{"id":899937,"date":"2026-09-21T09:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T09:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/899937\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T09:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T09:54:15","slug":"rugby-news-2026-sydney-roosters-star-mark-nawaqanitawase-wallabies-return-snub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/899937\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby news 2026: Sydney Roosters star Mark Nawaqanitawase Wallabies return, snub"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dual-international Mark Nawaqanitawase<\/a> might be returning to rugby union, but the outgoing Sydney Roosters<\/a> star has given the clearest indication yet that he won\u2019t be available to play for the Wallabies<\/a> in November\u2019s Nations Championship Tests.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I know now, I’m just going to obviously have the next month after I finish and then probably start up with my club in Japan,\u201d the winger told reporters in Sydney on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mark Nawaqanitawase will make a return to rugby union. \u00a0CameraSport via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nawaqanitawase isn\u2019t yet on his way back to the 15-person game.<\/p>\n

The try-scoring machine hopes he\u2019s got at least another week as an NRL<\/a> player, with the Roosters one match away from qualifying for a first NRL final since 2019.<\/p>\n

But ever since deciding to return to rugby union<\/a>, the question hovering over Australian rugby is whether he\u2019ll feature with the Wallabies in November ahead of next year\u2019s World Cup on home soil.<\/p>\n

While World Rugby\u2019s reg 9 allows the Wallabies to pick him, Australians playing in Japan haven\u2019t always made themselves available as they\u2019ve tried to navigate the delicate line of pleasing their employers, resting up and wanting to pull on the golf jersey.<\/p>\n

That certainly is the case for Nawaqanitawase, the Wild Knights\u2019 new $1 million man.<\/p>\n

But for Nawaqanitawase, who has made every post a winner since joining the Roosters two years ago, it\u2019s also about setting up camp in an unfamiliar environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for me personally as well, just having a bit of time off before I leave the country. Spend the time with my family and my friends, and then having that respect just to start up with a new club and find my feet there,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be my first time living out of home, so just get my head around cooking for myself, working out how things work around the house. I\u2019m not that bad, actually. Just getting an idea of how it is to live by myself. I think that\u2019s going to take a few weeks. I just feel if I\u2019m going in and out, it could just shock me for a bit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Should Nawaqanitawase indeed miss the November Tests, the 2023 World Cup member will still have more than enough time to make next year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019s unlikely to feature in next year\u2019s Anzac Day fixture against the All Blacks<\/a> because the Test will be played outside World Rugby\u2019s international window, SANZAAR\u2019s six-Test Nations Championship will give Nawaqanitawase a chunk of time to push for World Cup<\/a> selection.<\/p>\n

Before then, Nawaqanitawase hopes to bow out from the NRL with a ring on his finger to go with a Kangaroos<\/a> jersey last year and a State of Origin<\/a> title under his belt earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’d be great,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it\u2019s a bit of a process still. We\u2019ve got another game this week, so it\u2019s going to be tough up there against the Dolphins<\/a> in Suncorp, but I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Nawaqanitawase shocked many when he left Australian rugby, the walking highlights machine says it\u2019s \u201cthe best decision\u201d he\u2019s made.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very tough (making the call to leave the Waratahs<\/a>),\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mark Nawaqanitawase bagged a hat-trick when he returned from an ankle injury against Canberra last Friday.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a long month and a half trying to figure out if I was going to do it or not. Do I pinch myself? Now, I\u2019m just like it\u2019s the best decision ever.\u00a0I wouldn\u2019t change it for the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Nawaqanitawase had little trouble finding the tryline during his career with the Waratahs and Wallabies, he\u2019s since become a household name in Australian sport for his ability to make the impossible seemingly possible.<\/p>\n

That was certainly the case with his try against the Bulldogs<\/a> last season going viral and ultimately winning NRL try of the year.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, his intercept take against the Panthers<\/a> in the Roosters\u2019 qualifying final earlier this month was another moment that went global.<\/p>\n

But the freakish athlete says his try against the Rabbitohs<\/a> on debut in September 2024 remains his proudest moment in the NRL to date because it made him feel like he belonged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’d probably have to say the start. My first game, probably that first try,\u201d Nawaqanitawase replied, when asked about his favourite moment to date in the NRL.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing, coming to league, that was an important moment for me and my family and friends, and I vividly remember that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the NRL could farewell Nawaqanitawase this weekend, the code-hopper says he hadn\u2019t shut the book on returning to the game.<\/p>\n

But the winger emphatically shut out any possibility of playing for a rival NRL club.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I was to ever come back, it would only be for the Roosters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dual-international Mark Nawaqanitawase might be returning to rugby union, but the outgoing Sydney Roosters star has given the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-899937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}