Cross-code signing Angus Crichton took his first steps as a potential Wallaby in London on Friday as coach Les Kiss gave more insight into Mark Nawaqanitawase’s mindset.
Crichton, the star Roosters, Blues and Kangaroos forward, officially became a professional rugby player last week, 11 months after signing a deal for 2027-28 with Rugby Australia and the Waratahs in January.
There was some hope Crichton would be on the Wallabies spring tour, but after carrying a foot injury through the Roosters’ run to the 2026 NRL premiership, the 30-year-old was told to rest instead.
That didn’t stop Crichton from popping into Wallabies training in south-west London, however, while on holidays with his English wife Chloe.
“The opportunity was there just to pop in and say hello and see the guys. He knows a lot of them anyway,” Kiss said.
Lions star Will Ashcroft, who is good mates with Wallabies captain Harry Wilson, also attended training.
Crichton caught up with former Roosters teammate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Kiss, who views Crichton as a midfielder in rugby, said he’d shared some brief coaching insights about the codes.
“He’ll head back to Australia – I don’t know the exact date – and then he’ll work into the preparation with the Waratahs and get that going, and just work on the elements of the game,” Kiss said.
“I was talking to him about it just before, about body height change. In league, you can play tall all day, but this game demands so much more in body height change on both sides of the ball.”
Asked to give an update on whether Nawaqanitawase had decided between playing for the Wallabies, Fiji or Italy, Kiss said: “He’s made his decision to play in Japan and get his feet under the table back in rugby. He’s very pragmatic and open about it.
“He’s been out of rugby for a couple of years, he’s played right-hand side only, on the edge near the paint … so he knows he’s got a lot of work to do in that space. He just wants to get his feet under the table, play a bit of rugby, feel that, and then let things happen from there.”
Kiss rejected a question about whether the Wallabies were “desperate” to get the flying winger into their squad for the World Cup.
“We’re not desperate. One of the first things he said, because he knows there’s going to be a lot of chatter about this, was, ‘I just want you to know, I don’t want this to be about me’,” Kiss said.
“But you can’t stop the conversation at times. We’re about team-first, and he talked about team-first and the ethos that he knows he has from his last clubs, particularly Eastern Suburbs Roosters. That’s all he’s about, and he knows that he has to earn it. It won’t be gifted to him; he has to play well and show that in what he does overseas, that’s for sure.
“We want people to earn their position. This jersey is not just given, that’s for sure.
The increasingly bitter pay war between Rugby Australia and the Rugby Union Players Association has not been a distraction, according to Kiss and senior Wallaby Jeremy Williams.
“It’s popped up once or twice because RUPA came in before when we were on tour, but other than that, nothing’s been said to me on anything,” Kiss said.
“All I know is that the right people are in the room trying to find a solution, to find a win-win that can work, and I’m just focused on getting the team right. I’ve got to say, the boys don’t talk about it; they’re just focused on what the job is, which is pleasing.”
Williams added: “It’s not a distraction for us. That kind of stuff will just sort itself out. It’s not something we’ve spoken about here. It’s not a distraction.”
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