That’s the motivation driving Mark Nawaqanitawase’s decision regarding his international availability 12 months out from next year’s Rugby World Cup on Australian soil.
asserted
That → ’ → soil
“I still have more to prove.
asserted
I → have → more
I don’t know where that’s going to be, but wherever I go, I feel like I have a lot to give the team,” Nawaqanitawase said on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast.
asserted
Nawaqanitawase → know → podcast
“Whoever it’s for, I want to go and win it.
asserted
I → ’ → it
I don’t know who it will be for, but time will tell.”
asserted
time → know → who
Weeks after helping the Sydney Roosters to the NRL title, the code-hopping sensation exploded back into the headlines last week after turning down invitations to immediately rejoin the Wallabies for next month’s Nations Championship.
asserted
sensation → help → Championship
Nawaqanitawase initially said he wanted the November period off so he could adjust to life in Japan, where he’s joined League One heavyweights the Wild Knights.
uncertain
he → say → heavyweights
But by doing so, the 26-year-old will become eligible for Italy and Fiji by next August, having served his mandatory three-year international stand-down period.
asserted
old → do → period
While Nawaqanitawase said it had been a “massive honour” playing for the Wallabies and he “loved every moment of it”, the flying winger added that declaring his allegiance to a nation ahead of next year’s World Cup wasn’t easy.
asserted
declaring → say → Cup
“I will obviously have a few things to think of,” he said.
asserted
he → have → things
“I want to make sure wherever I go, I’m happy, and the people around me, my family, are happy too.
asserted
people → want → me
These decisions will have a massive impact on how your life goes.”
asserted
life → have → impact
Nawaqanitawase’s decision not to come out immediately and declare his allegiance has caused a massive stir in Australian rugby.
asserted
decision → come → rugby
Wallabies coach Les Kiss last week insisted conversations with the cross-code star were “positive”.
asserted
conversations → insist → star
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson added: “I don’t think I have to convince him.
asserted
I → add → him
I played Junior Wallabies with him, played Wallabies with him, and saw him last night supporting the Kangaroos.
asserted
I → play → Kangaroos
So, I think it’s pretty obvious who he wants to play for.”
asserted
he → think → who
But Wallabies great Matt Giteau said he didn’t think Rugby Australia should have to beg the try-scoring machine to want to pull on the gold jersey.
asserted
Australia → say → jersey
“I want the people that want to play for the Wallabies to play for the Wallabies,” he said on the KOKO podcast.
asserted
he → want → podcast
“If you don’t, then go somewhere else.”
asserted
you → do → ?
Nawaqanitawase insisted money wasn’t a factor, pointing to the fact that he had already accepted a deal – estimated to be about $3 million over two years – to join the Wild Knights.
asserted
he → insist → Knights
Instead, he said he wanted to experience that winning feeling he had enjoyed at the Roosters during the past two years.
asserted
he → say → years
“It’s not about the money,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → money
“I get paid by my club and then if you play internationally, you might get a match fee, but it’s [insignificant].
“That’s the biggest thing that’s made me open to everything is I’ve come from an experience at the Roosters where, I’m telling you, the set-up from top to bottom, just the way they’ve made me feel, and again the experience I had winning, I definitely do have to think about where am I going to go where I’m going to get that feeling again.
uncertain
I → pay → feeling
People will never understand that, and that’s the biggest part of making the decision.
asserted
that → understand → decision
While Nawaqanitawase has become a household name in Australian sport in recent years, rarely has the 190cm physical freak opened up about his childhood and culture.
asserted
freak → become → childhood
Nawaqanitawase, whose biological father, Sevuloni, is from Fiji, while his mother, Fiona Tovehi, has Italian heritage, said Australians would be “shocked at how in time I am with both cultures”.
asserted
I → have → cultures
“I’ve grown up in a household full of Fijians,” he said.
asserted
he → grow → Fijians
“The other side of it is my mother’s fluent in Italian and my aunties and grandparents have grown up on the same street.
asserted
aunties → ’ → street
Any special event, there’s been Italian food around and the language being spoken about.
asserted
language → speak → ?
“And growing up in a house full of Fijians; my mum’s got a big heart – I’ve grown up my whole life with not just my mum and stepdad and brother and sister, it’s been us, plus another Fijian family – and it’s been on rotation.
asserted
it → grow → rotation
They stay for two years and another one will come in.”
asserted
one → stay → years
Nawaqanitawase said he would travel to Fiji every year during school holidays.
asserted
he → say → holidays
“I grew up in the village running around playing touch, whether it was with a coconut or a bottle, playing volleyball or just swimming in the river,” he said.
asserted
he → grow → river
“I’m lucky to have some cool experiences with my Fijian side.”
asserted
I → ’m → side
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