Breakfast with Wallaby Legends, Roger Gould and Anthony Faingaa
Stars such as David Campese and Mark Ella may have grabbed the headlines, but the rock on which Australia's successes in the mid 1980s were built was long limbed fullback Roger Gould. Tall, strong and mentally resilient, Roger's career spanned seven years, during which time he won 25 caps and scored 86 points. The enigmatic Alan Jones, Australia's coach for much of that period, was so convinced of Gould's importance to the side that he was to bring him out of international exile in 1984 stating he was "Just a remarkable lynch pin in all our endeavours." If the Queenslander had a weakness it was his tendency to be injury prone, and but for many setbacks of this nature he would have won many more caps and perhaps have joined his contempary Simon Poidevin in landing a world cup medal in 1991. He was also one of the last players to use the outmoded "toe end" style of goal kicking, and this lead to occasional lapses with the boot, notably against the All Blacks in 1984.
Roger's first taste of the international scene came in 1978, at the age of 21, when he was picked for the tour to New Zealand, but injury and illness prevented him from making his debut. His chance eventually came two years later and he played superbly in the first test against the All Blacks. Indeed, Roger appeared so relaxed and in control during the game that he might have easily been heading out for a lazy day in the surf rather than a blood and guts encounter against the fiercest opponents in world rugby. With Australia's new look back line hitting peak form and Gould's mighty clearance kicks reaching the heavens, the Wallabies took the game 13-9. Roger's summing up of his debut was like the man, modest and uncomplicated: "We just went out there and played the footie - a few things came off." The series was won 2-1, a perfect way for Australia to start the decade.
From Sporting Heroes
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Anthony Fainga'a was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, and started playing rugby league as a five-year-old with the Queanbeyan Kangaroos. He attended St. Edmund's College where he first represented the school's 1st XV aged 15. He was selected as vice-captain of the Australian Schools team in 2004.[2]
Anthony's twin brother Saia, and younger brothers Vili and Colby are also professional rugby union players. The Fainga'a's are of Tongan and Aboriginal descent.[3]
Rugby career
Fainga'a was vice captain of the World Championship-winning Australian Under 19's in 2006. He sealed Australia's 17–13 Under 19 final win over New Zealand with a late drop goal and was later nominated for the International Rugby Board's Under 19 Player of the Year. He also represented the Australian Under 21s in 2006.[1]
Fainga'a made his Super 14 debut for the Brumbies against the Bulls in 2007 after recovering from a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot and added a further two caps during the season, coming off the bench against the Stormers and Sharks.[2]
A confident ball player and punishing defender, Fainga'a was called into the Australian Sevens side for the final two tournaments of the 2007 World Series in London and Edinburgh.[1] He played in all eight matches for the Canberra Vikings in the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship, taking on the goal kicking duties at the back end of the season.[1]
In 2008, Anthony and his twin brother Saia signed on with Queensland Reds for the 2009 season. He joined the Reds Development Tour to Ireland and France at the end of 2008 and made his full Reds debut in 2009. At the start of the 2010 season, he lined up as the Reds' starting No. 12.[4]
Fainga'a made his test debut for Australia against the All Blacks in Melbourne in 2010. He played in 16 matches of the Reds 2011 Super Rugby title-winning season in including the semi-final win over the Blues and final victory over the Crusaders. He was selected alongside his brother Saia in the Wallabies squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where Australia took third place.[2]
Source: Wikipedia
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