Rugby-Wallabies winger Nawaqanitawase to defect to NRL from 2025

Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool C - Australia v Portugal - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - October 1, 2023 Australia's Mark Nawaqanitawase celebrates after the match REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia winger Mark Nawaqanitawase will become the first active Wallabies player to cross to rugby league in nearly two decades after signing a two-year deal with the Sydney Roosters starting in 2025.

Nawaqanitawase's defection is a major blow for Australian rugby union, denying the Wallabies of one of their most exciting outside backs for the British and Irish Lions tour in 2025.