LEINSTER FAITH IS TESTED
Province’s rising young stars may have more to offer than new Wallaby import
Tomane had a shocker in his first competitive outing in Cardiff last weekend
JOE TOMANE has a tattoo on his stomach, a Bible verse which reads: ‘I can do all this through him who gives me strength.’
It is one of a collection of markings inked onto his skin to reflect his Christianity, but that inscription from Philippians 4:13 is his favourite — the mission statement that fuels Tomane in his life and career.
The role of religion in sport is a contentious one — referencing the Almighty as the force behind sporting endeavours creates an uncomfortable conundrum over why a higher power would favour one individual, or team, over another.
However, faith as a motivating factor works for many top level athletes (recently retired Ulster and Ireland winger Andrew Trimble tapped into his Christianity to spur him on) and Tomane wears his as a badge of honour.
In fact, the 28-year-old credits his faith with pulling him back from the abyss after a period where he admits he was ‘consumed by the world’.
Born in Palmerstown North in New Zealand, of Cook Islands and Samoan heritage, Tomane moved to Brisbane when he was three and played both rugby codes in his school years — representing the Australian Schoolboys union side in 2007.
It was then he decided he wanted the profile and rewards that go with a rugby league career in Australia (where the sport is far more popular than union) but after initial success with the Melbourne Storm, Tomane, who became a young father around the same time, suffered a loss of form and focus to the point where he was on the brink of giving up altogether.
‘I was at the lowest point of my career when I realised I needed a lifestyle change... I wanted to gain my faith back,’ said Tomane of that difficult time.
‘When I started playing I was consumed by the world. I wanted money, wealth and only for myself, not for God. Now I don’t play to glorify myself, it’s all about Him.’
Redemption came via a switch back to union and a Super Rugby contract with the Brumbies in 2012. There his impact was so swift that, after only 10 games, he was called up to the Wallabies squad, going on to win 17 caps over the next three years (all on the wing).
Having been a fringe member of the 2015 World Cup squad, Tomane decided to take up a lucrative Top 14 contract with Montpellier in 2016 where he enjoyed mixed success until approaching Leinster at the end of last season and being signed by Leo Cullen as a, nominal, replacement for retiring legend Isa Nacewa.
That is the back story, so what can Leinster and their supporters expect from Tomane this season?
His style is not as nuanced as Nacewa but, on paper, he should be a hit. The CV is impressive (a try-scoring record of 25 from 68 Super Rugby appearances is more than healthy) as are his speed and size (6ft2in, 16st).
However, Tomane had a shocker in his first competitive outing last weekend in Cardiff. While allow- ance must be made for Tomane finding his feet in a new environment, a player of his build being so regularly stripped of possession was not encouraging while his defence also left a lot to be desired.
However, the most arresting feature of his display against Cardiff was how unfavourably the Wallaby measured up to less heralded homegrown talents around him — badly shown up by the likes of Ross Byrne and Rory O’Loughlin in terms of basic skills and application.
It leads to the intriguing question as to whether Irish rugby, and Leinster in particular, have progressed to the point where indigenous youngsters coming through are as good as, if not better, than high-profile imports brought in to, supposedly, improve them? Ten or 15 years ago, marquee southern hemisphere imports ar-rived imbued with abilities superior to the Irish players around them and a significant part of their brief was to impart those skills to team-mates to raise the overall standard. That was certainly the case with Nacewa, or Doug Howlett in Munster, while in the current squad, Scott Fardy and Jamison Gibson-Park proved themselves essential to the Leinster cause as the province landed the Pro14-Champions Cup double last season.
Nacewa played a vital role when the Ireland internationals were away and was a nailed-on starter when they returned — just as Fardy did in the pack last season.
However, the early evidence suggests that Tomane would have little chance of gaining selection in the centre when the likes of Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw are back in the mix while the back three is overflowing with quality options.
His Samoan passport means he will not be a victim of the Champions Cup rule stipulating that only two non-European players can be used in a match squad but his availability may not be relevant in any case.
By rights, Tomane’s experience should make him a Pro14 staple, at least, but he will need to perform consistently to justify compromising the development of Leinster talent such as Tom Daly, Conor, O’Brien or Gavin Mullin.
The early signs may not be encouraging but he deserves time to prove himself — a point made stridently by Leinster assistant coach John Fogarty this week.
‘No, I don’t think he had a shocking game,’ said Fogarty. ‘Leo knows Joe very, very well, and he knows what makes him tick and that’s why he got him in here. It’s disappointing, those individual errors, but those little things can be tightened up.’ We will see. It would be wrong to write Tomane off too soon — even though he approached Leinster, the province are not in the habit of making random signings on the basis of availability without doing their homework.
But, to avoid joining Irish rugby’s expanding list of unneeded imports, Joe Tomane urgently needs to find some inspiration — divine or otherwise.