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Former Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper believes Rugby Australia should be working overtime on a plan to have Mark Nawaqanitawase back in a Wallabies jersey at the 2027 Rugby World Cup – even if it means selecting him from an overseas rugby club.
Nawaqanitawase, the former Wallabies winger who defected to the NRL after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, is on the cusp of becoming a dual international after starring for the Roosters in his first full season of rugby league.
He scored four tries for the Bondi club against Melbourne last weekend, taking him to the top of the NRL’s try-scoring chart with 20, and has surged into contention for a spot in the Kangaroos squad for the Ashes Test series, which starts next month.
Nawaqanitawase’s weekly displays of athleticism and outrageous skill have earned him rave reviews from the NRL’s cognoscenti – and also prompted Australian rugby fans to call on RA to bring him back to the 15-man code.
Nawaqanitawase is off contract at the end of the 2026 NRL season and the 24-year-old said the timing had been deliberate, to give him the option to return to rugby in time for the 2027 World Cup.
The Wallabies are well stocked for talent in the back three, with Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Dylan Pietsch, Corey Toole, Harry Potter and Andrew Kellaway all in the current ranks, and with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii also an option.
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores one of his four tries for the Roosters against the Storm.Credit: Getty Images
But Hooper believes that roster of talent should not stop Rugby Australia from making a strong play to get Nawaqanitawase back in the mix for World Cup selection as well.
“They should desperately try and get him back. What if you have three injuries? Then what are you doing?” Hooper said on Stan Sport’s Inside Line show.
“So they should desperately try and figure out a way to have Marky back. They should have him. If he’s playing in the Top 14, I’ve got no issue with that: ‘Come back and be in a Wallaby jersey’. No problem.”
The Roosters are desperate to extend his contract at the NRL club, but Nawaqanitawase has stressed several times he is in no rush to make a decision and will consider his options at the end of the year. Informed sources say there are no active talks between Rugby Australia and Nawaqanitawase’s camp.
Mark Nawaqanitawase scores a try against France in 2023.Credit: Getty
But with the Roosters reportedly set to offer Nawaqanitawase an increased salary of $700,000 a season, Rugby Australia’s willingness – and capacity – to match that sort of money could be a sticking point; particularly given Suaalii’s mountainous $1.6 million-a-year salary and with whizkid Jorgensen off-contract in 2026 and likely to command a sizeable upgrade to his current $500,000-a-year deal.
An alternative option for Nawaqanitawase is to sign a lucrative contract in Japanese or French rugby for 2026-27, and still be eligible for Wallabies’ selection from overseas.
Whatever the path, Hooper believes Rugby Australia should mapping out a plan with Nawaqanitawase to have him in rugby and available for the 2027 tournament.
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“Throw a great strategy at him,” Hooper said on Inside Line. “That’s not just financial. We just talked about how we can’t just splash cash, and I agree with that. So you can’t just go and throw him Suaalii money. We don’t have enough.
“So can you be really creative like they’re being at the moment with Will Skelton? Yeah, they certainly can. Can he be going to play for La Rochelle and earn a truckload?
“And then he’s in a rugby union frame of mind, and ready to come back here and perform in a home World Cup? I think they absolutely should be really trying to piece that together.
“We saw it at the last World Cup. He was arguably one of the Wallabies’ best players over in France. Had a really great season in the jersey there. And then we lose him not too long after. The things he’s doing on the footy field, you can’t train that into guys.
“That is sheer talent that would be great to be in a Wallaby jersey. So absolutely they should be considering how they get someone like that back.”
Hooper, who was a teammate of Nawaqanitawase at the Waratahs and with the Wallabies, said he was “the closest thing to Israel Folau” that he played with.
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