From London Back to Brisbane: Life Lessons with Saia Fainga’a

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!

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.

Catching up with Dan Crowley

I was lucky enough to catch up over Zoom with former Reds and Wallabies prop and two time World Cup champion Dan Crowley! I enjoyed hearing his thoughts about the current game, our awesome Reds team and even his advice for rugby players that want to become World Cup holders themselves. I am positive you’ll enjoy reading our conversation!

Hey Dan, Thanks for making time to catch up. How many old rugby games have you watched over the last few months?

Ah Tom actually, I’ve never been a person to really go over all the old rugby matches. My son, who’s also called Tom, he’s into watching a heap of different ones and is very quick to point out where I made mistakes.

It’s an interesting time for the sport right now. What’s your perspective on the future of rugby and what we need to do, moving forward?

That’s a big question, I wish I had all the time to answer it. I think out of a crisis, as Winston Churchill said, there’s opportunity that comes out of it. I think the opportunity from rugby’s perspective, is hopefully to go back, reset and really look at where we’ve come from, what we do well, what we can take from that and do better. Over a period of time, I think Australian rugby in general has been a bit like in a frog in a pot of water that boils, gets warmer and warmer and it’s not until it’s boiling that it realises it has a problem. You can tinker around the edges little by little, but we haven’t made the big changes that we’ve needed to make and as a result, we are where we are now.

But if we can peal it back and look at where we’ve come from… Others have said if the Wallabies are going strong, the rest of the country will go strong. I think it’s actually the other way round. I think if club rugby is strong across the country, then our state rugby and our provinces are going to be strong and if our provinces are going to be strong, then our Wallabies will be strong.

I think that’s where we’ve lost our way. So I’m hoping that we can put our focus back into making club rugby strong and as a result of that, our Wallabies can get back to winning. 

What excites you the most, about the Queensland Reds right now?

As Reds lovers, we can be a bit impatient, but as lot of people have said, we’ve got a great crop of young fellas coming through. It’s a pity we’ve had a stop in playing, but if you have a look at a number of these young players coming through and they are getting a grasp of what it takes to win football, but also to win tight games of rugby. In the past, they’ve lost by that last try, the last 10 minutes, the last 3 points, where as they’re starting to turn that around and actually do that to other sides. As they say, if they can keep that unit of guys together, I think that we will have a good team, not only this year, but I think we’ll start to see in the next couple of years these guys who have got that 3-4 or 5 years of experience, they’ll really start to gell and be a good team.

You played 125 games for the Reds. What’s your favourite on-field memory, from your days playing for Queensland?

I don’t know if on-field was the best memories, I think that the best memories for me were after the game being in the shed. I say that because being in the group of 20 men out on the paddock, giving it their all, knowing when you got back in the shed, whether you won or you lost, whether you were happy or not, being there and knowing you got in the battle and coming back in, that was the best part of it. When you’re playing, you didn’t really get much time to think “how good is this”. You always just sort of get your breathe and get to the next part of the game.

At the time, I didn’t appreciate the opportunity and how privileged we were. The opportunity to go around the world, not only with your work, but with the work that you love doing and with a group of mates. And I think at the time, sometimes you don’t take into account how lucky you are to do that. But the older you get, the more you’ve been away, the more you realise how privileged you were.

What was it like playing, while the rugby world was transitioning into the “professional era”?

Dan published a book with this title
in 2006

It was an interesting time. Especially during the time when there was a lot of talk in back alleyways and meetings about whether or not you were going to stay with the Australian Rugby Union or whether you were going to go to the WRC - the World Rugby Corp. It was very close at that time - I think rugby came within a whisker of going to WRC. It would be interesting to see what would have happened, if it did go down that path as an international game. In the transition across to professionalism, I think it’s easy in hindsight to say it could have been done differently. Rugby could have looked at how League and other professional games have done it and taken a leaf out of their book, instead of working it out ourselves.

For me personally, it was an interesting time, because I had full-time work and I thought “I’m only an injury away from not playing rugby again”. So I said I’m going to hold down a full-time job and play rugby as well, whereas other people gave up their work to focus purely on rugby. I’m very happy I went down that path. Obviously, in this day and age, the commitment required as a professional footballer is a lot more than it was for us, but still I’d like to see that little bit of opportunity for professional guys to be involved in the business world, to give them a bit more of a kick-off. 

I won’t ask you about your job as an undercover cop, because I know that’s a secret. But.. what was it like balancing work and rugby?

It wasn’t designed that way - I actually finished with the police in ’95, I started a business throughout that period, which is the business I’ve still got now.

On that front, there’s so many business’s out there that would welcome with open arms the guys if they said “I want to work X amount of hours per week” to understand what you guys do, before they eventually finish playing rugby. I think it’s really important before they go into the world - and it might take em’ two or three starts before they actually know what they’re passionate about, besides what they were passionate about before, which is footy and then transition into something else, in the business world. A lot of guys struggle to know what their next phase of life is going to be. I think it’s a good precursor, even if it’s for free, just to understand what they enjoy and what they don’t enjoy.

What originally inspired you to play rugby?

Well, my parents came from England many many years ago, back in the 50s and I’ve got two older brothers that both played rugby… So when I was around eight years old, two of my good mates were playing for Souths and they dragged me down to the under-8s. That was where my rugby started and I loved it. I was fortunate to play with some great guys and then make my way into a couple of rep teams. I played with Souths all the way through to when I was around thirty-five I think.

What is your greatest rugby memory, in general? Feel free to include anything from your debut for the Wallabies against the Lions, through to the two world cups that you won for Australia.

I think, getting to tell your old man that your picked for the Australia team, that was pretty special. That’s probably a highlight for me from a rugby perspective. On the field, I was involved in the World Cups, but I wasn’t one of the major players in those areas. So playing with some fantastic players and saying “I know those guys” has always been really good. And off the field, to say you’ve met people literally from the Queen, Nelson Mandela, Princess Di, some big names, all from rugby! That’s the beauty of our international game. Winning World Cups is fantastic. But it’s going to the dinner after the 1999 World Cup with your mates, it’s pretty special. It’s a memory that you don’t forget.

What’s one piece of advice for rugby players that one day hope to hold that World Cup?

Good question. By best advice is keep on plugging away. You don’t have to be the best player, it’s the person that’s willing to keep forging ahead and keep doing what others won’t do.

There’s plenty of other guys that are a lot more talented and a lot more skilled that have gone before me when I was playing, but they weren’t willing to continually put in the hard yards and the extras, that people don’t see. It’s not what people see, it’s what you’re doing behind the scenes at 5 o’clock in the morning or 7 o’clock at night, continually making yourself better and never giving in. From a playing perspective, it’s not the guy that plays a blinder when everything’s going well and he shines, it’s the guy who digs in when things aren’t going well, that’s the person that I look for. The person that will not give up. You’ve got to show that resilience off the field - do what other people won’t do. If you can do that - you’ll go a long way.

Thank you very much for taking the time for this interview!

It’s been my absolute pleasure Tom, thank you.