Sydney Roosters player Joseph Suaalii has reached out to rugby figures Hamish McLennan and Eddie Jones, confirming he will be honouring his deal with Rugby Australia.
McLennan admits his downfall as RA chairman was because he was behind the $5 million deal to move Suaalii to rugby in 2025.
Despite the negative outcome for McLennan, he said he does not regret getting Suaalii on board, confident he will take the contract and become an “iconic figure” of the game.
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“I’ve talked to Joseph this week,” McLennan told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He was decent enough to give me a call, which is a reflection of the kind of young man that he is – and after our conversation I have no doubt he will take his contract up with RA.
McLennan didn’t go into details of the call, but said he knew the 20-year-old is still ready to make the switch to the 15-man game.
“I initially contacted his family to tell them I was sorry I would not be there when he was coming,” he said.
“When he called, I didn’t ask him about his intentions but he made it clear he wants to honour his deal.
“He has said all along it was his dream to play for the Wallabies and Waratahs, and I will be so delighted when he does. He wants to make a difference to the sport and help out the boys.”
McLennan said the publicity Suaalii has already attracted has generated millions of dollars for the sport before he’s even played a game.
“The criticism of him and the deal is crazy. Before he pulls on a jumper he has generated over $50 million worth of publicity for rugby … and the first time he plays for the Waratahs in front of a full house, he pays for himself. It’s a no-brainer,” he said.
Eddie Jones has reportedly been been “playing phone tennis” with Suaalii.
“I know what he wants to say because he spoke to Hamish (McLennan) and I appreciate it,” Jones said.
“His actions in calling up says it all about the sort of kid he is. He is quality. He will be right when it comes to his deal. He’s fine.”
The Herald reports RA is also trying to recover over $1 million from the French Rugby Federation after an oral agreement regarding Wallabies’ World Cup warm-up match against France, between now-departed McLennan and former FFR president Bernard Laporte has fallen through.
McLennan and Laporte met in 2021 and orally agreed the FFR would pay RA a $1.7 million match fee for the game at Stade de France, which was held on August 27, 2023.
In January 2023, Laporte was convicted of corruption and illegally acquiring assets, and stood down. Florian Grill then took over.
But despite Grill confirming the oral agreement before August, he said the FFR did not have the money in their budget for RA’s shares.
“On the strength of the words of the Australian leaders, we have discovered an oral agreement for a sum of the order of one million euros or a little less,” Grill told media outlet Midi Olympique.
“The Australian federation therefore wrote to us to collect this sum, plus a percentage on the TV rights. An agreement which would therefore have been given at the time of the old governance. Obviously, it hadn’t been budgeted for.”