Slogging it out in the Wallabies training squad while his former rugby league club Melbourne surged to the top of the NRL ladder, Marika Koroibete could have been forgiven for having second thoughts about his code switch.
But 10 months after crossing over the rugby union, the 25-year-old winger is set to be rewarded with his first Test cap after being named on the bench for the Wallabies’ Rugby Championship clash with Argentina in Canberra on Saturday night.
Although he played rugby through his teens, Koroibete, who was the NRL’s top tryscorer in 2015, said returning to the game had been more difficult than he expected.
“I’ve been struggling with the positional play – I thought that was going to be easy but positioning myself is something I’ve been working hard at,” Koroibete said.
The reserved Fijian-born flyer said while honoured to finally win selection, he kept a straight face in front of his teammates.
“I didn’t want to show too much because the boys were looking but once I got back to my room I did a fist pump,” he said.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said he didn’t want to rush Koroibete only to see him fail.
After being a part of the Storm’s finals charge last season before their grand final loss, Cheika is backing Koroibete’s big game experience to help see him through.
“He’s got a lot of natural talent and he’s also played some big games in the the other code,” Cheika said.
“We’ve waited to make sure he’s really clear with his role and for him to get comfortable because we’re building him for success not just to get him in and have a run.”
Koroibete believes the lessons he learnt during his 74-game NRL career can translate.
“It’s probably just to believe in myself and work hard for your teammates – that’s something I can take with me,” he said.