The rise and rise of 22-year-old Mark Nawaqanitawase has involved, as it has for the careers of many sports people, a series of sliding doors.
Yet Nawaqanitawase’s have slid open and closed more than most. And when you look at Nawaqanitawase’s journey, it’s lucky that he’s even in Australia much less Australian Rugby and running about on the wing for the Wallabies.
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Nawaqanitawase grew up in Burwood, in inner western Sydney, next to the Rugby stronghold of Concord and the mighty Olympic Stadium at Homebush. On Saturday the Wallabies host Argentina 20 minutes up the M4 at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta.
He went to school at St Patrick’s College, Strathfield. All sports came naturally to him, basketball particularly. He was going to brush Rugby for basketball in Year 10 until a teacher intercepted his mum, Fiona, at a parent-teacher night. Mum had a word. Rugby won. Another door.
Watching him run now it’s obvious Rugby should be his game. There’s liquid in his movements. He looks a born runner. He played first XV (with Wests Tigers five-eighth Adam Doueihi) from Year 10.
Yet with the likes of Joseph Sua’ali’i being pursued by the higher-ups in both Rugby codes, it’s a touch surprising the teenaged Nawaqanitawase wasn’t on anyone’s radar.
“I didn’t really make any schoolboy rep teams,” Nawaqanitawase says.
“And I didn’t play league. St Pat’s was a Rugby school and my mum felt that was enough. She wanted me to focus on my education. So I guess that was me on the front.”
Doors slid again. By the end of high school, the lithe-limbed lad was near full-bodied man. The Kiwi Rugby telegraph had wind of him. There were family friends in New Zealand and he was planning on leaving Australia to do Year 13 at a school in Wellington.
Step forward family friend and Eastwood old boy, John Manenti, today Australia Sevens coach.
Manenti tipped Nawaqanitawase on to Eastwood in the Shute Shield competition.
The boy debuted in first grade aged 18. He loved it. Shannon Fraser offered a spot with the Waratahs Academy. He brushed schoolies on the Gold Coast. Good call.
“One minute I’m travelling for the Academy. Next thing you know, I’m going to Argentina with the Under 20 Wallabies,” Nawaqanitawase says.
Soon after he was playing against France in the final of the Under 20s World Cup. And soon after that – 49 seconds after kick-off, in fact - he backed up an Isaac Lucas break and sprinted away to score the fastest ever try in a final.
The Junior Wallabies would score three tries to France’s two but go down by a point. Yet Nawaqanitawase was away.
And doing it naturally. At each progression up the levels, from schoolboy to first grade to Super Rugby, Nawaqanitawase says he’s felt comfortable. Like he’s just ‘playing’ Rugby.
Playing against ‘men’ didn’t really faze him, even if it was a little ‘out of body’ to be playing against an idol like Richie Mo’unga and with veteran Wallabies Michael Hooper and James O’Connor.
“It’s still a bit like that,” Nawaqanitawase smiles. “Still a little star-struck. But once I’m on the field, I don’t know, I’ve always felt pretty confident.”
He debuted for Australia on the Spring Tour in the one point loss to Italy at Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence.
He was near to Australia’s best in the 13-10 loss to Ireland in Dublin. And he scored two tries, made 77 metres and beat eight defenders in the Wallabies 39-34 win over Wales in Cardiff.
He admits nerves before Test matches. But mainly excitement. “I just felt like I should be there. And, man, I had so much fun. Like, I just wanted to go out and play.
“It was different [to first grade or Super Rugby]. I had a different confidence. And at the end of last year, I’ll never forget it. And I want to carry on through, you know, the rest of my career,” he says.
He’ll have to get by Eddie Jones first. Nawaqanitawase had heard the stories of the new coach, had heard of the respect, even fear, in which Jones was held by former players. Was he fearful of the incoming mentor?
“I did hear about his reputation,” Nawaqanitawase smiles. “But no. Once meeting him, he’s actually quite a funny fellow. He tends to break the ice pretty quickly with everyone. He doesn’t mind having a little laugh.
“And he’s got a few stories. Not of him playing but coaching in certain places. In Pretoria he talked about coaching there.”
Going forward Nawaqanitawase says he wants to play on the wing but that he also likes playing fullback, too. He wants to improve his kicking and defence. He’s lifting weights to build up. He’s a communicator on the field.
He’s keen to make amends following the Wallabies horror show against South Africa.
“Obviously not the way we wanted to start. Not part of the plan. We can learn a lot of lessons from it. And as long as we right those wrongs, then it won’t be a wasted lesson, I suppose.”
Following his impressive showing on the Spring tour, barring injury or a confidence drop, it seems Nawaqanitawase has one foot on the plane to the World Cup in France. And there his surname will prove as tricky a prospect to another legion of international rugby callers.
Yet it’s possible to learn the handle – and enjoy the saying of it, according to Stan Sport caller Sean Maloney. Just as legendary rugby league caller Ray Warren seemed to relish calling certain names, going up the octaves on Semi Radradra and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, for instance, so it is for Maloney.
Maloney says years calling the sevens circuit conditioned him to Fijian pronunciation. Think of his inflections towards the end of Marika Koroibete’s name.
“When you stuff up a Fijian name their Rugby mafia will come after you pretty quick, usually on Facebook,”Maloney smiles. “And they don’t miss!
“So when ‘Marky Mark’ started to break out, I was ready with his surname.
“What I wasn’t ready for was his sublime skill and presence. He’s a proper talent.
Nawaqanitawase says he’s heard a thousand different pronunciations of his seven syllabled name pronounced, for the record, “Nuh-wonga-neetar-wahzee.”
At one schoolboys carnival the ground announcer just gave up and called him ‘Mark Na-Qantas’.
“That won’t be happening again,” Maloney says. “Here’s hoping I get to call his name a ton of times Saturday with a few of them after he’s crossed the line.”
