Saia Fainga'a

Saia Fainga'a
Full name Saia M. Fainga'a
Date of birth (1987-02-02) 2 February 1987
Place of birth Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia[1]
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 111 kg (17 st 7 lb)
School St Edmund's College, Canberra
Notable relative(s) Anthony Fainga'a, Vili Fainga'a, Colby Fainga'a[2]
Rugby union career
Current status
Current team Queensland Reds
Playing career
Position Hooker[3]
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2007
2014–
Canberra Vikings
Queensland Country
4
5
(5)
(5)
correct as of 4 November 2015.
Super Rugby
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2006–08
2009–16
2017−
Brumbies
Reds
Brumbies
27
99
(0)
(40)
Current local club GPS
correct as of 21 July 2016.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2010–
2006
2006
2003–04
Wallabies
Australia U-19
Australia U-21
Australia Schoolboys
36
4
3
6
(0)
(0)
(0)
?
correct as of 30 November 2014.
Sevens national teams
Years Club / team Comps
2008–09 Australia Sevens ?

Saia Fainga'a (born 2 February 1987) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays Super Rugby for the Queensland Reds.[3]

Family and early life

Saia Fainga'a was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales,[1] and started playing rugby union at the age of 11 or 12 at the Queanbeyan club.[2] He was a member of the Brumbies Academy from the age of 14 and attended St Edmund's College, Canberra, where he was selected for the Australian Schools team in 2003 and 2004.[1][4]

Saia's twin brother Anthony, and younger brother's Vili and Colby are also professional rugby union players.[2] The Fainga'a's are of Tongan[5] and Aboriginal descent.[6]

Rugby career

Fainga'a made his Super 14 debut in 2006. He was fast-tracked into the Brumbies’ side due to injuriues in the squad, and played his first senior match for the Brumbies against the Stormers in Cape Town.[4] Later that year he captained the Australian Under 19s team to win the IRB World Championship in Dubai.[4] Fainga'a went on to earn 27 super rugby caps at the Brumbies from 2006 to 2008.[7] In 2008, Saia and his twin brother Anthony signed on to play with the Queensland Reds for the 2009 season. He made his Test debut for Australia in 2010 against Fiji in Canberra.[7] He played in all 18 matches of the Reds 2011 Super Rugby title-winning season, and was selected alongside his brother Anthony in the Wallabies squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where Australia took third place.[7]

Reference list

  1. 1 2 3 "Saia Fainga'a ACT Brumbies" (PDF). Territory and Municipal Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Sen, Djuro (2010), "By Hook or by Crook", Official Program, Qantas Wallabies Matchday, Australia v Ireland – Saturday, June 26, 2010, Australian Rugby Union, pp. 14–17, retrieved 24 June 2010
  3. 1 2 Phil Lutton (17 March 2010). "Two down – more signings to come, says Reds boss". Brisbane Times.
  4. 1 2 3 "Wallabies Profile". rugby.com.au. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  5. "Saia Fainga'a". ABC radio. 17 February 2010.
  6. Geddes, Jon (9 July 2009). "One Ella-va feat". The Daily Telegraph.
  7. 1 2 3 "Reds Profile". redsrugby.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
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