Nov 10 (Reuters) - Fijian flyer Suliasi Vunivalu will join the Wallabies squad when they meet up in the Hunter Valley on Wednesday ahead of their two remaining Tri-Nations championship games against Argentina, Rugby Australia (RA) confirmed on Tuesday.
Vunivalu, who helped Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers in last month's National Rugby League (NRL) grand final, is waiting on the result of a COVID-19 test before joining coach Dave Rennie's squad.
RA said on its website https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2020/11/10/nrl-premiership-star-suliasi-vunivalu-called-into-wallabies-squad-for-2020-tri-nations that it was "extremely unlikely" the 24-year-old would feature in the Wallabies' final two tests of the year, with Rennie only calling him up to assess him from close quarters.
Vunivalu, who previously played the 15-person game before joining the Melbourne side, is set to switch back to rugby union and play for Queensland Reds from 2021 after signing with the Super Rugby club and RA last year.
Former Australia coach Michael Cheika had similarly brought former rugby league player Marika Koroibete into the national fold, with the Fijian making his debut in 2017 after a gradual process of development.
Australia lost their Tri-Nations opener against New Zealand 43-5 before beating the All Blacks 24-22 last Saturday. They next play Argentina on Nov. 21 and Dec. 5.