A few weeks ago, I caught up with popular Red and Wallaby hooker Saia Fainga’a. Saia and his twin brother Anthony were a key part of the Reds squad from 2009-2016. Both him and his brother helped catapult the Reds to the Super Rugby championship in 2011.
We caught up about a lot of things over Zoom. (Thanks to Saia for taking time out, during his families day at the beach!) If you’ve ever enjoyed watching the Fainga'a twins play and/or supported them as people, you’ll enjoy reading this interview!
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| Anthony and Saia wave to the crowd after beating New South Wales is 2012 |
First of all, how’s life been back in Brisbane for the last few months?
I’ve been here here for 2 weeks, after spending 2 weeks in quarantine and.. in winter in London, you forget how lovely Brisbane is. The people, you know, you can wear shorts in winter.. right now I’m wearing a singlet! I love being back in Queensland. It’s probably one of the reasons I was so successful here, because I loved it.
Since I’ve been home, I’ve absolutely loved it.
For many years, you played on the same team as your twin brother Anthony. What was it like playing in seperate countries, from 2017 until now?
That’s a tough one, because our whole career, we decided we would never not play with each other and in 2017 we made the decision, purely because of money, for me to go to London and for him to go to Japan. I don’t know if it was the worst decision I made, obviously we thought it was better for our families, but do I think it was the right decision? I don’t know.
Whenever we played together for the Reds, I thought that culturally, we brought different things and we played a lot better. If I wasn’t doing so well on the field, or off the field, I’d always have someone to check me and put me in line, but yeah, it’s been very tough being away, for three and a half years now. And for me personally to see him have so many head knocks and concussions, it’s been bad to see him, he’s still getting delayed symptoms, he doesn’t really function that well, and it’s sad, because I see this tough person that would put his body on the line no matter where and then to not be there for the last two years has been a bit sad.
I don’t know if it was a mistake not going to Japan. We had a motto, wherever we go, the money will come, because we’re going to play well. If you don’t play well, obviously it doesn’t, but that was always our mentality. We also had a saying, you can’t worry and trust at the same time. I didn’t trust the process. Getting back to my fundamentals, I wasn’t believing in what I was preaching and for me that was a little bit sad. It’s all good now, he’s obviously retired and me going up there has gone well, but getting back to your question, has it been tough, it’s been very tough. And would I change it? Yes I would. I’ve had a lovely time in London! But I would still rather have been playing for the Reds.
How did people tell you apart from your brother, before you grew your hair?
That’s a good question! It’s funny now - I’m just a fat twin [laughs.] We are identical twins and until we were about nine or ten, we looked exactly the same and I just got a little bit fatter. So the reason I have long hair is when people ask how to tell the difference, I didn’t want people to say “one’s fat and the other one’s skinny”. I’d rather be called “the person with long hair” than “the fat twin” [laughs.]
My sister is curious, how long does it take to braid your hair?
If Anthony’s feeling kind, it’ll take him 10 minutes and he’ll do it gently and do it properly. But most of the time, he’s pretty rough and he pulls it and shoves it and takes he takes his anger out before the game and it takes around 15-20 minutes. When I was playing in London, I had to get my wife to do it and it was definitely not the best routine, that’s for sure.
Most people have a routine, and for me, it doesn’t matter if I have a 3pm or 7pm game, I wake up, have two pieces of toast and some cereal or something, but then I’ll sleep and won’t eat all day. I’ll sleep right up until when I have to go to the game, I’ll meet in the changing room, have a meeting, get my hair done and have a stretch, then I know exactly what I’m doing.
Because I’ve done it for so many years, any changes have made it tricky.
You first played Super Rugby in 2006, at the age of 19. What was it like making your debut at such a young age?
When I made my debut, there was almost no-one playing at my age. And also, I was playing in a team, full of super-stars. So our back line was George Gregan, Stephen Larkham, Matty Giteau, they had Clyde Rathbone, Mark Gerard in the center, it was fully stacked. You know, in the forward pack, we had Radike Samo, George Smith, Mark Chisholm, these celebrities, literally thirteen out of fifteen players were Wallabies - and starting Wallabies - and I was in awe going to training.
I was literally feeling sick every day, because I was so nervous. But I think that was one of the best things to happen to me, because they were so professional. I think they’d won the Super Rugby cup in 2004 and during 2005 and 2006, I was a part of the program.
Was I scared? Yep. I made my debut in South Africa, in Cape Town and it was a sold out crowd. I don’t know what Laurie Fisher was thinking, but he put me on fo the last fifteen minutes and I had a line-out throw… and Cape Town is one of the loudest stadiums. I couldn’t hear the line-out call, I threw it into the back of one of the players… and that was the start of my Super Rugby career! I was nervous, but it was good though.
What was your favourite moment, playing for the Queensland Reds?
I think everyone can answer that one. When we won against the Crusaders [in 2011], it was a dream come true. And to be a part of it the whole year and be a part of the journey. Not just the final, but the three weeks leading up to that. So being at the top of the ladder, playing the Auckland Blues at home [for the semi-final], then we had State of Origin the week after, three sell out games in a row, it was just amazing. It was a great environment, the atmosphere in the lead up. Holding up the trophy was fine, but the actual lead up was the best “moment”.
What is something you learnt during 2011 that have helped throughout the rest of your career?
Ooh. Don’t take winning for granted. I think for me, we had a culture where we couldn’t loose. So, every game people came and watched, Suncorp became our “fortress” and we took the crowds, for granted.
You’re a loyal fan, you’ve been with us through the good times, the bad times and the terrible times. And what I take from 2011, we had a lot of people on the bandwagon, but it’s a privilege to have people like you support someone like myself and support the Reds as a whole.
I think for me, as a player, we did take the crowds for granted. That’s one thing I’ve learnt since then, make sure, it doesn’t matter who they are, there are lifetime members who’ve been there from the start, so never take them for granted.
You played in every single game that year. Did you ever have another injury free year, besides 2011?
To be honest, I’m very robust, I hate to say it, I get injured more during pre-season than during the season. I enjoy playing rugby, I hate training and I hate running, obviously that’s part of my job… most seasons I’ve done pretty well. Usually I don’t get injured that much during the season. Besides my ribs, in 2015, I got picked up in the scrum and snapped I think three ribs and that made me miss the World Cup. I don’t remember another time that I had really big injuries.
What first inspired you to play rugby?
My Dad loved rugby league. We started playing when we were four years old and because we were very good at it, when we were around year five or six - about to go into high school, my father got approached by a school principal and the sports-master said “would you like to go to a rugby union school”? And they offered to help out with scholarships and things like that. We got offers from other schools and clubs in Sydney, but my father said we had to stay together and there’s five boys, mind you. And all of the schools said no, bar one! And so we ended up going to Saint Edmunds college in Canberra. Ever since then, we made the transition into school boy rugby.
Who were your rugby heroes growing up, or when you first started playing professionally?
I think I was quite lucky, because one of my heroes was George Smith, cos he made things look so easy. And when I met him, he was just an awesome bloke. When you meet someone who’s your idol and they’re an even better bloke and they become one of your good mates, he’s still a hero. He was just a genuine, kind person. So that’s one of my mantras that I live by, treat people how you want to be treated. If you’re not having a great day, don’t take it out on other people, because you wouldn’t like to be treated like that.
He was one of the people that was so loving and kind and he made time for a young school kid coming in, he’d always shake my hand and say hello. So he was my idol.
Is there any chance that we’ll see you playing in Australia anytime soon?
I would like to play for the Reds and finish off there. Not just to get my 100th cap, but also, I think personally, the Reds have a great team and I think I could add value, possibly in a leadership role. I see the potential that they have. They’ve got some great kids and I feel that I can add value and add something to them. They’ve got amazing hookers up there, Alex Mafi, playing outstanding, they’ve got Paenga-Amosa, some of these guys are outstanding. I wouldn’t be coming in to take over positions, or try and push for them, but I’d come and try and push those guys and make them better players. That would be my role.
Thank very much for taking time to catch up Saia!
Thank you so much for having me mate. I really appreciate you asking me well though-out questions. I appreciate you getting in touch with me and like I said before about taking things for granted, I never once took the support that you had for me for granted, thanks for having me.
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