Mark Nawaqanitawase

Wallabies star Mark Nawaqanitawase will have a swansong in Australian rugby as a member of the sevens team at the Paris Olympics.

The flying winger, one of the shining lights in recent times for the Wallabies, has signed a two-year deal with NRL side the Sydney Roosters.

But with sevens coach John Manenti keen for some extra speed out wide, Mark has been called up for an Olympic campaign before he makes the code switch.

Born in Australia after his Fijian father Sevuloni Nawaqanitawase moved to Sydney in 1991 to play rugby league for Balmain, Mark played the 13-man game for the Concord Burwood Wolves and Leichhardt Wanderers.

He switched to rugby at 14, playing for the first XV for St Patrick’s College, Strathfield. He was scouted while he was in Year 12 and began his senior career with Eastwood in the Shute Shield, the Sydney club competition.

Mark made his NSW Waratahs debut and was picked for the Junior Wallabies team in 2020 but 2022 was a breakout year for the winger, who shone in Super Rugby Pacific and was drafted into the Wallabies squad.

Manenti, a St Patrick’s parent who had been watching Mark play since high school, drafted him into the sevens squad for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where Australia finished fourth after going down to New Zealand in the bronze medal match.

He made his Wallabies’ debut against Italy later in the year, then continued his outstanding form in 2023 where he was part of the World Cup squad in France. He played six games for the Wallabies in 2023, scoring in the opening two games of the Rugby World Cup.

Mark’s power running and athletic aerial talent have seen him compared to Israel Folau.

Manenti believes he can be a major point of difference for the sevens squad.

“He’s training hard and doing everything he can do,” Manenti said. “He’s had a couple of pretty hard days training and he definitely looks invested.

“We’re keen to see how he goes. He’s probably the biggest body that we’ve got and he can move too. He’s got some great attributes that are handy in sevens.”

At Paris 2024 Henry played a part in the men's rugby sevens team's best-ever finish at an Olympic Games.

After going undefeated against Samoa (21-14), Kenya (21-7) and Argentina (22-14) in the pool stage they booked a spot in the semi-finals with an 18-0 shutout of the USA. The Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Fiji side awaited in the quarter-finals, where the Aussie's run was halted with a 7-31 loss.

There was another chance at a medal in the battle for bronze against South Africa hours later, with South Africa winning 26-19 to put Australia in fourth place.