Sitting Down with Sef Fa'agase

Earlier this week, right after a tough mornings training, I was able to sit down with Reds prop Sef Fa'agase to chat. We spoke about rugby, his life, and his teams recent trip to Samoa - his families country of origin. Enjoy!

Hey Sef, Thanks for making the time to chat.

That's ok. Thanks for having me Tom.

How's training going for the Reds team at the moment?

Trainings been very tough. It's been almost like a mini-preseason. It's been a good opportunity, during the June period with all the [Wallabies] test matches where us as individuals can get better with the little things that we need to work on that we can't really do during the season, so trainings been really good.

What was your highlight from the Samoa trip?

I guess playing in front of my family, they don't get to see me play too often. They've only been able to watch from a distance. And I guess showcasing to the boys a little bit about where I come from was a real highlight.

You guys played well, especially with the captain out of action.

Yeah I think we played exceptionally well. We were unlucky to not come away with the win - but it was good that the captain that we had that night stepped up when Samu got injured and he led really well.

You're originally from New Zealand. How did you end up playing in Brisbane?

Yes I was born in New Zealand, but my family moved to Brisbane in 94. So I've spent most of my life in Brisbane, and I've played most of my junior footy out in Beaudesert, and now I'm here with the Reds.

What do you enjoy most about playing in the Prop position? What does the position involve?

I guess being a prop you're really at the front line of it all, especially within the scrums, it's my favourite part of the game. Just being physical with the other opposing player, it's why I love playing.

My main job as a prop is scrum first and foremost, and I play an integral part in the line out functioning. So a lot of lifting, and a lot of set pieces.

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

Ok, something that not a lot of people know about me... it wasn't til after I left school that I picked up rugby, but during high school I was a cheer-leader, so I think I can thank that for my line-out lifting. [Laughs].

You already have a lot of experience in rugby society. Do you have any advice for someone wanting to pursue a career in rugby union, both boys and girls?

So like I said, I didn't pick up rugby until after I left school, but for anyone that has a dream of playing rugby, I just say go ahead, anything is possible. Just as long as you set yourself some goals, I think that's the main part. And then asking as many questions as you can, people that are around, within the rugby society. So that's my biggest advice. Ask a lot of questions, set goals, and anythings possible.

The next Reds game is against the Brumbies on Friday the 7th July. For sure I'll be there watching and supporting. All the best for your teams training over the next few weeks.

Thank you a lot! I look forward to seeing you there, and I look forward to hopefully getting a win against the Brumbies, just for you.

A Big Day for Ballymore/A Conversation with Izack Rodda

I had a great day today at Ballymore stadium. I got to watch the Wallabies train and meet a few of them for the first time, as well see the Reds do their thing. The Wallabies are in Brisbane, ahead of their match against Italy - 3pm this Saturday at Suncorp - on Channel 10.

Henry Speight was humble enough to take a photo with me, even with my Reds hat on

Bumped into this stranger. I tried to make him feel as welcome as possible at Ballymore

For this weeks player interview, I was lucky to sit down with the giant himself, Izack Rodda. Enjoy!

Hey Izack, thanks for taking time to chat. I know things are busy for you at the moment.

Yeah no worries mate!

I heard a rumour you've been training with the Wallabies. Is that true? 

Yeah it’s true I trained yesterday.

How did it go?

It was exciting. It was a new step for me in my career. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. Contacts are a lot harder than over here, so it was good.

Back to the Reds - how's the teams training going at the moment?

Yeah trainings been good. We’ve doing a lot of games and we’ve been working specifically on our line out work and kick-off reception which has been good for us. We’ve been lacking that this year, so we’ve been really honing down on it in the last couple of weeks and really improving.

So how did you end up playing for the Reds?

Well I finished school up at Ipswich Grammar in 2014 and I came over to the under-20s programme and was in that for about 2 years. In 2016 I went from that and started training here and haven’t left since. I sort of just went through the pathway.

You’re originally from Lismore, which is in New South Wales.

Yeah I grew up in Evans Head down in Byron Bay. They had some scouts from the school come down to one of the local rep game and asked me to come along down to the school there so I just took the chance.

Sorry about the game last night.

Yeah the Blues sort of went to sleep in the second half, and let Queensland back into it. JT was never going to miss that kick.

What was your highlight from the teams recent trip to Samoa?

It was probably Jakey McIntyre dancing with his shirt off at the dinner, with a little Samoan girl in the show they did. That was definitely a highlight.

And the question we ask everyone... can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?

Umm… when I was 6 years old, I played soccer and did ballet for school. Not many people know that. I kept that on the down low for a long time.

Thanks for your time. Good luck with your training this week.

No, thank you. Pleasure. Yeah, one more session to go and then a couple of days off.

With the #redsinsamoa

I’ve had an awesome week visiting Samoa with the Queensland Reds for their game against the Auckland Blues. As this is being written, we are just getting ready to head back home to Brisbane.

As well as this weeks player interview (with Lukhan Tui) I wanted to share a bit more about my trip overall and some of the memories I’ll take home with me. I had a great time travelling around the island, eating great food (especially the fish!) and meeting some of the amazing locals who really took care of me. It was also great to hang out with members of the Reds team during their down time, and even at their trainings.

The biggest highlight for me (besides watching Friday night’s game) was handing out the jersey’s to team, on the morning of the game. It was an honour to be a part of the day in that way. I think I’ll kick off with photos from there:

Click here to see a quick video of the morning on the Reds Instagram page.

Catching up with the team on arrival

Obviously… this is me talking to Samu Kerevi, the Reds captain, in the hotel lobby. What I didn’t know when this picture was taken is that Bill English, the Prime Minister of New Zealand is in the background. True story - we actually met Bill later on, after Friday nights game and were allowed to take a proper photo with him. (He's a nice bloke by the way.) I might choose to post that one later, but for now, I just wanted to share this one. I like it better. He does support the Blues after all.

Unfortunately Samu was injured during Friday’s game. Samu - we’re all behind you, and are wishing you a quick recovery in time for the rest of the Reds season.

With the Reds at Training

I was gutted to find out at training that Rob Simmons (to my left) also got injured that week. Rugby is definitely a tough game! Rob, I know you’ll be back soon.

Catching up with Reds coach Nick Stiles after the captains run at Apia Stadium

The Game

Watching the game was an awesome experience. The Reds didn’t win it, but overall, their performance was good. Click here to see one of their tries that my press secretary managed to capture:

“Two-try Tupou” is what my Dad called Teniela after he scored his second try.

It is true there were some empty seats at the game, but the crowd was still very vocal and enthusiastic. Sure there were a lot of Blues flags in the crowd, but there was also a very loud group supporting the Reds. Over the next few days, as we travelled around the island, everyone we spoke to knew about the game, and most people that weren’t there with us had watched it on television. It’s clear the game was well received by the locals, and that the Reds now have many fans in this country.

George Smith getting up close to Samoan Reds fans after the game

If you’d like to see more photos from the Reds trip to Samoa, why not type in the hashtag #redsinsamoa on Instagram.  I hope the Reds travel here again.

On game day, a reporter came up to me and my Dad and wanted to photograph and interview us. It came out in the paper the next day.

Travelling around the island

On Saturday and Sunday, I spent half of the day travelling around different parts of the island.

Our first trip took us to Lalomanu beach, and Sunday afternoons trip took us around the other side, ending in Mulifanua which is close to the airport.

The Samoans showed themselves to be great at hospitality, feeding us very well. I especially loved eating the fresh fish. Also, I probably drank way too much pineapple juice and Fanta. 

A big thanks to Tili and Lette from “AHM Taxi Stand” for taking such good care of me.

This is Junior and Rose. One night, the pathway we took to get home was quite rocky, and they helped hold my wheelchair for most of the trip home. Like I said, people took good care of me around here.

Thanks again Samoa for having me. Everyone should try and visit this country sometime.

June Wallabies Tests

The Super Rugby competition is on hold for a while. There are three Wallabies tests happening in the month of June and I’ll definitely be watching every one of them.

Although Rob and Samu are injured, Stephen, Quade, Scott, Karmichael, Eto, and Lukhan are all Reds players who have made the squad. (The last three are playing for the Wallabies for the first time!)

The first test is this Saturday, June 10th at 3pm (in Melbourne). Make sure you're tuning in....

I'll be back with another player interview soon.

Are you following me on Instagram? Make sure you find me @tomhamiltonreds

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.

The Man who Stokes the Cauldron: An Interview with Alan Graham - Suncorp CEO

Hi Alan, thanks for taking time to chat. I know you're a busy man.

First of all, thanks for taking such good care of people with disabilities at Suncorp. There's over 100 wheelchair spots (for example), which is much better than some stadiums around here. It's appreciated. The disabled drop-off point at Caxton Street is great too.

I feel other organisations can learn a lot from this place. What's your philosophy in that area?

We’re very keen to make sure the stadiums accessible. It is Queensland and Brisbane’s stadium after all, and so everything we do here is designed to make the customer experience the best it can be. And that includes making sure we have all the accessible facilities we need, and that’s everything from seating through to access.

One thing though - at times, I find it a bit hard to find a disabled park on Castlemaine Street. Is there a limit on how many disabled parks you can potentially have there?

There is a limit and unfortunately we reach that limit to the point where we just don’t have any more space. As you’re probably aware the stadium is built on a public transport model, and so there’s very limited parking for anyone around the venue and we encourage people to get public transport. We have as a service since we opened provided those disabled parking areas free of charge, and we fill them up on a first come first served basis, but certainly there are other ways of getting to the venue. All our transport services are wheelchair accessible, and so that people are able to catch buses or trains and be able to access the stadium if they’re not able to get a disabled parking space.

Overall, Suncorp is great. I've known you a few years now, and I think you do an awesome job.

Yeah, well thanks Tom. And we have known each other for quite a long time, and it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know you and your family. 

How did it all begin for you here, and what's your background?

I got into stadium management from a sports management background. I was involved with the South Queensland Crushers when they started up in the National Rugby League comp back in the early nineties. Unfortunately Super League pretty much put pay to their future, but on the back of that I was able to get involved in running the old Lang Park in those days. I’ve been away and run a number of other venues, I’ve done a couple of Olympics, I did Sydney, and I did Beijing. But I’ve been back at Suncorp Stadium since 2003, other than that stint I did away in China back in 2008.

This is shaping up to be a great year at Suncorp. What are some of the things coming up?

We’ve got a massive programme. We’ve got two State of Origins this year, first one of which is next week. We’ve got Bledisloe Cup, we’ve got a Wallabies vs Italy match, we’ve got the world title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn coming up in July, we’ve got the Rugby League World Cup semi-final and final later in the year, as well as the remainder of the Reds season, and the remainder of the Broncos season, and we’ve just recently announced two concerts for Ed Sheeran, both of which have now sold out.

Are you looking forward to tonights Reds game? [Last week, against the Western Force}

I certainly am, it would be good to see them get a win. The weathers looking fantastic, the fields looking great, and it’d be good to see them with their push towards the finals.

On a game day, how many staff would you have working here?

It depends on the size of the event Tom. Tonight we’re expecting probably mid-teens for a crowd size so tonight including catering we’ll have about 600 plus staff, maybe 700. But next week for Origin we’re gonna have probably 1,800-1,900.

Thanks for taking the time to chat.

Also, thanks for all you do to serve sports fans like myself.

It’s a pleasure Tom, and congratulations on the blog that you’re doing, I think it’s absolutely fantastic. I can’t believe the amount of followers you’ve got, and everyone at the Reds seems to know exactly who you are.

How's James doing?

I had a special reason to sneak in a second interview this week. The one and only James Slipper, the Reds skipper has been down this season but is definitely not out. As Reds supporters, we all felt his pain as he tore his Achilles in Johannesburg earlier this season - and I've been wondering how he's doing for a while. So I managed to catch him this week at Ballymore to find out... he was out of his moon-boot and walking, which said a lot. Read on to find out more...

[EDIT: if you're reading this in 2024, you may be aware James has become the most capped Super Rugby player of all time, surpassing the great Stephen Moore. Reds Rugby Rules would love to congratulate James on this tremendous accomplishment!!!! "Once a Reds, always a Red"... - Tom]

Note: You can read my previous conversation with Slips - my FIRST EVER Reds Rugby Rules interview - right here.

Hi James,

Good to catch up again. I wanted to see how you're going this season - how you're travelling. As supporters, we are behind you 100%.

How's the timeline for your recovery going?

So we're basically looking at 6 months to be back playing. I've already completed about 2 months of it, or 10 weeks. I've just got out of the moon-boot a week ago, so I'm back walking around. It's healing well, it's obviously a bit painful, but I'm really enjoying working on other parts of the body while I'm injured. It's a long process, but the timelines looking around 6 or 7 months.

How have you been filling in your time lately?

Filling in the time (laughs) it's pretty important, because you do get a bit bored. But for me, I've still been able to train. I've been training the upper body, just building some strength back that I've probably lost over the last couple of years, so I'm putting some size on. I'm also doing some study at university, and basically staying pretty fresh mentally and trying to stay positive I guess. Doing a bit of reading and that sort of stuff.

I come down to Ballymore most days, and making sure I'm around the boys and staying connected.

Looking back at the season so far, what's your view on how the teams going?

It's obviously been a bit of a hard year, we started off pretty disappointing, and the players understand that. We've worked really hard throughout the year, and just haven't got the results that we've wanted. But I think we're trucking and trending in the right direction. We're probably guilty of being a bit fresh and a bit clunky at the start of the year with quite a few new players in the squad. But now they've started to gel a bit together and starting to play the rugby that we want. We scored something like 15-19 tries in the last four games. We're starting to put those points on, and I think we need to keep continuing that, building that, and have a run at the end of the year.

What would your advice be to players going through setbacks in their career?

Staying positive I think. We touched on it a bit earlier in one of the other questions - finding that balance, filling in your time with something to do while your injured. Obviously stay connected with your team-mates, and your coaches and your club, but I'd also encourage players who are going through injury to find the balance - being engaged in some sort of study or hobby, whatever it may be, you've got to stay active mentally and keep that positivity. At the end of the day, we're playing a game that we love, and injuries are a part of that. You've got to take the good with the bad, and just stay positive about it, bounce back and work hard.

Thanks for sitting down for our second interview. I really want to emphasize that as supporters we are behind you 100% and cheering you on. We wish you all the best in getting back on the field in the near future.

Thank you. I really enjoy this. And to have supporters like you Tommy, it really lifts our spirits, and we go out there to play for you guys.

What Makes a Great Leader Tick? An Interview with Stephen Moore

It's not every day you get to sit down with the captain of the Wallabies. This week, after a long training session in the Queensland sun, I was lucky enough to chat with Stephen Moore, a Super Rugby veteran who's recently returned to play for the Reds. During our chat, I got to hear what makes him tick. As it turns out, he gets more satisfaction out of mentoring and and developing younger players than arriving and being “the man” in the team. He has too much passion and long-term vision for Australian Rugby not to think like that. We discussed a range of things in our interview, including where Australian Rugby is at. I hope you enjoy it!

Hey Stephen, great to catch up, thanks for your time.

I'm really glad you're back with the Reds. What was it that brought you back here?

I think to come back to Brisbane, it was a big challenge rugby wise, and that's what excited me about it. The Reds probably had a few tough years after they won the comp [in 2011], and to come back and try and be part of something, it was a big opportunity for me. That was great motivation to me to come as an older player, and use my career to maybe help some of the younger players in Queensland. The second part of it was my family, I've got two young kids now, and one on the way. There’s a bit of a support network up here in Brisbane, you know, friends and family that can help us. That was a big part of it as well.

What do you love most about playing for the Reds?

Something I realised when I came back was the connection of the Reds to the grass-roots, and I think that's really strong. Club rugby for me is probably the best thing about playing rugby. I grew up playing club rugby, that's where I got my opportunity to play rugby professionally - at the club level. For me the Reds have a really good connection to the grass-roots. I’ve been down to my club a couple times down at Uni and seeing the guys playing down there, and the girls as well, and all the kids… my little boy plays out at Wests. Being able to get involved in that is a great thing.

On top of that is the history and the tradition, and to come back to Ballymore and train here every day, you get to fuel that tradition that Queensland rugby has. I think over the next few years we can really add our piece to that tradition.

You've lived in Brisbane most of your life. What do you love most about being back here?

On top what I just said, I suppose the climate is a big thing, having been in Canberra for the last eight years, you probably realise that the winters down there are tough, particularly with young kids. Of course it’s pretty hot here in summer, but I think for most of the year it’s a beautiful place to live. Brisbane is not too big, it's not too small, it's just a great size city to live in.

No doubt, the players have appreciated having you around this season, especially with your level of experience. What has some of your advice been for your team this season?

I think the biggest thing that I've tried to get across to the boys is that the level of professionalism you need to be successful is really high and you need to sacrifice things that normal people do. You have to give things up that you probably love to do and I suppose that’s all a part of committing to something and being a part of a high performing environment that you want to be a part of. Of course you have to enjoy yourself, and take time to do that, but professional rugby and Super Rugby is tough. You have to work really hard, you have to be consistent all the time, and you can learn a lot about that off the field as well.

And we’ve been working hard to get things in place that will set things up for a long time. Queensland always had good players. That’s one thing they’ve always had, and always will have, it’s just what we do with them now is so important, to make them into great Super Rugby players, and ultimately Wallabies.

How do you feel Samu's gone captaining a few games this season?

Yeah he's done really well. I think he's a natural leader, and that helps a lot. He's obviously going to learn a lot, on the run. Captaincy is something you learn a lot about when you’re actually doing it. It can be a lonely place sometimes. But I'm doing all I can to support him and help him. He’s a popular member of the team. He always plays really well, I think that’s an important part of captaincy, getting out there and performing at a high level. He’s shown that he can do that with the captaincy arm-band as well. In the few games that he’s had already, I can see that he’s learnt a lot, and that’ll continue.

[Someone listening in mentioned that we all love the way he champions Sam.]

For me, when I looked at it.. If I can leave this place having brought someone else through, and someone else can be a really good leader and captain for the club… Obviously, we lost Slips early in the year, so it’s important to have people who can be the captain and take those leadership roles, and it’s something we need to work harder on in Australian rugby, developing leaders and people who can take the reigns on the field. That’s more satisfying for me than me just coming in and being captain, it’s not how I want my involvement to be necessarily. 

How do you think Australia will go with the three tests coming up?

Yeah, I'm excited about it. There's a lot of doom and gloom around Australian rugby and a few people writing us off and it’s a good opportunity for a group of players to come together in June and do something really special. We've got three very tough opponents - three very different opponents and three afternoon test matches which I think will be great for Australia and for the fans as well. Hopefully we’ll be able to get some kids able to see the Wallabies for the first time, that would be great. We’re looking forward to the whole thing, and just getting that jersey on again is always very special.

You're a very experienced player, with 116 Wallabies caps behind you so far. What advice do you have for up and coming players, both boys and girls?

I think firstly you need to enjoy what you do all the time. No matter what level you’re playing at, what team you’re playing in, you need to make sure you enjoy it and take some time to just stop and appreciate the opportunity you’ve got.

The other bit of advice I would give is try and get as much balance in your life as you can. Don’t be too obsessed with one particular thing. Get some good balance, whether that’s family, or some educational stuff, whether that’s a degree, or some work experience. I really think the more of that you have in your life, the better your rugby will go as well. You get exposed to different things and different challenges that you don’t always get in Rugby.

And finally, can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?

I’m really scared of snakes, that’s probably something that’s not uncommon. I don’t talk about it too much - but I’m absolutely petrified of snakes.

The other thing is that I was born in Saudi Arabia. I think a lot of people know that, but some people might not.

Thanks Stephen for your time. I appreciate that you're here. See you at Suncorp on Friday!!!Thanks Tom. Good on you mate, it’s a pleasure. And it’s great to see you down here doing the interviews. I know the boys all really love doing it. It’s really nice to see you down here so often. And I think the most important thing is that you’ve been down here all the time, even when we haven’t been winning, and that’s what a real supporter is.