“It’s not about the money.” Mark Nawaqanitawase, on choosing between Australia, Fiji and Italy.
Mark Nawaqanitawase has heard the theory that his Test future is a pay negotiation. “It’s not about the money,” he said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby.
He says his club pays him, his country barely does, and the deciding factor is somewhere else.
Do you believe him? Yes or no in the comments.
Mark Nawaqanitawase on the money question
James Haskell, 77 England caps, put it to him in the London studio. Players who chase money, Haskell said, end up sitting alone in a house overseas asking why they went. Surely, he said, winning would decide it.
“Honestly, you’ve like again, this you’ve hit the spot, right? Everyone doesn’t know like it’s not about the money. Honestly, we don’t even internationally I’m not going to get paid or you don’t get a contract like that. I get paid by my club and then I play international.”
Beyond the odd match fee, he said, Test rugby is not where the money is. His club carries the salary.
Last week Matt Giteau asked why Australia should pay for his loyalty. This answer was not a reply to Giteau, but it covers the same ground.
What Mark Nawaqanitawase says will decide it
He named it in the same breath. Two seasons at the Sydney Roosters ended with a grand final win, and he wants that feeling back.
“that is the biggest thing that’s kind of made me open to everything is cuz I’ve come from an experience at the Roosters where I’m telling you the setup and everything from top to bottom just the way they’ve made me feel.”
“Um, and again the experience that I’ve had to win, I definitely do have to think about where am I going to go, where where I’m going to get that feeling again. People will never understand that. And that’s the biggest part of I guess making the decision.”
So the test he has set is about environment and winning. Any side that wants him has to sell him a dressing room.
He will not say which jersey
From August 2027 he completes a three-year stand-down from international rugby. He can then play for Fiji through his father or Italy through his grandmother, or carry on with the Wallabies after 11 Tests. He would join the players switching nations before the 2027 World Cup if he left.
Asked whether he already knew, he gave nothing away. He will make the call when he is ready, and family comes into it.
“I will obviously have a few things to think about beforehand. I want to make sure wherever I go, you know, I’m happy and you know, the people around me, my family that are happy too”
“these decisions will have a massive impact on how your life goes.”
His agent, Milan Volavola-Shankar, said on 13 October that he “remains open to all options regarding his international future”.
Read also: Les Kiss said in Auckland he had not heard back from him yet.
Harry Wilson thinks he knows
The hosts raised one voice that has already spoken for him. Harry Wilson played alongside Nawaqanitawase in the Junior Wallabies side that lost the 2019 Under-20 final to France 24-23. One of the hosts said Wilson had told him this:
“I know who he wants to play for. I played with him before. I know him very well. He’s going to go back and play for Australia.”
That is Wilson’s view, as the host relayed it. Nawaqanitawase did not take the bait.
“Oh yeah, it’s a lot going on, but I’d rather just move on from it.”
Why Japan came first
His next stop is already settled, and he says he picked it partly on results. He joins the Saitama Wild Knights.
“[Wild Knights] is actually a very successful successful club and [that’s] one of the reasons why I did choose to go there”
He also wants more from union after a short first stint in it.
“I’ve had a short time in in Union that I still feel like I have a lot more to give, a lot more to prove.”
The World Cup line
Near the end, the hosts asked about the 2027 World Cup without asking about the jersey. Australia host it, and he wants to be there.
“Yeah definitely. Yeah. Massive reason as to why I’m coming back to Union.”
“whoever it’s for, I want to do good. You know, I want to win it pretty much. So, um I feel like I can help win it.”
Then the line that keeps the story alive until August: “I I don’t know who for, but time will tell.”
The full conversation is on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby’s YouTube channel, from 40:21.
Your turn: which dressing room wins him?
He says money is off the table and the feeling decides it. Australia has the home World Cup. Fiji and Italy have family.
Which side gives him the Roosters feeling: Australia, Fiji or Italy? Pick one in the comments.
Frequently asked
Is Mark Nawaqanitawase paid to play for Australia?
He says international rugby pays little beyond match fees. “I get paid by my club and then I play international,” he told The Good, The Bad & The Rugby.
When can Mark Nawaqanitawase switch to Fiji or Italy?
From August 2027, once his three-year stand-down from international rugby ends. Switching would end his Australia career.
Which club does Mark Nawaqanitawase play for now?
He joins the Saitama Wild Knights in Japan after two NRL seasons with the Sydney Roosters.
Comments
No one has weighed in yet.
Be the first - what did you make of it?