As they get ready for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, former Rugby Australia manager Hamish McLennan has urged the 15-man code to recruit Nathan Cleary, the star of the Penrith Panthers, and give him anything he wants.
Following Joseph Suaalii’s official transition to rugby union on a contract worth about $5 million (with a two-year player option worth $4 million), McLennan made the comment. Suaalii has since been spotted practicing with the Australian team and the NSW Waratahs.
There has been a lot of discussion about whether many more rugby league players may follow in his footsteps after his stellar career with the Sydney Roosters in the NRL competition and his first few weeks in the 15-man code.
There have also been rumors that his signing would spark a mutiny within the rugby union, leading players like Carter Gordon and Mark Nawaqanitawase to switch to the 13-man code.
Former Rugby Australia Chairman McLennan told The Sydney Morning Herald, “Joseph has already generated a lot of interest in rugby union and repeatedly paid for himself.”
He is already a world-renowned rugby player before he has ever donned a Wallaby uniform, and he will serve as an excellent example for young players who aspire to be like him.
The Wallabies need top-tier investment to produce value in sponsorship, media rights, and crowds because of their decades-long underperformance.
You don’t need further proof that the system has to be redesigned and centralized because we haven’t won a World Cup since 1999 and a Bledisloe Cup in twenty-three years.
I’d be trying my hand at people like Nathan Cleary and a couple others.”
Cleary has already been connected to a possible coding swap.
McLennan said in April of this year that the two-time Clive Churchill medallist was among a number of other players on Rugby Australia’s hitlist.
The remaining players were Will Penisini (Parramatta Eels), Cameron Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Payne Haas (Brisbane Broncos), and Angus Crichton (Sydney Roosters).
Speaking at the end of last year about a possible code move with the 2017 Rugby World Cup, Cleary, who previously worked closely under New Zealand All Blacks icon Dan Carter, stated that it is unlikely to occur.
With the World Cup for ’27 [to be held in Australia] rapidly approaching and time running out, the game needs five more Josephs.Everyone is talking about Joseph, so thank God for him,” McLennan continued.
“Australia, which is ranked 10th in the world, needs to hire more talent or there won’t be anything left to sell.”