Brumbies giant runs with Stuart in mind
Brumbies giant runs with Stuart in mind
Bret Harris | January 29, 2009
Article from: The Australian
SITALEKI Timani received one piece of advice from coach Ricky Stuart when he played rugby league with the Sharks.
And he has not forgotten it, despite switching to rugby union: when you get the ball, put your head down and run as hard as you can.
And that is going to be a frightening prospect for teams defending against the Brumbies in the Super 14 competition.
At 202cm and 119kg, the hulking Timani is one of the biggest men in Australian rugby and he has set his sights on becoming one of the most damaging players in the game.
At Brumbies training Timani resembles a one-man wrecking crew as his teammates tire of trying to tackle him in opposed practice sessions.
"I want to play as hard as I can and try to get a starting spot," Timani said.
"I prefer the second row. I just give what I've got and play what's in front of me. I want to be noted as a hard runner."
Born in the Tongan village of Kolonga, Timani, 22, grew up playing soccer. One of his uncles, Talialeko, played soccer for Tonga in 1993. Timani was introduced to rugby union when he attended Liahona High School where his talent was recognised straight away.
After representing the Tongan Schoolboys team, Timani won a scholarship to attend Auckland Grammar, but he missed selection for the New Zealand Schoolboys team and decided to move to Australia.
Due to qualification criteria which required three years' residency, Timani was ineligible to play for any of the Australian Super 14 teams.
Switching codes, he joined the Cronulla Sharks and played in the NRL's under-20 competition before moving up to reserve grade the following year.
"Ricky Stuart came down and I learnt a lot from him," Timani said. "It was pretty tough. The training. It was different to rugby union.
"It took me a long time to learn how to play. Rugby league wasn't my game so I switched back to rugby union.
"My height ... when you are running it's easier for little guys to get under you and tackle you."
Timani returned to rugby union playing for Perth Spirit in the now defunct Australian Rugby Championship, which led to a contract with Western Force.
Despite not completing his three-year residency, Timani made his Super 14 debut for the Force against the Sharks in the first round of the 2008 season after receiving dispensation by the ARU due to the club's injury problems.
He earned three caps off the bench for the Force, playing in the second row, but Timani had grown up watching the Brumbies on television and accepted an offer to move to Canberra.
"The Brumbies have always been my club," Timani said. "George Smith (who is of Tongan descent) is my favourite player. I wanted to play with him. Last year I got an offer from the Brumbies so I took it.
"I'm very happy and excited, I can't wait to get on the field."
Timani has been named on the bench for the Brumbies' trial against the Hurricanes in Canberra tomorrow night.
Meanwhile, former Wallabies winger Clyde Rathbone will come off the bench for his first provincial match for the Brumbies in two years. Rathbone is one of eight Wallabies included in the 29-man squad.
The 27-year-old, who played the last of his 26 Tests in 2006, only returned from chronic knee problems at the end of last year's Sydney club season.
While 2008 Wallabies tourists Mark Chisholm, Peter Kimlin and Ben Alexander have been picked to start in the forward pack, Test stars Stirling Mortlock, Smith, Stephen Moore and Adam Ashley-Cooper are being rested.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
