Listening to Up-and-Comer Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea

As you hopefully know, the first ever Super W competition is kicking off this Saturday! Building on the excitement of winning the Global 10s competition several weeks ago, the Queensland Women’s XV team have been working hard to put their best foot forward this weekend (4pm Saturday, March 10th at Suncorp!)

Alysia is the youngest player in the Reds squad, but you wouldn’t know it, just looking at the way she plays rugby. She is a player to watch this season for sure. Thanks Alysia for taking time to chat this week!

Hi Alysia, There’s a lot happening for you at the moment. Nice of you to take time to catch up.

How are you finding pre-season at the moment?

I’m finding it really good. The girls are going good at the moment. We’ve just been building from each training.

What are you looking forward to most about Saturday’s game?

Just playing off the girls experience, and probably another crowd like 10s. The atmosphere!

What are you enjoying the most about playing for Queensland?

Just playing with the more experienced girls. The culture as well.

How old were you when you started playing?

I was 14 years old.

What do you think it was that drew you to play at first?

It was the contact - and the environment as well.

What are your personal goals this year?

Just to build more with the game, I’m still trying to learn more about it… To become a center (I’m a winger at the moment.) Also, I’m trying to make the Wallaroos!

Well, there are many supporters cheering you and the team on. I wish you well this season, not just in rugby, but off the field as well!

Thank you!

Catching up with Lucy Lockhart

If you haven’t heard that the “Super W” competition starts this Saturday, you’ve probably been living under a rock. (By the way, Queensland have their first game at at 4pm at Suncorp Stadium. Hope you can make it)

In the lead up this week, I was lucky enough catch up with Lucy Lockhart, who will be in the starting line-up this Saturday, in the Queensland. It was great hearing her talk about the game she loves most. I was also glad to hear she's landed in her favourite position - Number 7 (that's "Open-Side Flanker" for anyone still learning about the game).

All the best this weekend Lucy! 

Hi Lucy,

Thanks for making time to catch up. This is an exciting week for you guys!

How's pre-season training gone for you?

Yeah it’s gone really good. I was a back but I don’t normally play half-back or fly-half anymore, I think I’ve gained a couple of kgs [laughs], so they’ve put me in the loose-forward pack now. I’m playing number seven in the game against the Waratahs. So it’s been a big change for recently, doing scrums.

How excited are you about the season starting on Saturday? (March 10th)

Very excited. It’s definitely a big step for women in sport. And to have rugby union up there with the big sports, like AFL and the NRL’s gonna join in. It’s good to get some recognition or the hard work us girls go through.

It's gonna be a great game, I'll be at Suncorp supporting.

What inspired you to start playing rugby?

I started playing rugby union when I was 7, with my brothers. Then, 7 until 11, and then I wasn’t allowed, because I’m a female (there was a rule that as soon as you hit 11 you had to stop playing with the boys). Then I started back when I was 19. Now I’ve been playing rugby union ever since - I’m 25 now. I love the game. Every person, no matter what size, no matter who you are, rugby’s for everyone.

Did you have any favourite players growing up?

When I was playing at 9, I really liked Will Genia, I was always watching how he plays. He’s still one of the best 9s, I think, around the tournament.

I kind of just watched everyone really.

I’ve been changing positions, throughout my career. I’ve been all throughout the back line, and now I’m in the forward back. So I love everyone, other than Will Genia, there’s no-one specific.

What’s your favourite position to play?

Open-side flanker - number 7.

What's your favourite thing about playing for the Queensland Women's XV?

Um [pauses]… there’s so many. I like the atmosphere, I love everyones love for the game, you can see it as we play. How we gell, our synergy on the field, how we connect. Everyone is just such a good player, it’s good to be surrounded by like-minded people. Especially chucking on that red jersey, it’s one of the highlights of my days.

What’s your favourite thing to do besides rugby?

I like playing golf on the weekends, I skateboard, I out to the to the beach, sometimes surf, I snowboard when it’s in season. I like hanging out with my family and friends. Being a beach-bum.

What's something you would say to young girls thinking of playing rugby?

Do it! The camaraderie, around the sport and the passion that you see… that you get to watch grow in the young minds of young women… there’s nothing like it. Nothing like netball, nothing like anything. Because once you're on the field, you’re all in, all for nothing. Then once you come off, you’re absolutely buggered, and you’re lifting everyone else on their feet. There’s no sport like this at all. So go for it!

That’s good advice. Thanks for taking time to chat today!

No dramas! I look forward to reading it on your blog!

You've got a lot of supporters in this State and we're right behind you! This Saturday, and the rest of the season.

Awesome. Thank you. See you on Saturday as well! Try and get a team photo!

A Conversation with Queensland Women’s XV Captain: Kirby Sefo

Super W kicks off this Saturday! If you’re not as excited as I am, then you’re probably just not in the know… Super W is a brand new format for the women’s competition (click here to get in the know).

Over the weekend, I was lucky to sit down with Queensland captain, Kirby Sefo. We had a great chat, talking about her own journey, her excitement about the Super W competition and women’s rugby in general. Hearing her talk, you can see why she has the respect of the players and coaching staff alike and has become a great ambassador for the game! Hope you enjoy reading our chat.

Hi Kirby, nice to catch up this morning. Thanks for taking time out from your schedule!

No problems!

How do you feel the pre-season has gone so far?

Pre-season, to be honest was off to a bit of a slow start, with new coaching, new management and new girls in our squad, it took a while to learn those new structures, new platforms and then I think, it was good timing being able to have a good run-out at Global 10s. That helped our pre-season a lot. When we were done with that, I guess we’ve been able to set back into 15s again, learn our patterns. We certainly had a good run-out this morning, we’re one week out, we’re just making sure our bodies are all good and hopefully we’ll be good on Saturday.

What's one thing your proud of about your team so far this year… and what's one thing you think the team can work on more?

During the pre-season, I’m proud of how the girls have sort of clicked and have fallen in sync together at the right time. We’ve got certain leaders taking care of certain parts of our game, then collectively we’ve been picking up our young ones and then experienced ones are bringing things together.

To work on… I guess that perhaps might come after round one. At the moment, we haven’t had a lot to test those patterns on the field. After round one, I might have a big list. [laughs]

I know your focused on game 1 of the Super W competition, on Saturday March 10th. What are you looking forward to most about this game?

I think what I’m looking forward to most, is the fact that it’s the first Super W competition, the fact that we’re a part of it. It means that the game is growing.  We get to play at Suncorp, before the Reds… I think just the fact that this is where we are is what I’m excited about.

Women's rugby seems to be on the rise in Queensland. What advice would you give to young girls thinking of playing?

It definitely is on the rise isn’t it. My advice for young girls wanting to play… is first of all to try it, but I think as they go through their successes and build their own status for a rugby career, the main thing I would advise is to keep that balance. So still do the things that you love, aside from rugby. So if you enjoy your friends and your family, always make time for them. Just have a good balance of on and off-field, and keep everything in perspective. Don’t let it take over your life, but enjoy it.

How did you first get into rugby?

Funny, because you would think coming from New Zealand that I started then, but it was actually an old friend that asked if I wanted to play and at first I said “absolutely not”… I didn’t want a bar of playing rugby.

How old were you at the time?

I was a really late starter, I didn’t start playing until I was 25, not long after I moved to Australia. I went along to watch Sunnybank play Wests, they were short, they said jump in, so I did and I loved it. I just kind of fell into it and it went from strength to strength in the one season.

What have some of your highlights from your career been so far?

There’s a couple of really good moments. A recent one was obviously the 10s. I think just because we’re not used to being in the spotlight so much. While we do have wins and being able to celebrate in that kind of light, that’s really fun.

Also, I really love my club Sunnybank - last year we won our third premiership, back to back. I really appreciate where I’ve come from, in terms of rugby. I didn’t play back home, so my loyalties really do lie with Sunnybank. When I first started playing, we lost every game for two whole seasons. So to be a part of a team that developed together. It would have been easy to go to another club, but I like sharing those kind of moments with my club girls, because I’m sort of nothing without them. And a lot of them as you can see are with Queensland, we’ve gone through that all together.

And finally... what would you say to rugby fans in Queensland, leading up to Saturday March 10th?

I would first of all say thank you to them, because after the 10s they’ve been so supportive. And also, just to get around it and encourage it. There’s so many young girls out there that rugby can do really good things for them. You know, friendships, memories… also good health! Support things that are developing, it’s a good thing that we’re doing, so we appreciate the support. And hopefully come down and watch us! I’m sure I’ll see you there Tom.

I'm looking forward to the season and I'm sure many people are. All the best for the first game, and the rest of the season. See you at Suncorp soon.

Thank you so much. That’s the coolest interview I’ve ever done.

Izaia Perese - Eyes Still on the Prize

It's been a big year for Izaiah Perese (better known as Izzy), with the birth of his daughter in January. Then, on the field, his form at the Global 10s competition and the Reds pre-season games has been excellent. Unfortunately, in the closing minutes of the Reds final pre-season game against Fiji, he was dealt a rough blow by injuring his ACL in his knee. I'm glad he was still able to follow through on our plan to catch up though. It was great to see that he is staying positive, in spite of his set-back, especially in light of the advice and encouragement he's been getting from Queensland coach Brad Thorne.

With his eyes on the prize of a steady recovery, Izzy is still a player to watch for in 2018!

Hey Izzy,

Thanks for taking the time to chat. I know it's tough being injured. How are you going at the moment?

Um.. I’m going good. I had a chat with Thorny. At the time and I was pretty discouraged. I was very down on myself about what’s going on, because it was literally the last 2 minutes of the trial game, that’s when I did it.

But Thorny said that maybe it’s all good timing, you know you’ve just had a kid, and maybe it’ll give that extra bit of time to work, and give you family time. When Thorny opened my eyes to that, it made me really appreciate this time that I’m now going to get with my family. Although I’m still going to work hard and try and get back as quick as possible, I’m really gonna enjoy my family as well.

I’m going great. I’ve seen it as a blessing in disguise.

Looking back over pre-season, what were the highlights for you from the Global 10s competition?

I think, a highlight from the 10s comp was being able to run out and enjoy it. It was a serious thing, but the most exciting thing about it was being able to express myself and let loose on the field… running lines, making tackles, being able to hook into it with the boys. There was just a little bit less “pressure” than a normal Super Rugby game.

Another highlight was definitely winning against the Chiefs, because I think a lot of people wrote us off for that.

Looking back at last years NRC, you were an important part of the Queensland country squad. What were your highlights of the competition?

The highlight was, surprisingly, not playing, but seeing the boys flourish with how they’re working together and winning games. I’m not that type of person that feels like the team depends on me. 

But when I was in there, it felt like a different team. Everyone wants to put in work for each other. I wasn’t playing, and Filipo came in. He was amazing me at training, and I was thinking “why isn’t this dude playing”, then I found out he had a little suspension. But when he came back, he really showed what he had on the training paddock and on the field, and it was electric aye. My highlights were being able to watch the boys really win and flourish together and take it out. That was the highlight, when we won the premiership.

Can you tell us a bit about your rugby journey leading up to playing for the Reds?

Definitely. So, I started off playing rugby league, and was going through the ranks there. I was a bit of a naughty kid at school, just due to not knowing who I was, and not knowing what I wanted to do and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Mum made the decision to send me to Saint Edmund’s College out in Ipswich, I got my first taste of rugby union and I was excelling in it and loving it.

Eventually, because it was all the way out Ipswitch and living in Stafford, I was catching two trains to get there and it became too much. I made a phone call to David Miles, my Saint Eddie’s coach and he strongly recommended Jason Gilmore. We made a call to him, sent our plea, and eventually got a scholarship through Churchie. It was amazing, such a good opportunity. Churchie and the ARU just took so much care of me and my family. I’m so grateful to what rugby union has given me and my family.

There was a lot of ups and downs, but the main thing was I always stayed focused and never lost sight of where I wanted to be. That’s pretty much my rugby journey.

Tell us some things you gained during your representative travels.

I think I gained a lot, as a person. It was a good character builder for me. Always training and not playing is always a hard thing to do. I was always trying to crack it, but never did. A couple of things I did learn were good keys in defence, and good keys in attack. Bernie [Stephen Larkham] and Greysy [Anthony Greys] helped me a lot with knowledge, and Cheika and Nick too. But the character thing took me through, always training and never playing. It made me better as a person, and made me more hungry to try and get a cap.

What drew you to play rugby at a young age?

I think it’s because Mum knew I was getting a bit too aggressive with the soccer players. She said “I’m going to switch you to rugby” and it actually worked out. I loved rugby, you could just take your anger out. I was an angry little boy when I was younger. I think that was the reason… Mum seeing that rage inside of me, and thought there’s nothing better to do than chuck me into a contact sport [laughs].

Who were your favourite rugby players growing up?

I would have to say George Gregan was one of them and also Bernie [Stephen Larkham]. George Gregan was such a great captain, such a great person, and knowing him personally, he’s just a genuine bloke.

You’re speed and strength seems to suit you as an outside back. Has that always been your preferred position though?

Yeah it has. I always wanted to be a prop but… Nah I’m joking [laughs]. I was a prop to start with, but I got taller, and lost all the fat. So it put me into the backs. But I love playing out on the wing, it’s definitely something different, when you get space and speed, I love that rush. I think I love outside center the most, but I haven’t played there in a while.

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

I definitely have a massive soft spot for dogs… actually all animals. Even if it’s the ugliest animal, like a snake or a crocodile. The other day I was watching “Swamp People“ and you know how they kill crocodiles for a living, I was thinking that’s hopeless, they’re just poor little things getting hurt for no reason. It’s totally changed my perspective on crocodiles now and I really think they’re cute creatures, it’s weird aye. But I’ve got a massive soft spot for animals, and it’s something I’d really love to work with after footy.

And I’m a massive family man, which I’m not sure if anyone would know, but I love my family.

Thanks Izzy for your time. Remember, we're cheering you on while you get back to full fitness!

Thank you very much for having me. I really enjoyed it. I’d love to do this any time you want.

Pre-Season chat with Vuanimasie Rasolea

Women’s rugby is definitely on the rise in Queensland. Over the weekend, I was lucky to catch up with one of the Queenslands rising stars, Vuanimasie Rasolea (but you can call her Vua)! After making her mark at the Global 10s earlier this month, she is excited about the “Super W” competition starting soon! (Hint hint: March 10th). A lovely person to talk to, I enjoyed hearing about her rugby journey among other things. Look out for more interviews with the Queensland Women’s XV players soon. Like Vua said, Queensland are the team to be supporting this year!

Hey Vua, Nice to catch up. Thanks for taking time out!

What a weekend at the 10s competition! Your team did so well coming out on top. How did it feel?

It felt really good to be able to win against New South Wales, we always have a bit of a rivalry there. It wasn’t easy, because we went into overtime, but it was awesome to win in front of our families and friends.  And the hard work that we’ve put in on the paddock over three weeks of training paid off, we stuck together, we really had to dig deep to win that game. We have a great bunch of girls who have each others backs, I think that was the main thing - just digging deep and going into those dark spots, when you just want to give up.

Just little chats where we say to each other “I’ve got you here.. we’ve got this” helped us through. We were happy with the 10-5 win.

Was it a good warm-up, ahead of the Super W competition starting shortly?

Yeah definitely, I think it was a good platform, as our coach Haysey [Michael Hayes] says. He describes everything that way. It was definitely a platform to see how we’d go as a Super W team, and have a taste of what each state will bring to the competition. It was definitely a great warm up, and to see where womens rugby has developed over the last few years. And hopefully, when the Super W comp comes around, we’ll have some more supporters.

Your first game is on Saturday, March 10th! I hope all my readers remember that date. The game will be at Ballymore right?

Actually, it might be here, but it could potentially be at Suncorp, before the Bulls game. So hopefully we’ll see you out there hey Tom?

Can you tell us a bit about your rugby journey. What age did you start playing?

I was brought up in a rugby family, my Dad actually played for the Fiji 15s team and moved over here. My brother [Junior Rasolea] was quite successful playing for Queensland boys and was fortunate enough to play for the Aussie Sevens team. (He built up his platform up enough to play for the Western Force and now he’s playing in Scotland.)

So growing up, I was his little brother (laughs), not little sister. So growing up, when he was doing his rugby drills, I was alongside him with my rugby boots. Just growing up in the Fijian community - we’re very rugby crazy. So growing up, rugby was very important, it’s pretty much our bread and butter. Each village has their rugby field. It was something we did after school every day, we’d play touch in the backyard and things like that.

I didn’t actually know that women played rugby until I saw the Women play Sevens in Byron Bay. I thought “you know, I might wanna play that some day.” I didn’t really think six years ago that I’d be playing rugby for Queensland. But it’s just awesome the opportunities that are coming up now for women now.

So yeah… I started when I was 16, and I’m 21 now.

What inspired you to start playing rugby? And who were some of your favourite players growing up?

That was mainly my brother, but also a player called Rebecca Tarvo, she captained the Aussie Sevens and I played alongside her in a couple of Fiji Sevens squads. She’s very much someone who I looked up to growing up. She’s such an amazing player on and off the field and definitely someone who inspired me.

But I think from day dot, it was definitely my Dad and my brother who’ve built that pathway for me to be comfortable with rugby.

I think the girls inspire me as well. Just seeing everyone, people who have kids, and other commitments, but sacrificing time to be able to come.

Anyone that I’ve played alongside has inspired me to push myself and be a better rugby player as well.

What are some of your hobbies, besides rugby?

I think just to keep me sane, I’m part of a church as well. I love just having awesome fellowship with my church members and catching up with them. Having a busy schedule, sometimes I do miss out on church stuff, so if I miss out on that, I make other time available to be able to catch up with them. I love hanging out with family, so if my cousins are available, I love chatting with them.

To relax, I love watching movies… But I think outdoor sports is my favourite thing. I like doing things out of the ordinary, things like paddle-boarding!

Thanks again for taking time out after training. Best of luck with the rest of pre-season.

No, thanks so much for your support, it means a lot, having even just one or two fans coming along. And having our main supporters like you Tom, supporting us along with the boys, it means a lot. If we don’t say thank you, trust me, it does mean a lot that you come along and acknowledge that women can play rugby as well as men. Reds is the team to be behind!

Reds Do the City Proud at Global 10s

16 teams from around the world playing a fast-paced style of rugby - what’s not to love about that? If you weren’t at the Global 10s competition over the weekend, you missed out.

I was there for every single game and it was an awesome event. 12 mens teams, and 4 womens teams from Australia(!) put on a great show. 

On day one, the Reds went down to the Auckland Blues in their first game and were pipped past the post by the Melbourne Rebels in their second (14-17). Even though the results didn’t go our way, I was proud of the boys for giving everything on the pitch.

Day two, the Reds had a taste of victory (read “thrashing”) against the Japanese Wild Cats (38-7). Then, after making it through to the quarter-finals, they beat last years champs, the Chiefs. Unfortunately, they went down to the Blues in the semi-final (with the Blues going on to win the competition.)

The crowd was great, with a lot of people cheering for each team. (A lot of photos from during the afternoon games are deceiving because one side of the stadium had the sun beating down on it. However, on other side where I was sitting (in the shade) there were plenty of fans cheering, making for a great atmosphere.

The womens Reds team took out the competition! Congratulations to them on beating the Waratahs in the final! The Reds smashed the Brumbies and Rebels without conceding any points. The teams arch-blue-rivals did beat them in game 1, but that didn’t matter in the end when they lifted the trophy.

Go Reds!

Catching up with Queensland Coach Brad Thorne

Brad Thorne has dominated the football world on both sides of the Tasman and thankfully, in recent years he has landed in Brisbane. He's been coaching for a relatively short time now, but has drawn from his vast playing experience to be given the job of coaching the Queensland Reds! One word pretty much sums up Brad Thorne. Champion. He's one of the few players that has won both an NRL and a Super Rugby title. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's a World Cup winner with the All Blacks (2011.)  But after settling back in his real home of Brisbane, this can only help the Reds this season.

[Brad:] Appreciate the interview mate. Thanks for coming down again.

[Tom:] Hi Brad, thank you for taking the time to catch up today. I know you must be very busy with the new squad.

How is pre-season training going? The inter-squad game on Friday was great! All the players looked really committed.

Yeah, preseason’s been going well mate. We started in late November, and went through December. We worked hard, as you do in a pre-season for Super-Rugby. A lot of fitness, a lot of strength training and a lot of rugby skills. Then we came back and had an army camp that was good for the boys, took them to some dark places, and then we’ve been training away for the last 4-5 weeks.

Yeah we had that internal trial, and it was good, they cracked into it. I think it was a good result at the end of the night. They got a good workout, both teams, and I think it’ll bode well for us going forward.

If there's one thing that would be a priority to focus on at the moment for the Reds, what would it be?

For me, it’s probably just the culture of the place. Just working hard together and through that hard work, getting more and more connected and tighter as a group. I think that all pays dividends. If you work hard together, and show that you care about each other, I think you see that in the way you play your footy and I think there can be some more improvement there.

You've played rugby in a number of places. You've also played several codes. What was it that brought you to the Reds?

What brought me to the Reds was that I’ve been here since I was 9 years old, this is like my home. New Zealand’s where I’m from, I was born there, but Brisbane is my home. I went to primary school here, high school here, I played my rugby league here. I’ve got a wife and four children, I wanted to bring them back here. I wanted to stay with Rugby and the Reds gave me that opportunity, so I was very pleased about that.

What is your greatest rugby memory?

Greatest rugby memory - probably the most significant one would be winning the World Cup. New Zealand hadn’t won it for 24 years. They’d always been favourites, but just hadn’t been able get that job done. So to be a part of that, to achieve that and win a World Cup is very special. And the next day, to have 250,000 people come, and to have a parade like that, to hold that trophy, it’s pretty surreal.

What was the key to your longevity as a professional rugby player?

I think the key - part of it was genetics, I was lucky - my brother, he always got injured. He’d roll his ankle on a flat bit of grass and I was the other way round, I never had a break as a kid, so that helped.

Also, I put a lot of work into, you know, the gym, flexibility and recovery. You know, if you put a big effort in, you usually get decent results. I’m very fortunate.

I heard a rumour you never officially retired. Is that true?

[Laughs] Yeah I didn’t actually retire, what I said is I’m playing less now. That remains the same and I think I will never actually retire. I love playing. If I didn’t have a family, I’d say I’d still be in Europe now as a 43 year old.

There’s times where I have real pangs of wanting to get out and play, but I have to move on, I’ve brought my kids back here. And I’m on this side of the game as a coach, hopefully I can do well with it.

What's one or two other pieces of advice you would give aspiring players, both boys and girls?

Number one is to love the game, just to enjoy the camaraderie, enjoy the physicality and the sport. So to really have a passion and enjoy. And I guess a bit of hard work goes a long way. 

Potential, or having ability is not enough. Talent’s not enough. You need to work hard and give yourself every chance. All the little skill things, whatever it is, chip away and get those little improvements, and give yourself every chance to progress with your rugby.

That's awesome. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there taking notes. Thanks again for your time Brad. We Reds fans will be cheering the team on this season.

Thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it. There’s some really good questions there. I’m looking forward to the season as well. And hopefully, we can both have a smile on our face if things go ok.