Kiwi rugby convert Joseph Manu is set for a debut in his new code on Sunday – and he already has one thing in common with former teammate and Wallabies sensation Joseph Suaalii.

Manu joined Suaalii in swapping the NRL Roosters rugby league team for the XV-man game. In contrast to Suaalii, who was thrust straight into the limelight in a Wallabies jersey, Manu has opted to play his first games in Japan with ex-All Blacks coaches Steve Hansen and Ian Foster at Toyota Verblitz. He is set to debut against Berarnd Foley’s Koubota Spears on Sunday.

Foster, speaking on the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin this week, revealed Manu has already taken a similar path to Suaalii in terms of his playing position.

Suaalii was expected to be eased into international rugby from the wing but Joe Schmidt took the bold move of giving him a starting debut in the centres against England at Twickenham, where he produced some highlight moments.

“He played a bit as a kid, so he knows a bit about it. It’s a lot of instincts he’s got to get right. We know that the transition from league to rugby just doesn’t happen overnight. But he’s picked it up real quick,” Foster said of Manu.

“We were looking at playing him in the sort of fullback, wing role to give him a chance to get used to things. But he’s played nearly all our preseason games at centre and dealt with the defensive things of that really well. He’s still perhaps struggling to find the space that he wants in attack.”

There has been plenty of chatter about Manu and his All Blacks ambitions – and comparisons to other high-profile code hoppers such as Sonny Bill Williams and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

“As for what his path is, I think he’s just really enjoying the moment right now. He wants to spend a couple of years learning rugby and getting used to it and then I guess revisit what his options are,” said Foster.

“I haven’t spoken to him about [All Blacks]. I know he is ambitious. But I think the good thing now is not to get ahead of yourself when you’re making a big transition, just to do what he needs to do.”

Foster was heavily involved in Tuivasa-Sheck’s ultimately unsuccessful transition and was asked if there were lessons that could be learned.

“Every athlete’s different, but some of the instinctive stuff is stuff that we’ve learned, like you can’t stand off the breakdown that’s happening next to you, you’ve got to go in and there’s things like that that you’ve probably got to get right first.

“So, we spend a lot of time on that part of the game because, let’s face it, we don’t have to deal much with his ball control and his handling and his offload and all that sort of stuff. He’s quick, he’s strong. It’s about the little things – the running lines and the instinctive stuff around the breakdown, like knowing when to go in, not to lose feet, how to jackal a ball.

“He was quite good against Yamaha last week. He won two jackal so, that’s some big strides for him.

“History shows it’s not an easy transition, but people like Sonny have done it and done it really, really well. And I know we talk a lot about Roger Tuivasa-Shek, but let’s face it, he did become an All Black and he played well enough to be there. So, he wasn’t too far off, but I know Joey’s trying to cut his own path, learning well and that’s all that matters.”

Foster said he hadn’t been approached by anyone linked to the All Blacks checking in on Manu’s progress – but feels it is the right approach to learn the game away from the spotlight.

“I’ve read a couple of articles saying ‘why the heck is he going there and why isn’t he going to New Zealand’ and all that sort of stuff,” said Foster.

“Well, you have to ask Joey that, but, you know, Toyota Verblitz is the organisation that wrote the cheque out and that’s where he wanted to go and get out of the limelight and just have a go at this game.

“I think it’s a smart move because I think if he came too early [to New Zealand] the microscope would be on everything he did and sometimes as a country we can get judgmental pretty quickly on athletes who are trying to improve their career. Joey’s pretty level-headed. He’s got it sorted and we’ll let him make the decisions.”