Solomon still star struck
Solomon Alaimalo admits he’s still star struck by some of his teammates at the Chiefs.
The names ‘‘Liam Messam, Tim Nanai-Williams, Beaver [Stephen Donald]’’ are reeled off the 21-yearold’s tongue as players he used to watch and idolise as a kid, while growing up in Christchurch.
Now, after just one season of Mitre 10 Cup, this Northland nobody still can’t quite believe he’s sharing a gym or a paddock with them, as he makes his own name in the game, thanks to an increased presence in a Chiefs side which will resume Super Rugby action this weekend.
Following the international break, the Chiefs resume with a final-round regular season match against the Brumbies in Hamilton on Saturday evening, and Alaimalo will likely again be named to start on the wing, having shown some star touches in the team’s last couple of outings - on the right flank in the win over the Hurricanes in Wellington on June 9 and then on the left against the British and Irish Lions on June 20.
It was fullback where Alaimalo chiefly featured for Northland, but he’s become a handy option out wide for the Chiefs, where his big, dynamic 1.96m, 99kg frame has been utilised as a fine weapon close to the touchline.
But he’s by no means just a crash-bash sort, it’s nifty footwork which has certainly helped his progress, and while Alaimalo’s had the height for some time, he’s had to beef up during the year, with ‘‘a lot of eating’’ done to add around 7kg to what was a pretty lean figure which turned up in Hamilton on a two-year contract.
Just getting the chance to be in a fully professional environment was the pinch-yourself moment for the St Bede’s College boy, who remained down south for three years post-school but said things ‘‘didn’t quite work out’’ there.
That saw him head to Melbourne for a couple of months to be with family, and while there were thoughts of playing rugby there, he ‘‘didn’t feel it’’, and instead took his chances at Northland.
‘‘One of my coaches from down in Christchurch, he has a role up there, and he just said to come back, play some club footy, and if I was good enough that I’d get a con- tract,’’ Alaimalo said. ‘‘So I just backed myself to come back.’’
That box was well ticked, with Alaimalo’s efforts for the Otamatea Hawks then seeing him progress to playing all but six minutes of Northland’s tough NPC campaign (one win from 10), and being a shining light.
‘‘I was real happy with how it went,’’ he said.
But never in his wildest thoughts was that Super Rugby would come calling.
‘‘It was part of my goals, I just didn’t think that it would happen that fast - one year of Mitre 10 and then jumping into that,’’ he said. ‘‘But I was just real stoked when it happened, just surreal.
‘‘Dave Rennie called my Mitre 10 [assistant] coach, Dale [McLeod], who I’m pretty close to, and it was a day before my last game, so I was real happy, my family knew and stuff.’’
Alaimalo said he viewed the chance to go to work alongside some veterans of the game as invaluable. ’’I’m still a bit star struck now, getting to train with the calibre of players we do,’’ he said. ‘‘Getting to rub shoulders with them and kicking a seed with them is unreal.’’
Having to bide his time, Alaimalo was handed a debut in round four due to James Lowe’s injury, and it worked out well being against the Rebels in Melbourne, with his family able to attend. The only sour note in the win being a yellow card for a tip tackle - ‘‘[it was a] pretty stupid thing for me to do, the boys gave me stick about it’’.
Since then, there have been three bench cameos and three more starts, against the Sunwolves - who he nabbed his maiden try against - Hurricanes and the touring Lions, with Toni Pulu’s knee injury and Sam McNicol’s concussion now opening the door for Alaimalo to stamp his mark further at this business end of the season.
‘‘It’s pretty competitive, so it’s good, but at the same time guys like James Lowe, Toni Pulu, they really help me, especially being first-year,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s all for the good of the game and the team, really.’’