Fainga’a is brewing up a storm
Connacht’s Aussie flanker arrived under the radar but has had a huge impact
THERE was little fanfare when Connacht announced the signing of Colby Fainga’a last July. John Muldoon, a stalwart of the back row for the best part of 17 years, was hanging up his boots and heading across the water to take up a role on Pat Lam’s coaching team at Bristol. Their all-action Kiwi openside Jake Heenan would follow suit.
Fast forward six months and the Australian flanker is already a leading contender to be the province’s player of the season, and a future Ireland international-in waiting (he will become Irish-qualified in 2021)
The 27-year-old has been earning rave reviews in recent weeks, outshining Dan Leavy and Jordi Murphy on successive weekends during this gripping series of interprovincial derbies.
Along with inspirational captain Jarrad Butler and gnarly young No 8 Paul Boyle, Fainga’a has formed a lethal Connacht backrow — which has spearheaded a drive for third place in Conference A just behind second-placed Munster, who visit The Sportground on Saturday night.
Very much in the mould of local hero Johnny O’Connor — now the province’s fitness guru — the former Melbourne Rebels flanker punches well above his weight.
The New South Wales-born backrower went home with the man-ofthe-match award following last Friday night’s win over Ulster on the back of another sensational display when he beat eight defenders (the most of any player in round 12), as well as making 10 tackles and 15 carries.
It’s early days in his Connacht career, but Fainga’a already looks set to join the list of great Aussie imports such as John Langford, Rocky Elsom, Chris Whittaker and Paul Warwick.
When Andy Friend took over as Connacht’s head coach last summer, his first order of business was to bring his former protege to the Sportsground. Fittingly, it was Friend who handed Fainga’a his debut for the ACT Brumbies back in 2010.
Then a raw 20year-old, Fainga’a enjoyed a breakout season and was virtually ever-present in a stellar squad containing household names such as Matt Giteau, Elsom, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Stephen Moore.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, however. His first taste of top-level rugby proved to be a harrowing experience. It was a balmy night at Canberra Stadium in March of 2010 when the Brumbies took on the Waikato Chiefs.
In the 52nd minute of that Super Rugby tussle, Fainga’a was summoned from the bench to replace Michael Hooper. His first job? Tackling monstrous All Blacks No 8 Sione Lauaki.
‘I won my first Super Rugby cap off the bench,’ he once recalled.
‘I remember I came onto a midfield scrum. The No 8 on the other team was Sione Lauaki and he must have seen me running out: a young, fresh kid coming out on the field trying to prove himself. He must have seen me coming out thinking, “I’ll have a bit of that”.
‘He must have started licking his lips because as soon as I came on I saw him talking to the scrum-half. I don’t know what he was saying, but he wasn’t happy about something and he wanted to take the ball. I knew he was coming my way.
‘So he took the ball and ran down my side, stepped me then ran over the top of me and I was like: “Welcome to Super Rugby”. He didn’t miss too many tackles after that. The Brumbies have a knack of producing world-class openside flankers with David Wilson, George Smith and Hooper all learning their trade there. Smith, the legendary dreadlocked Wallabies No 7, proved the perfect mentor. The breakdown specialist would pore over footage with a young Fainga’a and was a huge influence in his development.
When Hooper moved on to the Waratahs, Fainga’a looked destined for a long career in that famous Brumbies shirt. That was until David Pocock arrived from the Western Force in 2013. He would move on to the Melbourne Rebels in 2014 and showed remarkable durability: missing just one game in his first two seasons, as well as being named the club’s players’ player of the season.
Working under former Munster coach Tony McGahan, he became a mainstay in the starting line-up, and reached a century of Super Rugby caps last season.
Weighing just under 16 stone, he is a relatively lightweight back-row forward by modern standards, but he makes up for his slight frame with an insatiable workrate and physicality.
His brothers, Anthony and Saia, have both represented the Wallabies, winning 23 and 36 caps respectively while another brother Vili has lined out for Tonga — the country of their late father’s birth.
Hooker Saia is currently on the books at London Irish while midfielder Anthony was part of the Wallabies side that went down 15-6 to Declan Kidney’s Ireland in a memorable World Cup encounter at Eden Park during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
Fainga’a’s emergence in Australia coincided with the careers of Hooper and Pocock. Many players and pundits felt he should have been in the selection mix for the Wallabies. His Rebels teammate Laurie Weeks hailed him as the best No 7 in the country last season.
Alas, Test recognition proved elusive and a phone call from Friend convinced him to up sticks and head for the west of Ireland.
He may have had a low-profile introduction to Irish rugby, but Fainga’a is looking like a blockbuster addition.