Former Wallabies head coach Ewen McKenzie has confidently predicted that Mark Nawaqanitawase will end up playing for Les Kiss\u2019 side despite debate around his Test future.<\/p>\n
After a hugely successful two-season spell in rugby league with the Sydney Roosters, the talented wing has returned to the 15-a-side code, looking to put himself in the frame for a Rugby World Cup call-up.<\/p>\n
Who that will be for is the big question, however, with the change in World Rugby<\/a> laws allowing him to pick between three countries.<\/p>\n Even though he has already earned 11 Wallabies<\/a> caps, the last of those came at the 2023 global tournament.<\/p>\n Eligible for three countries<\/p>\n That means after completing a three-year stand down period, he can play for another nation that he has ancestral ties to.<\/p>\n Nawaqanitawase<\/a> is eligible for Fiji<\/a> due to his father and Italy<\/a> because his grandmother, which means he has a decision to make.<\/p>\n That is one he is still in the process of making with the 26-year-old admitting that he has not yet made up his mind.<\/p>\n The speedster intimated that \u2018winning\u2019 is the big factor and with Australia not the force they once were, it means Kiss\u2019 team is not necessarily an automatic pick.<\/p>\n It still appears to most likely option, though, and McKenzie believes that they will see him in a Wallabies jersey next year.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople seem to forget he played for the Wallabies in the World Cup last time. He was in and out of the team, so he\u2019s definitely improved; he\u2019s been outstanding in rugby league,\u201d he said on the Rugby Unity podcast.<\/p>\n Matt Giteau SLAMS Mark Nawaqanitawase\u2019s agent amid suggestions of allegiance switch<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe question said he\u2019s going to Japan to recover, well he\u2019s going there to play in another competition, he\u2019s getting paid big money to do that, so therein lies the reason he\u2019s going there.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone has to work out what his motivation is and where he sits. I\u2019m sure Australia\u2019s been doing that, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll end up playing for Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think he will throw that out but it is a bit piggy that has been peddled through the media, that\u2019s how it works these days.\u201d<\/p>\n Set for Japan stint<\/p>\n Nawaqanitawase\u2019s first focus will be on the Saitama Wild Knights having signed a deal with the Japanese club ahead of their 2026\/27 season.<\/p>\n