Fa’auli heads to Japan
Well, that was some way to go out then, for Johnny Fa’auli.
Turns out the midfielder’s red carded, high, no-arms hit on the Hurricanes’ Wes Goosen in last Friday’s final-round Super Rugby match in Hamilton, which earned him a six-week ban, was his final act in Chiefs colours.
Stuff understands the 22-yearold won’t be back at the franchise next year, and is instead headed for Japanese club Toshiba on a two-year contract.
Fa’auli was off contract at the end of the season. His deal was done before his ugly shot on Goosen, so there’s no thought that that was a factor in him departing, but it does illustrate the liability he carries.
After debuting for Counties Manukau in 2015, Auckland-born Fa’auli shifted to Taranaki the following season, and while he was a threat at Mitre 10 Cup level, he found the step up to Super Rugby tougher, having gone on to play 17 games after getting a chance at the Chiefs last year.
With Charlie Ngatai and Tim Nanai-Williams off to France after this campaign it could have opened up the chance of more game time, though the Chiefs’ midfield options still include Anton Lienert-Brown, Sean Wainui, Alex Nankivell, Sam McNicol, Levi Aumua and Regan Verney.
So instead of the popular idea of heading to Japan in the offseason and returning in time for Super Rugby, it seems Fa’auli will stay through, at a Brave Lupus club where Chiefs teammate Liam Messam played recently, and whose captain is former Chief Richard Kahui.
Ironically, Fa’auli will miss the opening game of Toshiba’s Top League season because it coincides with the last day of his six-week ban – August 31.
The 1.78m, 100kg second fiveeighth will be an intimidating force among a smaller playing group in that competition, but the wrecking-ball defender also has the propensity to either slip off a tackle or get it so badly wrong that it lands him in hot water.
Fa’auli also last year copped a four-week ban for a high tackle against the Bulls. Even on return from that one he had admitted in an interview with Stuff that he had been trying to change his technique for the better.
‘‘My default’s to go up high on the body,’’ Fa’auli said at the time.
‘‘It was always a habit to go up like chest height, but anything could slip up, it’s easier to get penalised these days. So you’ve got to have it at the back of your head, that the consequences are pretty severe – and you don’t want to again get a red card or compromise your team.
‘‘It’s easy to do it at training, because you’re thinking about it. In the game it’s quite a different thing, because there’s heaps of things going on and you’ve got to listen and you’ve got to react to whatever picture comes.’’
Then, after poleaxing Reds No 8 Caleb Timu this season in what would be a ‘hit of the year’ contender, Fa’auli said in another interview with Stuff his menacing style of play came from his father. ‘‘Being a Pacific Islander, he’s a tough, short, stocky boy. He likes the physical stuff,’’ he had said.
‘‘He loves Brian Lima. And Ma’a Nonu and Tana Umaga. They’re all physical players, so he tried to bring me up as a physical player. I used to tackle him when I was young, around nine or 10. I used to enjoy that.’’
‘‘My default’s to go up high on the body.’’