MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Joseph Suaalii will have no trouble slotting back into the Wallabies midfield for the British & Irish Lions series after spending most of the Super Rugby season playing at fullback, according to Australia centre Len Ikitau.
Ikitau and rugby league convert Suaalii are expected to be coach Joe Schmidt's preferred centres for the three-match Lions series starting in Brisbane on July 19, having first combined on Suaalii's test debut against England last November.
"He's a natural footballer. He knows how to play whatever position he's put in," Ikitau told reporters of the New South Wales Waratahs back.
"He’s smart in defence, in attack. So I think he’ll come back to it when he's in training."
Rugby Australia and the Waratahs lavished a reported A$5 million ($3.28 million) to lure Suaalii away from the National Rugby League, and the hulking 21-year-old has impressed in his four-test career to date.
Suaalii's first Super Rugby season was less successful, suffering a complex toe injury early on and then a broken jaw that ended his campaign early for the struggling Waratahs.
Suaalii will likely return to action against Fiji on Sunday in Newcastle, the Wallabies' last warmup before facing the Lions.
Home fans are eager to see whether Suaalii can deliver in the pressure cooker of a Lions series.
"What I learnt from him last year is he’s a harsh critic, he’s pretty harsh on the way he plays," said Ikitau.
"If he makes a mistake he’s really harsh on himself. But in terms of his football, we saw on the spring tour just the kind of plays that he comes up with. They’re special."
($1 = 1.5244 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
