Following his Wallabies debut against Italy last week, Mark Nawaqanitawase has earned a surprise second start when Australia clash with Ireland on Sunday [AEDT].
With the team to be announced Friday morning [AEDT], Wallabies officials confirmed Nawaqanitawase had retained his place in the starting 15 with the Waratahs flyer set to start on the right wing where he will likely mark former Brumbies wing Mack Hansen who has recently been named a World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the year nominee.
It’s been a fast rise for the 22-year-old who failed to earn a starting role at the Waratahs earlier this year, with the flyer eventually pushing his way into the NSW starting 15 before he travelled to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games with the men’s sevens team.
His performances in the sevens jersey would light up the stage and eventually led to his selection in the Australia A program where he took his game to another level. Making his unexpected Wallabies debut in Florence last week, he had a strong outing despite the side suffering their first loss to Italy in 39 years.
Tom Wright or Andrew Kellaway are expected to take up position on the left wing with Kellaway also a possibility, alongside Jock Campbell, to slot into the fullback role following Tom Banks’s return to Australia with an ankle injury.
Following the Wallabies horror loss to Italy, the side sit on just one win from their three matches after they pulled off a one-point victory over Scotland before they were downed by one-point by France. With two matches left on tour, another loss would be devastating for Dave Rennie who’s winning record slumped to just 37.5 percent following the weekend.