Hunter Paisami was among several names that missed out on the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but the centre brushed off claims of having a point to prove against his old boss, Eddie Jones.
Instead, the centre has bigger fish to fry with several names in the mix to fill the Len Ikitau-sized hole in the Wallabies’ midfield.
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“Not really,” Paisami said to reporters in Tokyo on Monday when asked about the Eddie factor. “For me, it's just to prove myself, that I can play at this level, be an international player. For us, everyone else, do what we've been training, and be ourselves, and just focus on our game.
“I think he's real. He loves players who train hard.
“[My] memories of Eddie, you know, I didn't really have much of him, but I spoke to him a few times, getting feedback about my game, and then obviously with injuries as well, it didn't help.
“He called me the day before the announcement that he wasn't going to pick me and gave me some stuff to work on in pre-season, which was good.
“But I had an opportunity to go and play Barbarians, which I had so much fun there on that trip, and gave me the reason why we played rugby.”
The 32-capped Wallaby has put that time off to good use, overcoming a calf injury and making his return against Argentina in Sydney.
With the John Eales medalist carving it up in England, Paisami knows there is a perfect opportunity for him to have a grasp on the Wallaby jersey for the tour, but knows it isn’t guaranteed.
“Joe was stoked with me getting back out there and taking the opportunity [against Argentina],” Paisami added.
“The quality and the consistency that Joey [Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii] and Len's been playing, it's pretty hard to go away from that.
“There are a few of us [replacements] here, we've got Hamish [Stewart], Filipo Daugunu as well, who can cover that 12 jersey. For us just to push each other, compete, that way we can get better and hopefully get more game time in the 12 jersey.
“[We know how] quick on the ball the Japanese boys play, and they've also got a skill set as well to, you know, pull the trigger and go wide, and there's lots of passes.”
Paisami will be welcoming a few familiar faces into the squad, with Reds teammate Kalani Thomas joining the side as one of two uncapped players.
However, the big news has been the inclusion of Carter Gordon, with Paisami backing his new Reds teammate to pick up right where he left off in 2023.
“We've known Kalani for a few years now under the Reds; he's a quality player,” Paisami added.
“We've seen him work throughout the years on his craft, and it's good fun to be in camp to learn off older players, and especially under Joe, he'll benefit a lot from it.
“He's [Gordon] got good skills there, big body, that's him.
“We'll be good if the opportunity does come to help Carter; I'll be looking forward to it.”
