Marika Koroibete has revealed the inspiration behind his inspirational performances, saying the “privilege” of playing for the Wallabies after he thought his golden days were over took him to new heights.
Koroibete’s two acts of brilliance either side of half-time were key moments in the Wallabies’ superb 25-17 win over the Springboks at Adelaide Oval.
The 30-year-old had the defining moment of the game at the end of the first half as he sprinted across his own goal line like a missile and slotted home to opposite winger Makazole Mapimpi.
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With right-back Tom Wright in the sin bin, Koroibete covered for his back-three team-mate by sprinting from his left flank to the wing and crashed into the winger’s World Cup winner World to force an error with the test line in sight.
As one of the Adelaide faithful he rose and the sight of his incredible motor and work rate has been shown countless times.
Shortly after the break, Koroibete made Mark Ricciuto his own at the end of the pitch as he showed his growing footwork to show that there is subtlety to the strong nature that has defined the Fijian-born rugby convert.
The two moments put the Wallabies on course for their third consecutive victory over the Springboks, maintaining their nine-year unbeaten run against the world champions on Australian soil.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie paid tribute to his Japanese fullback, saying his incredible performances were no fluke and he was the “toughest coach” he had ever seen.
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“Some of the things he does on the football field are just phenomenal,” Rennie said.
“One thing I know about Marika is that she will put her body on the line, not just for her teammates, but for her country and the shirt.
“He is a player that we all like to have in our squad, he certainly picks us up.”
Rather than discuss the moment, Koroibete simply said it was a “deal” that “had to be done”.
“We’ve got a man in the bin and I’ve got to cover his side and make him (tackle),” he said.
“This week we talked about effort and working for each other. The forwards do their job, ruck, mauling and that sort of thing and the backs have to do our job.”
He added: “At this point I was just covering the entrance, I was just running. I knew I wasn’t going to step, I was going to the corner, so I put my head in there and hoped for the best.”
Marika Koroibete signs autographs after winning The Rugby Championship match. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The soft-spoken Koroibete is too humble to talk about the moment, but teammate Fraser McReight summed up the clash by saying it left the Wallabies feeling “pumped” at a time when they were behind.
“It was great, obviously we were under the bomb as forwards, their maul was going really well against us and there were some tough minutes but Marika coming on just showed the character within the group,” McRreight said .
“A job had to be done and that’s our mantra is we have to do our job and he did it very well.
“From this, we can play and save ourselves.”
However, the importance of his inspirational plays was not lost on the rugby community, with former Wallabies fly-half Drew Mitchell saying Koroibete ranked as one of the best left-backs in the game.
“Marika is perhaps our best 11 on both sides of the ball,” he tweeted.
Koroibete said he feels compelled to leave it all on the field after his adopted country gave him the chance to play for the Wallabies.
“It’s just an honor. Being overseas, it’s a privilege to come back to Australia with the Giteau Law and I just jumped at the chance,” the Japanese winger said.
“As a kid growing up in Fiji to come to Australia, the country has given me and my family so much and I’m just giving back.
“Every kid brought up in Australia who plays rugby wants to pull on the jersey. This is the same for me, growing up in Fiji, coming here and coming back to the country after what they have done for me and my family. It’s for my teammates and for the country and for the coaching staff.”