The scary moment Noah Lolesio feared he’d been paralysed

Noah Lolesio coughs quietly mid-sentence to compose himself. It’s been nearly five months, and although Lolesio’s physical wounds have healed, she’s still working through the emotional ones.

“It’s still pretty scary,” he says. “I’m thinking about this situation.”

The “situation” unfolded on a sunny afternoon in Newcastle in early July, when the Wallabies were in the midst of a heated Test match against Fiji. The fixture was designed to be a match that would clear the cobweb ahead of the British and Irish Lions series, but it unsurprisingly proved to be a tough one against the lively Fijians.

The Wallabies led 15-14 as the game clock approached 60 minutes, with both the Australian and Fijian premierships sitting among the sell-out crowds.

The rusty Wallabies felt like they were one try away from clicking and the clicking continued when captain Harry Wilson turned from a tackle and passed to Lolesio. Five-eighths of the Wallabies made runs towards the try line.

“I took a good load from Wilso and took a break,” Lolesio recalls. “But then one of the Fijian players attacked me. I kind of rolled onto my back and hit the ground pretty hard with my head.”

The ball was released and Fjii counter-attacked and all eyes were on the visitors as they went all the way down the field to score as the rowdy Fijian fans went wild.

All eyes except the worried staff and family, whose eyes were still on Lolesio. The 25-year-old had not moved.

“It was pretty scary when I hit the ground because I couldn’t feel anything in my body for probably five to 10 minutes,” he says. “For the first 5-10 minutes I was trying to move my feet and my toes and I was kind of stressing out. I was like, ‘Oh shit’.”

In the pictures and footage, Lolesio can be seen lying motionless on his right side and his right foot is on top of his left. Medical personnel rushed to the field and stabilized his neck.

“I was just kind of talking to myself: ‘Come on, move something.’ So I was praying a little bit in my mind, hoping everything would be okay,” Lolesio says. “During these ten minutes, I slowly started moving my toes. ‘Oh, thank God,’ I said.

“People probably don’t realize how bad it is. But yeah, it was pretty scary.”

Lolesio was taken to a hospital emergency room, and fears that he had fractured his spine were soon assuaged. It turned out that the loss of sensation was due to a bulging disc that had bothered Lolesio for a year and required a cortisone injection the following week.

And although many assumed it was, the injury was also unrelated to similar frightening scenes in which Lolesio was taken to hospital after suffering a stretch in Perth while playing for the Brumbies two months ago, also with concerns of a serious neck injury. This caused mid-back tension.

“The surgeon told me that I had taken a major blow to my spinal cord and that had activated it greatly,” says Lolesio. “The injury itself was quite challenging. But what could have happened after that happened… Yes, it could have been a lot worse.”

“The surgeon in Newcastle said, ‘You’re very, very lucky it didn’t turn out differently.’ He said I might end up in a wheelchair. That’s when it all hit me. It was like, ‘Far away.'”

A few days later, Lolesio had surgery in Brisbane to remove the disc in his spine and fuse his C5 and C6 vertebrae together with a handful of metal and screws.

“This is a pretty standard surgery,” says Lolesio. “The surgeon did a great job and the rehab is pretty simple. You just have to let it heal and do its thing.”

It wasn’t a career-ending injury, but surgery was more than enough to rule Lolesio out of the Lions series and the remainder of the Wallabies’ winter campaign.

Given he played almost every Test under Joe Schmidt in the number 10 jersey, this was going to be a problem for the Wallabies, who have since gone through three different five-eighth changes.

While it was also disappointing that Lolesio missed the Lions series, the sobering words from the doctors in Newcastle continued to put things into perspective.

“My first instinct was that I was more worried about my health than anything else,” Lolesio said.

“I’ve started thinking more about rugby lately, but it was fairer in the beginning mate, I’m so happy to be able to walk, be with my family and do the chores.

“After performing well for the Wallabies last year, I felt like I was really getting comfortable with my form in the gold jersey and then the injury happened.

“So yeah, it was tough watching the kids play and be successful, but at the same time, for me, I’m just happy to be healthy and finally be able to play again.”

Lolesio has started rehab on the Gold Coast and last week booked his ticket to Japan, where he is set to sign with a yet-to-be-officially named Japanese club. It is believed to be Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi.

Lolesio signed the deal last year, opting to broaden his horizons after six years with the Brumbies.

“I’m going to Japan in mid-November and I’m really looking forward to it,” he says.

Given the severity of his injury at Newcastle and the lack of news surrounding his move to Japan, many have left Lolesio out of the conversation when it comes to the troubled five-eighth tier of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

It should be known that Lolesio is very eager to play in the tournament. There is also the scenario that Lolesio will return to Australia and the Wallabies number 10 jersey next year, given that Schmidt appears unsure of his best option and has recently brought back Carter Gordon from rugby league.

“I definitely still want to play in the World Cup,” Lolesio said.

“From what I’ve seen and heard… the Wallabies can pick any player from abroad if they need and want to. So I guess that will never go unnoticed. Hopefully I can do well in Japan.”

“Joe is leaving in the middle of next year and then Les [Kiss] will take over. But hopefully my performance in the gold jersey over the last 18 months and how I played in Japan can still set a solid example for me to return to the gold jersey.”

Lolesio has a one-year contract with an option for another year and will decide next year whether he will stay in Australia or potentially return to Australia.

“But there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that I want to return to the gold jersey next year or the year after,” he said.

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Lolesio, who knows the challenges of developing as a playmaker in the relentless spotlight of Test rugby, said he has been impressed by Tom Lynagh and Tane Edmed so far.

And he is pleased to see Gordon returning to rugby, especially after recovering from a serious neck injury.

He has gone through both of these difficult places and is still standing.

And that’s again a good place to start.