Q&A with Brumbies hooker Folau Fainga'a

With this week’s introduction to Folau Fainga’a, who is known as one of the Brumbies’ jokesters in the locker room, we decided to slightly alter some of the questions.

The Brumbies hooker experienced a bit of a whirlwind to begin his professional career after making his Super Rugby debut off the bench against the Melbourne Rebels in 2018. A little more than five months later, he was wearing a gold jersey for the Wallabies against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

Fainga’a is known for his dominance in rolling mauls that saw him equal Malcolm Marx’s record of 12 tries for a forward in a single Super Rugby season in 2019.

The 24-year-old proved a dominant force for the Brumbies in 2020 when he crossed for a hat-trick of tries against the Highlanders back in February, before injury and COVID-19 interrupted his campaign.

Let’s see what the Brumbies star has to say:

1. Favourite thing to do to unwind in Canberra and why?

A: Play golf with the boys, and follow my uncle [professional golfer] Tony Finau.

2. Must see places in Canberra for visitors?

A: I always take new visitors to places such as the War Memorial and on some of the awesome walks around the city. At the moment we’re doing a fair few runs up the local mountain reserves, which is keeping us fit. Sometimes we stop off at Lonsdale Street [Braddon] for a cold one on a hot afternoon.

3. Favourite thing about Canberra and why?

A: I love how chilled and relaxed everything is and how easy it is to drive from A to B.

4. Go-to coffee order?

A: Double-shot almond milk flat white.

5. Best memory of your time with the Brumbies?

A: Definitely debuting, playing my first Super Rugby game in Plus500 Brumbies threads.

6. If you were stuck on a deserted island with one other Brumbies player, who would you choose and why?

A: Definitely Solomone Kata – only island boys know how to survive on islands!

7. Teammate who should be TV’s next Bachelor/Bachelorette and why?

A: Big Daawwgg [Scott Sio]. The bloke is about 30 and needs a partner!

8. What are you finding hardest about isolation and why?

A: Not knowing when our next game is going to be played and when we can see all our supporters out at GIO Stadium again.

9. If you could have a superpower what would it be and why?

A: Healing powers to heal all my injuries.

10. Describe your debut for the Brumbies? How did you feel and what do you remember about the match?

A: It was in 2018 against the Rebels in Melbourne and I was named on the bench. Just before halftime, Bongo [Josh Mann-Rea] was hit while pilfering and I saw him on the ground grabbing his hamstring. I got up immediately and started stretching and warming up, but the ball got kicked out and we went into the sheds. I remember Lord [assistant coach Laurie Fisher] giving me the nod and saying, “You’re up, mate.” I also remember being incredibly nervous when the game got back underway and I blew my gasket in the first five to 10 minutes going too hard. I remember my first lineout was pre-called and Joey Powell gave me the nod to try fake the opposition, [but] I threw it to him and stuffed the set play!

Look out for next week’s Q&A with Brumbies Super W co-captain Jane Garraway.