Saia Fainga'a facts for kids
| Birth name | Saia M. Fainga'a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 February 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 108 kg (17 st 0 lb; 238 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | St Edmund's College, Canberra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Vili Fainga'a Anthony Fainga'a Colby Fainga'a |
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Saia Fainga'a (born 2 February 1987) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He is known for playing as a hooker.
Contents
Saia's Early Life
Saia Fainga'a was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia. He started playing rugby union when he was about 11 or 12 years old. His first club was the Queanbeyan club.
Saia joined the Brumbies Academy when he was 14. This academy helps young players develop their rugby skills. He went to St Edmund's College, Canberra. While there, he was chosen for the Australian Schools team in both 2003 and 2004.
His Rugby Family
Saia comes from a family of rugby players. His twin brother, Anthony, also plays professional rugby. His younger brothers, Vili and Colby, are also professional rugby union players. The Fainga'a family has roots from Tonga, England, and Italy.
Saia's Rugby Career
Saia Fainga'a made his first big debut in 2006. He joined the Brumbies team in the Super 14 competition. He played his first senior game against the Stormers in Cape Town. Later that year, he led the Australian Under 19s team. They won the IRB World Championship in Dubai. Saia played 27 Super Rugby games for the Brumbies between 2006 and 2008.
Playing for the Reds and Wallabies
In 2008, Saia and his twin brother Anthony joined the Queensland Reds team. They played for the Reds starting in the 2009 season. Saia made his first Test match appearance for Australia in 2010. This game was against Fiji in Canberra.
He played in all 18 matches when the Reds won the 2011 Super Rugby title. Saia and his brother Anthony were both chosen for the Wallabies team. They played in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Australia finished in third place in that tournament.
Moving to England
On 2 June 2017, it was announced that Saia would move to England. He signed with London Irish, a team that had just been promoted to the Premiership. He played for London Irish until he was released from the team before the 2020–21 season.
