Talofa From Samoa! Catching Up with Lukhan Tui

The "AHM Taxi Stand" has been getting behind the Reds

Talofa, from the beautiful country of Samoa! I've been here for the last few days, and experiencing the food, culture and hospitality has been an amazing experience. And of course I'm here to support the Reds, who are here for a special game against the Auckland Blues on Friday night (5:35PM, Brisbane time). It is technically a Blues home game, so it has been great to see a lot of support for the Reds around here too.

For this weeks player interview, I was fortunate to sit down with Lukhan Tui. Even though Lukhan is of Samoan descent, this week has been his first time in this country. I was able to ask him what he loves about Samoa and about his short but successful rugby career so far and also hear about his love of unhealthy food!

He's looking fit and match-ready though, and has recently been playing so well he's received a call up to the Wallabies for the June tests. It's clear he doesn't eat too much unhealthy food. Except this one time... read on...

Hi Lukhan, thanks for taking the time to catch up tonight. First of all, congratulations on being selected for the upcoming Wallabies tests. 

You were born in Auckland. How does it feel to be playing the Auckland Blues tomorrow night?

Reds training hard for Fridays game in the Samoan heat

It’s cool to be able to play the team that’s from the city I was born in. I have a lot of family in Auckland and it means a lot to me that I get to verse them in the country my family are also from. To be able to play the Blues over here, it’s gonna be a special night and I’m looking forward to it.

Your family is from Samoa originally. What have you enjoyed most about being here this week?

Yeah, my family is from Samoa. My grandmother grew up here, and her siblings, as well as some of my aunties and uncles. Yeah it’s been a pretty emotional journey coming back to Samoa for the first time, and see where my family grew up. It’s good to connect with the people and the family. I’m so grateful for my family, for everything they’ve done. Because if the work wasn’t done here then, I probably wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in today.

I’m very blessed and grateful to be in Samoa for the first time, and to be here with the team and you guys is also a special thing.

What's your favourite local food?

My favourite local food is [laughs] probably not the healthiest food. 

Kalo, oka, I really love lua’u and all the heavy stuff, every single meat you could think of. Pretty much everything. Everything fatty. [laughs]

What else do you love about Samoa?

The people. Even though we’re not family, it almost seems like everyone’s family. The weather, the countries beautiful, the islands amazing, and to be able to go and see the natural parts of Samoa is good. The beaches, the waterfalls and stuff like that, I love it.

It’s still surreal to be here for the first time, it’s amazing. It’s hard to explain.

What is something you've learnt this season?

I’ve learnt that it’s a long season, and opportunities do arise often - so I guess I’ve learnt to just work hard, through the ups and downs, get close to my teammates, and just learn the game of rugby a lot more. I’ve only be playing the game of rugby for about 2 1/2-3 years and I’m loving it. That’s a credit to the boys as well. It’s been real good.

What do you love most about living in Brisbane?

It’s not as big as Sydney, beautiful people, the weather, it’s always hot, it’s hardly raining, the cities beautiful. I like it because everything’s so close, there’s not much traffic, it’s not as bad as Sydney. And I’ve come to make a lot of new friends, as well as you guys.

Lukhan Tui - someone to watch out for in Australian Rugby

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

I got a funny one. When I first moved up to Queensland for the Reds, I had shoulder surgery. And two days after my surgery, I went on a ten day cruise. In those ten days, I put on 11 kilos - 11 kilos of most likely fat. And I put on 50 mls of skin folds, which is like body fat. I’ve been told that’s probably a record for most people. That’s something that probably most people don’t know - it’s not funny, but it is funny.

Thanks Lukhan for your time. All the best for Friday night's game. You've got all of Queensland behind you.

Thanks for having me. Is good to see you guys over here Tom. It’s good to see you over in Samoa supporting the boys. We love seeing you around, we love having you at training every time, and we’ll have to keep having moments like this with you. So thanks.