in 2026 | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
There is a Rugby World Cup on home soil before that and Nawaqanitawase is shaping as a mouth-watering addition to a side currently on a six-game unbeaten streak.
The 26-year-old said last month he had no plans to play again until the League One season, keen to domesticate himself given it will be the first time he has lived alone.
But with the Wallabies' Nations Championship Tests to come - they play England, Scotland and Wales in November before the inaugural finals weekend - he can expect a call from Kiss.
"I haven't heard back from him yet, but we'll see," Kiss joked as he theatrically reached for his phone during a press conference ahead of Saturday's Bledisloe Cup opener against the All Blacks in Auckland.
Mark Nawaqanitawase's brilliant aerial skills promise to be a huge asset for the Wallabies | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP
Nawaqanitawase doesn't qualify through Rugby Australia's Giteau Law as an overseas selection but presents an irresistible case as one of few exemptions.
His arrival would create a selection squeeze though, with Tom Wright at fullback, Max Jorgensen on one wing and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii seemingly settling into a role on the opposing flank.
But Nawaqanitawase's almost weekly NRL feats have positioned the former Commonwealth Games and Olympics sevens representative, who has 11 Test caps, as a must-have.
"I'll just let it settle for this week and then have some conversations and see where it goes," Kiss said of his approach.
Wallabies coach Les Kiss plans to chat with Mark Nawaqanitawase about his new rugby union path | Photo: PR Image
If he doesn't feature in the November window it would drastically shorten the runway ahead of next year's World Cup, although the Wallabies do play seven Tests in 2027 - including a one-off Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup - before the World Cup.
The coach, like Nawaqanitawase a former Australian Kangaroos rugby league winger, has largely left him alone, except for one cheeky text.
"I won't know (if he will tour) until I chat to him," he said.
"I had one chat to him in the early part of the season then said I'd leave him alone.
"I did text him during State of Origin and said 'don't play well against Queensland'.
"I've kept a clear mind on that part, but he's obviously a flavour at the moment for sure."
