2008 Match Program Q & A - Timana Tahu
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GIVE ME FIVE...
Match: HSBC Waratahs v Hurricanes
Date: February 16, 2008
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HSBC Waratahs star recruit Timana Tahu has made an impression already but he reckons it will take him five Super 14 matches to find his Rugby feet
HE WANTS to walk softly and carry a big stick. No fanfare, no media hype, just lots of substance and lots of victories. It’s been the way that Timana Tahu has done things since he first burst on to the NRL scene as a teenage sensation with the Newcastle Knights. His coaches say he is fast learner and if the hit he put on Mose Tuiali’i in the Rotomahana Challenge is any indication, he’s going to be a huge hit.
WARATAHS MATCH PROGRAM: Are your three kids fans of the HSBC Waratahs already?
TIMANA TAHU: Not yet, my boy Tom is confused, because he’s a heavy Parramatta supporter. He gives it to me all the time, asking why I’d leave the Eels. He speaks his mind and he’s a bit of a character. The kids aren’t sure of the difference between league or union at the moment, but my missus bought the boy an All Black jersey and he loves them, so there’s going to be a lot of fights there because my daughters follow whatever I do, Daddy’s little girls. If I do make the Wallabies Tom would still go for the All Blacks and give it to me. Probably won’t talk to me. I gave him a Parramatta poster when I was at the Eels and he put it up on the wall straight away. His favourite player was Jarred Hayne, and on the poster after every game if you had a bad game in his eyes he’d get a texta out and scribble your face out. I was one of the first to go. At the end of three rounds everyone except Jarred Hayne was scribbled out. I haven’t given him a Waratahs poster yet though, but I will and we’ll see how the team goes in his eyes this year. It will be interesting to see how long I last.
WMP: How different have you found playing union to playing league?
TT: People try and compare the sports all the time, I reckon they are completely different. In league the backs and forwards are ending up about the same size, and it was do your job, then get back out on the wing or out in the centres, but in union I feel it’s better because you play on both sides, you can end up anywhere on the field, you could be playing 10 first receiver off the ruck, end up catching the ball at fullback, you’ve got to be more versatile playing union. And I like that because you need more skills. And in union the forwards are humungous and the backs are just like backs. So there’s more chance to attack in union, which I enjoy. In league it was hard to find space where in union already I’ve found space a couple of times.
WMP: How big an issue is size?
TT: Very. I haven’t met too many 6 foot 8 guys in league. I think Brad Thorn was the only big fella I ran into out on the field in league, and he was just a man playing around with little kids out there. When I played against the Crusaders he was the same height as everyone else. I thought the Crusaders blokes were pretty big but I’ve heard about the South Africans. I’ve heard of Bakkies Botha, he’s a big human. I’ve seen him on TV and he looks like Ivan Drago out of Rocky or something.
WMP: How long do you think it will take you to adjust?
TT: I still sometimes think I have to run back 10. I’m over the play the ball because as soon as you’re tackled you see people coming. Probably the hardest bit is being in the mauls and trying to get the ball, so there are little things, structural things I need to learn. I give it probably five games into the season to get things working right. I think I’ll watch Lote, and I think I might be passed from wing to centres during the year so he’ll be a good one to watch. Lote gets involved quick and knows his timings, when to get in there, so if I watch him and get those right I should be okay. And I’ve been warned about the shoulder charges enough as well.
WMP: How have you handled being at the bottom of a maul?
TT: There’s a lot of stuff in union they can get away which I’ve found. Against the Crusaders I saw them do a lot of cheeky stuff behind the scenes, but I’m starting to get used to those little tricks and that. Little niggles, shoves and pushes, and they grab you, and in those mauls it’s open season. They tear into it because there’re bodies on top of them, covering up.
WMP: When did you start to consider crossing codes?
TT: The first time I really thought about it was around the Rugby World Cup in 2003. That year I was watching all the games and I talked to my old man (Tom) and asked him what he thought, because I was starting to get interested about coming over. I asked him if he thought I would go alright, he said he thought I would and said to have a go. Of course he was an All Black supporter, he was a backrower, a lot bigger and heavier than me, just one of those Maori type builds. I’m tiny compared to him. I’ve got more of the Koori side in me, the skinny, quick side.
WMP: So why did it take you a few years to finally make the move?
TT: From that talk with the old man I had a talk with the Brumbies before Parramatta. I was still at Newcastle but I was keen to go over to union then, but I met with Brian Smith and he pointed out one or two weaknesses he said he could fix in my game.
WMP: Your team-mates reckon you could sit still for hours and not say a word?
TT: I’m not a bloke who likes chatting or talking in meetings and during training. I’m more of a listener and I like getting told what we need to do then going out there and doing it. I like to listen to the captain or the coach and then get on with it.
WMP: You had a tough upbringing, moving around a lot. How has that influenced you?
TT: I know how tough it is out there in the country and for kids in those hostels. I try to stay in touch and do a bit in the Aboriginal communities because I’ve grown up around the Koori side of my heritage. I know how easy it is to get influenced into drugs and drinking and ending up in jail. There’s only a few indigenous kids who make it. You get that peer pressure from family and aunties and uncles who may not have taken the right road. I think family members in general, mums, dads, aunties and uncles, are the real role models. People say sports people are role models, and they can be, but what you see at home is what you do. They’re the main role models and I try to tell the kids that you don’t have to be that way if your mum ad dad aunties or uncles or whatever are not doing the right thing, drinking and taking drugs, and this isn’t just in Aboriginal communities it’s everywhere.
WMP: Do you see yourself as lucky?
TT: Probably more grateful that I’ve had good people in my life, a lot of people who have supported me and shown me the right track. That was probably the best thing in my life. But in the end people can’t tell you what to do when you’re out there training or whatever, you can give up straight away if you want to. I’ve seen a lot of good players under pressure playing football and training and they couldn’t handle it and have gone back to the easy life, whereas around me I’ve had mentally tough people, through my league days, that taught me how to be mentally tough. And probably because of my upbringing being tossed around with different families and things like that, it taught me how to live a better life and I think that’s probably the main reason I’m here. You have to make choices about where you want to go and who you want to be in life.
TEN ON THE SIDE ...
- If I wasn’t a Rugby player I’d be a bludger
- People think I look like I’ve been told Brad Pitt but my wife said that was way off.
- I think Will Caldwell is funny because he’s always got a few one liners and he can laugh at himself.
- The best game I’ve seen is State of Origin in general
- The last book I’ve read is whatever is lying around the house, usually magazines though.
- In 20 years’ time I’d like to be retired and watching my kids growing up.
- I couldn’t live without my wife and three kids.
- My worst habit is leaving clothes lying around.
- You wouldn’t know it but I’m good at Yo-Yo. Rock the Cradle, Round the World, Walk the Dog. My kids usually think I’m lame but the Yo-Yo gave me some respect.
- The non-sportsman I would most like to put a big hit on is Arnold Schwarzenegger, as long as I could run away pretty quickly afterwards.