Fa’atau a familiar player facing Wellington on Saturday

Above: Afa Fa’atau with his cousins the Savea brothers earlier this year when the Blues played the Hurricanes. Photo credit: Ories Facebook 

North Harbour wing Afa Fa’atau will be a familiar face against Wellington on Saturday at Westpac Stadium, kick-off 5.35pm.

Fa’atau has been in typically good form of late. Over the past month or so the former Marist St Pat’s, Oriental-Rongotai and Wellington Lions wing has scored a hat-trick for his new club side Northcote in the North Harbour club rugby semi-finals, marked his NPC debut for North Harbour by scoring a try in a win over Counties Manukau and then featured strongly in a Ranfurly Shield defeat to Waikato.

“I’m looking forward to coming back home and playing there and lining up against Wellington and I’ll have lots of friends and family there supporting me, “he said. “If I come up against Matt Proctor [fellow St Pat’s Town old boy and Ories player] in the open I’m not sure who they’ll be cheering for, but we’ll see!”

Another former Wellington player, the Upper Hutt Rams’ Murphy Taramai, will be in North Harbour’s loose forward ranks.

Fa’atau made his NPC competition debut for North Harbour against Counties Manukau in the season opener a fortnight ago. He said he was pleased to dot down in his maiden match and get the 20-17 win.

Last week, North Harbour found themselves down 0-19 after half an hour against Waikato. They fought back to 10-19 at halftime and then just after the break it was all on when Fa’atau counterattacked 60 metres and set up a try for halfback Bryn Hall, closing the gap to 15-19. That was as close as it got though, with Waikato crossing for another 7-pointer to seal a 26-15 win.

Fa’atau said that the early deficit cost them their chance of victory and winning the Ranfurly Shield, something they’re keen to avoid happening against Wellington who can be lethal if they get their tails up.

In 2013 the then 123kg wing had also made his NPC debut for Wellington against the Steelers in the opening round, coming off the bench before halftime and creating havoc in a 55-16 win. Matt Proctor was also playing his Wellington blazer game that night at fullback. Fa’atau went on to play seven matches for the Lions that year.

He made three further appearances for the Lions in 2014, one of which was against North Harbour on their last visit to Wellington. The Lions won 58-34 that day – their only win of the season.

Oriental-Rongotai and Wellington club rugby fans were pleased late last year when it was announced, perhaps unexpectedly, that Fa’atau was heading to the Blues as a Wider Training Squad member. How did that come about?

“Last year after club rugby finished Tana Umaga called me up to ask if I wanted to go on a trip with the Blues to Malaysia and Singapore [10s and Sevens], which was like a trial for me to get into the Blues. They were pretty happy with my performance so I got the call the following week saying I was selected in the Wider Training Squad.”

Fa’atau packed his bags and headed to Auckland late last year.

Much of the first part of this year was disrupted by injuries, including a crook ankle, but he played eight games for his new North Harbour club Northcote in the North Harbour competition.

“It’s a friendly, welcoming club with a good community feel to it, similar to Ories.

“I went there because Murphy Taramai was there – at the start of the year one of my Blues squad mates Bryn Hall said that Northcote was his club and that Murphy was going there, so I decided to go there as well.”

As well as Taramai, other Northcote North Harbour players include Hall and prop Nic Mayhew.

Like Ories in Wellington this year, Northcote scraped into the Premier semi-finals. They finished fifth at the end of the 14-match round-robin and then beat fourth placed qualifier East Coast Bays 13-10 in their quarterfinal to set up a semi-final with top qualifier Takapuna who had earned a week off after the regular season.

Takapuna led 21-17 at halftime, but had to contend with a rampaging Fa'atau who added two more tries to a first half strike and they just pipped Northcote 41-39 in a thriller.

“That was a good game; we should have won that though!”

Takapuna were sufficiently rattled and they went on to lose 23-26 to Massey in the final.

The semi-final also brought back memories of the 2013 Wellington Jubilee Cup semi-final in which Ories beat Hutt Old Boys Marist 30-27 in extra time. Fa’atau scored a try that day too.

He said the 2011 Jubilee Cup final is his favourite club rugby memory. “Winning that final was really special, it was the first time that Ories had won so it stands out.”

It’s no surprise that Fa’atau is treading the professional rugby path – being related to former Wellington, Hurricanes and Samoa wing Lome Fa’atau and to the Savea brothers.

“I’m first cousins with Lome and [former rugby playing brother] Ene Fa’atau, our dads are brothers.

“Also with Julian and Ardie Savea, on my mum’s side. My mum and their dad are brother and sister.”

Current Marist St Pat’s Premier tighthead prop Frank Fa’atau is no relation - as best as the two of them know. Afa Fa’atau spent three seasons himself playing for MSP before he joined Ories in 2010.

Fa’atau’s and Taramai’s North Harbour will be up against unfavourable recent history against the Lions. Wellington has beaten North Harbour in their last nine matches in succession. North Harbour has not beaten Wellington anywhere since 2006.

Follow the 2016 Men's and Women's NPC competitions here