Fatafehi Ready For Big Season
By Peter White

North Harbour fans are in for a treat this season every time winger Alipate Fatafehi gets a chance to run with the ball.
The Tongan international winger is not just big, weighing in at 111kg and standing 190cm tall, but he is seriously quick. Fatafehi has played international Sevens for Tonga since 2005 and according to Harbour coach Jeff Wilson has the ability to take this year’s ITM Cup by storm.

Not many players outside of Otago, where he had his first taste of first class rugby under Wilson’s tutelage from 2006-2008, know anything about the talented 25-year-old. He proved just how dangerous he can be with ball in hand with limited opportunities last week against Auckland.

“I love getting the ball and running with it,” Fatafehi says. “And I also love coming up out of the line on defence and putting in some big hits, but it all takes time. It might be two or three games into the season before the fans see me at my very best.”

Fatafehi is one of the very few players in this year’s ITM Cup who has experienced playing in the white-hot intensity of South Africa’s Currie Cup.

His lightening pace for Otago in 2008 came to the attention of the Stormers in South Africa, and he was invited over to trial for the 2009 Super 14 squad. He didn’t quite make it into the squad but stayed in Cape Town and played for Western Province in the tough Currie Cup competition.

“I pulled my hamstring in 2008 and was out of rugby for five months, before coming back for the end of the season, when out of the blue completely came the call to trial for the Stormers. I really enjoyed the experience. They use the forwards a lot more over there than we do here, where at North Harbour we like to use the pace we have in the backs.”

Fatafehi’s rugby career began in Tonga but it was after he shifted to Dunedin aged 15 that his career began to take off. He says in the early days adjusting to the brutal Otago climate and the cultural differences took quite some getting used to.

“It was in 2005 and I remember arriving and it was just freezing. I turned up at the airport in just a tee shirt and a pair of shorts, just like I wear at home, and I was shocked how cold it was. But the rugby was good from the start and I played for Otago under-21 and the following year in 2006 played for the Otago NPC team.”

Fatafehi has linked up at North Harbour with his old mentor Wilson and has loved every minute of being based on the North Shore.
“The people here are great, especially up at Mahurangi where I play my club rugby,” Fatafehi says. “They were very welcoming and organised everything for me. Here at Harbour, I can’t say enough about Jeff Wilson. He has a lot to offer as a coach and I take every day as it comes as a chance to learn more and more from him. It is like a second chance for me.”

This season fronts as a crucial one in Fatafehi’s career, especially as he has a clear cut goal he is determined to achieve in 2011.
“Firstly I want to stand up for Harbour and play well for them. Hopefully I can get to play at centre as well plus get a chance to make the Super 15 next year. Tonga’s end of year tour is something special I want to be part of and of course the ultimate goal is to be part of Tonga’s World Cup squad next year.”