Nawaqanitawase impressing in first week at Saitama Wild Knights

Nawaqanitawase arrived in Japan at the start of November and is already impressing with his reintegration into rugby after a two-and-a-half-year absence. Barnes, who worked with Nawaqanitawase as an assistant coach with the Wallabies in 2023, said his leadership qualities are evident. “You can already see the leadership qualities,” Barnes said. “He’s also got a positivity about him that breeds confidence in others; he genuinely believes not just in his own ability, but that of others and he gives others confidence.”

Barnes said he had never seen foreign players get nervous at the Wild Knights, but with Nawaqanitawase, “there are a few of them who are genuinely nervous and excited to have him come in the building.” The winger’s exploits in rugby league are largely unknown to the Wild Knights’ Japanese squad members, given the sport’s small footprint in the country. Despite this, his arrival has created significant excitement at club headquarters.

Nawaqanitawase will benefit from most plays being called in English and the presence of a translator at training. The Wild Knights’ multicultural squad includes players from England, Tonga, South Africa, New Zealand and South Korea alongside Japanese players, some of whom also work for the club’s owners, Panasonic. The team is based in Kumagaya, a city of under 200,000 about 40 minutes from Tokyo by bullet train.

Barnes, who played for the Wild Knights from 2013 to 2018, advised Nawaqanitawase to adapt to local culture rather than imposing his own. “You can’t impose your will on their culture,” Barnes said. “Just because you did something at the Wallabies or the All Blacks or the Springboks doesn’t mean it’s going to translate in this environment.” He said the players “respect action over words” and that most of them can spot insincerity.