An Interview with Rob Simmons

Today, I was able to track down Rob Simmons, (Wallabies and Reds lock) for an interview. To make it special, it was his birthday earlier this week. (Happy birthday for Wednesday Rob!!)

'The Reds have a "bye" this weekend (this means they have no game are able to rest). But the whole team have been training hard this week none-the-less. Thanks Rob for taking the time time to catch up, right after a big session!

Hi Rob, Glad we finally get to chat. Just want to ask a few questions.

We heard that you are from Theodore. What was it like growing up as a country boy?

I loved growing up in Theodore. It was good fun. I got to do a lot of things that people who grow up in the city don't get to do. I grew up riding horses, and in the weekend going out with my dad out on the farm - we came from a cattle farm. Mum always tried getting me into as many sports as I could. I think I was an outdoor kid which drove her up the wall, so she was enrolling me in every sport she could... I grew up playing rugby league actually - out in central Queensland it's all rugby league.

We know you play lock. What does that position involve?

I think to the public, the lock is probably the most unknown, in terms of what we actually do around the field. Obviously the set piece is very important helping and pushing in the scrum. The front row directs a lot of the weight, the back five create a lot of that weight, and strength in the scrum. And then obviously, you see us jumping a lot in the line outs, being generally taller people. I get to call the line-outs, and so my job is basically to win the ball each time the balls kicked out. Basically we're seen as the workhorses around the field, just doing those hard carries, mainly second phase, off set-piece, and then a lot of clean-outs, short meter carries into the set defence and things like that.

Who is your senior team?

Didn't have a club, obviously coming from the country. Then coming from boarding school on the Gold Coast, when I first left school I chose to go to Sunnybank. They sort of first contacted me and my school coach came from Sunnybank the year before that, so he had good things to say about it, and they looked after me. I enjoyed going there. It was a bit further out from where I lived, but I’ve got some good friends down there now.

Who was your favourite player growing up?

Like I said, I grew up playing rugby league, so as a young kid I was a big fan of Shane Webcke, [Petero] Civoniceva and Allan Langer. As I grew to know rugby union, I became a big fan of John Eales. I suppose I was getting told I’d be a second rower growing up [laughs], so I was drawn to those kind of players.

How many seasons have you played for the Reds?

So I came to Brisbane straight out of school. I had about 6 months in the academy and then straight here to the Reds, and I’ve been here ever since. So this is going on my 11th season. 

What is the biggest highlight in your life so far?

Obviously getting married, I got married at the end of last year, and that was a big moment for me. But pertaining to rugby, winning that grand final in 2011 and being a part of that, and I suppose seeing the hard work come through from 2 years prior to that transfer into that 2011 season. Both World Cups have been big for me, especially the 2015 one. That was a very big year for me and for a lot of those guys that played in the World Cup, going all the way to the final, and I suppose going down, but that whole experience and the lead in to that World Cup was amazing.

Can you tell us something about you that not many people may know?

That’s a tough question! I suppose you covered it - the things I did on the farm as a kid… I think the biggest thing I suppose is people think that rugby players and horse riding don’t go hand in hand, but I know my way around riding a horse and around cattle a fair bit, I grew up on a farm, so I know a fair bit about that sort of industry I suppose.

You have played for both the Reds and the Wallabies on numerous occasions. What advice do you have for aspiring players, both boys and girls?

Obviously enjoy yourself -  everyone always says that. But I suppose what goes behind it, it’s one of those games that when it turns professional, it’s pretty tough day in and day out if you’re not enjoying yourself, but I think that’s the key. You see so many people in the business world waking up and not wanting to go to work. The alarm goes off a bit too early sometimes, but overall it’s easy to get out of bed when you’re enjoying yourself, and if you’re not enjoying it, I suppose that’s advice for most people in life really, you’ve got to look to something different.

Thanks Rob for the chat. I hope we can talk again soon.

Thank you!

An Interview with Samu Kerevi

Here’s the second of two interviews for the week! (This is to make up for missing out last week. If you haven’t already, make sure you check out my great interview with winger Chris Kuridrani as well!)

With captain James Slipper injured (our thoughts are with you James!) and vice-captain Stephen being rested this week, Samu is taking up the captaincy for tonights match against the Kings. Congratulations Samu! We all believe in you!

Please enjoy our chat from earlier this week.

Hi Samu, it’s great to talk to you again. I was just going to ask you a few questions.

Sweet. Thanks for having me Tommy.

How was it debuting as a Wallaby in 2016?

Obviously, it was an emotional day for me, being able to play for the Wallabies and get to that level. It was an unbelievable experience. We lost on the bell, and that was hard to take, but a massive thanks to my team mates for even getting me into that space, but it was a really grateful moment for me and my family.

We know you play center. What does that position involve?

Center… We take the midfield, for the whole game. It involves a lot of bashing, a lot of running lines and big hits that we take, but both the defence and the attack we control (especially around the midfield) and the edges.

So for me that involves linking up with my wingers and fullbacks to make sure we get good line to go and attack and get the wide channels to score some good tries - if we get the ball out there.

What is your senior team?

I started with South, back when I was in juniors, and different clubs in between, but for now South Magpies is my senior team. They’ve been having a tough season, just like us, and it was good to see get the win on the weekend. It’s a family thing. My brothers played for South when I was growing up. I played most of my juniors for Sunnybank, and GPS Ashgrove, but South is my Senior team now.

What was your favourite player growing up?

For me as a player growing up, over the ditch, Tana Umanga and Ma’a Nonu were people I looked up to. They played for the All Blacks and the Hurricanes, and they were a really great center pairing. I took a lot of, I guess, game knowledge of them. I watched them and saw the way they ran the ball. Ma’a, obviously being a pretty big boy, ran the ball pretty hard. So that was something that I tried to emulate. I played Ma’a back in 2014. That was a massive day for me, playing against someone that I looked up to over the years. It was a good day.

How many seasons have you played with the Reds?

I started back in 2014, so that’s three years. It’s been a long couple of years, I’m enjoying my time here at the Reds. It’s somewhere I grew up, and so I’ve always wanted to play for Queensland. Representing that every weekend is a massive honour for me.

What is the biggest highlight in your life so far?

For me, it was probably back in 2012. I went back home and tried out for the under 20s Fiji team. I didn’t make any rep teams here when I was growing up, so I went back to Fiji with my brother and we both made the team. We played with them over in South Africa. So that was one of my highlights, playing with family, for a country that brought me up. And beside that, obviously making my debut for the Wallabies, rugby wise that was pretty awesome.

But for me, the highlight for my life would be just my family. Being able to wake up and seeing them still doing what they do, going to work on simple days... It’s a massive blessing from God that we’re still breathing on the earth, so for me a highlight would be my family.

Coming from Fiji to play for the Reds, what is some advice for some aspiring players, both boys and girls?

I guess, coming from Fiji, there was a couple of struggles you know, even staying in the country with Visas and stuff like that. I think you’ve got to be persistent. If you know what you want, and what your dream is, if you’re persistent with it, you’ll get there. I feel like you’ve got to put in the time and the attention to detail in every aspect of your life is important. Especially in rugby, putting in the time on and off the field, to become a better person as well, I feel like it will help you on the field.

Be persistent and go hard at whatever you love.

Could you tell us something about yourself that not may people may know?


(Laughs) Rugby wise, not a lot of people would know that all the way through school I was the second row pairing with Curtis Browning, who played second row, even leading up to first fifteen. I was the second row for first fifteen, until I got dropped. And then our SNC coach, who was the coach for the seconds, and he shifted me to center and I never looked back. I’m pretty glad I’m out of the second row, working with the forwards. I just love being out wide with the backs. So that’s something that not a lot of people won’t know.

Thanks Samu for the chat! I hope we can talk again soon.

Thanks for having me Tommy. It was awesome. Thank you again for having me.

An Interview with Chris Kuridrani

Training changes and overseas travelling has made it harder to catch up with the Reds recently, so to make up for missing last week, I’ll be posting two interviews this week!

Today I got to catch up with two of the Reds players after training. Winger Chris Kuridrani and Samu Kerevi (Centre). Both are top Fijian blokes, and I enjoyed spending time with them! (Check back later this week to read my chat with Samu as well.)

Hi Chris, thanks for the interview.

It’s all good, good to be here.

So we know Kuridrani is a famous name in a lot of sports. Where did it all begin?

Well, my Dad got scouted over by one of the clubs here in Brisbane, and then me, my cousin.. he brought the whole family over and we all grew up here in Brisbane. Obviously, rugby was what we grew up with. Obviously, it was what our Dad came over for and what brought the family over to Australia. So we all started over here in Brisbane just junior footy and we were fortunate enough to make rep teams and get scouted after high school. Tevita [Chris’s cousin] went down to Canberra and me staying over here for the Reds. We’re still close and stay in contact, so it’s good.

Who is your senior team?

My senior team is GPS, it’s located in Ashgrove. It’s the same club that brought over my Dad from Fiji, so it’s kind of like a family club. It’s got a close place in my heart.

What is your preferred position when you play? What does that position involve?

My preferred position is wing. My Dad was a winger as well. Growing up as a little kid I always wanted to play on the wing. I’m probably not as fast, but I think my strength is ‘power’ and trying to break tackles. The winger is on the end of the back line. I guess it’s our job to score the tries at the end of the back line moves, chase kicks and what-not. You’ve got to be very versatile and athletic if you want to be a winger.

Who was your favourite sportsperson growing up?

My favourite sportsperson was Jonah Lomu. We played the same position. When he broke onto the scene, he was kind of the winger that I wanted to be like. Strong and powerful, but he used his speed to get around players. Jonah Lomu would definitely be the main one as a kid.

What is a highlight of your sporting career so far?

A highlight in my sporting career would probably be scoring my first try for the Reds, that was in 2015, and it was against the Sharks.

I got the call up to start, and I got to score my first try, which I didn’t think would come that early. But that’s definitely a highlight of my career - my first try.

Can you tell us something about yourself that no-one would know?

As a junior, I couldn’t make it on my team as a winger, so I had to play 5/8. The team was picked and my coach said there's no space on the wing, and that I’d have to play another position.

From there I played 5/8 from under 13s until under 17s, and it wasn’t until after school that I started playing wing again, the position that I wanted to play.

What is some advice for aspiring players, both boys and girls?

I think when you’re chasing goals, enjoy the journey, more than the actual destiny. Sometimes we get so caught up in chasing where we want to be rather than just enjoying the journey and the experiences along the way.

I think sometimes when we don’t get to the goal that we’re trying to get to, we get more discouraged and down. But I think it’s on the journey that you learn more about yourself and your character, rather than reaching your goals.

Everyone has goals, but I’d encourage just to enjoy the journey rather than trying to achieve the goal. That’s my advice.

Thanks Chris for your time.

Cheers, thanks so much Tom. Thanks for having me.

Rugby Rule of the Week