click here for forums

Full access to the forums and interviews on this site. It only takes a minute:

click here for free membership

Already A Member?

Login at the top of this page.

Tonga, your club London Irish are enjoying a fantastic season in the Guinness Premiership. How have the group of Island players at the club contributed to London Irish’s success?

Sometimes we are referred to as the London Islanders instead of London Irish. It’s a great environment at the club with a good mixture of Tongans, Samoans and Fijians complementing the squad. The likes of Chris Hala'ufia, Seilala Mapusua, Elvis Seveali and Sailosi Tagicakibau have been awesome for us, lighting up Premiership Stadiums with magical performances. We’re top of the table and having fun!

You are making a real impact on the Premiership, playing tighthead prop for London Irish. How are you finding playing in the UK after your time in France?

As a prop you learn every game and continue to learn as the years go by. I’m 31 now and some people say I am getting older, but tighthead props get better with age and I feel my best years are still to come. Playing in France with Pau was fantastic and I enjoyed the French lifestyle and the way they play the game out there, but when the chance came to sign for London Irish in 2006 I grabbed it with both hands. Premiership teams have some of the best tight forwards in the world, so it is a real challenge every time you hit a scrum. I love locking horns with world class loosehead props like Andrew Sheridan, Carlos Nieto and Martín Castrogiovanni and that’s the challenge playing in the UK brings.

You won your first cap for the Pacific Islands team in the victory over Italy on the 2008 tour. How did you find the tour?

I played in the last test on the tour and it was great to play with the boys. Throughout the tour we were all really laid back and chilled out and got on really well as a bunch of players from Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. As soon as we got into the games, the boys switched on and went hard out to do a job over our opposition and I was happy to play my part in the win over Italy.

After representing Australia Under 21’s, you chose to go back to the Islands and play for Tonga. Was it your heart that ruled your head when you made that decision?