Noah Lolesio: I want to put on the gold jersey again

Toyota Shuttles Aichi’s new fly-half Noah Lolesio has spoken of his desire to return to the Wallabies fold after an impressive start in Japan following a lengthy lay-off.

Lolesio, 26, was overlooked for the 2023 World Cup by Eddie Jones but established himself as the Wallabies’ first-choice fly-half under Joe Schmidt before suffering a serious neck injury in a Test match against Fiji last July.

The fit-again former Brumbies ace, who was signed as a replacement for ex-England star Freddie Burns, made his Japan Rugby League One bow in the reigning division two champions’ 62-12 win over Hino Red Dolphins on 31 January.

Auckland-born Lolesio shone again in his next outing as the free-scoring Shuttles routed high-flying Koto Blue Sharks 66-12.

"I’m very keen to put on the gold jersey again,” the ex-Toulon star told RugbyJP.com.

“The first step is to prove that I'm fit and, you know, available to be picked if called upon.

“They can pick anyone overseas now to play Wallabies, so, you know, it’s a really exciting time.”

© RugbyJP.com

Lolesio, who is vying for the club’s 10 jersey with ex-Highlanders fly-half Ajay Faleafaga and former Wallaby-turned Samoa international Christian Leali'ifano, wants to earn a call-up for his country this summer by standing out in Japan.

"I’ve just got to focus on Shokki Shuttles and do my best for the club. Then hopefully through my performances, the (Wallabies) coaching staff and the boys back home are watching and, yeah, hopefully I get a call up.”

Lolesio also explained his cautious approach to returning to action after a six-month spell on the sidelines.

"I was really focused, week-by-week, on my neck strength and my progression into contact. So before I played, I had like a whole month of full training with the boys in full contact so I was really confident about coming back.

"Credit to the S&C [strength and conditioning] and medical team here and my Wallabies physio and the doctors back home as well to get me to back playing."

Lolesio's debut on 31 January - © JRLO

Shokki Shuttles’ playmaker, who has scored 28 points in his two games, also talked about how he's adjusting to life in Japan.

“I've played in France, I've played in Australia, and now I've played in Japan, there’s a natural understanding with your teammates even without necessarily speaking the same language.

"You know, it's very different to Australia, the lifestyle and the rugby. It's an exciting challenge for myself and I'm really enjoying it so far.”

The promotion hopefuls are currently second in the second tier behind Springboks star Manie Libbok’s unbeaten Kintetsu Liners.

At the end of the season in May, division two’s top two sides will play two-leg promotion/relegation fixtures against the bottom two sides in the top-flight.

Division one’s basement team (currently Toyota Verblitz) will have to protect their spot against the division two winners (currently Libbok’s Liners).

The 11th-placed team in the top-flight (currently Yokohama Canon Eagles) will face division two’s runners-up (currently Shokki Shuttles).

Lolesio and company could be pitted against Jesse Kriel and Faf de Klerk’s Yokohama Canon Eagles in a play-off for a place in division one.

The Shuttles return to action against Kyuden Voltex at Paloma Mizuho Stadium – one of four rugby stadiums in the country – on Saturday 28 February.