Saia Fainga'a facts for kids
| Birth name | Saia M. Fainga'a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Saia Fainga'a (born 2 February 1987) is an Australian professional rugby union player. He is known for playing as a hooker. Saia has played for top teams like the Brumbies and Queensland Reds in Australia, and also for London Irish in England. He has also proudly represented his country, Australia, as a Wallaby.
Family and 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. He went to St Edmund's College, Canberra. While at school, he was chosen to play for the Australian Schools team in both 2003 and 2004.
Saia has three brothers who are also professional rugby players. His twin brother is Anthony. His younger brothers are Vili and Colby. The Fainga'a family has roots from Tonga, England, and Italy.
Rugby Career Highlights
Saia Fainga'a made his first big debut in the Super 14 competition in 2006. He joined the Brumbies team quickly because other players were injured. His first senior game for the Brumbies was against the Stormers in Cape Town.
Later in 2006, Saia became captain of the Australian Under 19s team. He led them to win the IRB World Championship in Dubai. From 2006 to 2008, he played 27 Super Rugby games for the Brumbies.
In 2008, Saia and his twin brother Anthony joined the Queensland Reds team. Saia made his first Test match appearance for Australia in 2010. This game was against Fiji in Canberra.
He played in every one of the 18 matches during the Reds' amazing 2011 Super Rugby season. The Reds won the championship that year. Saia and his brother Anthony were both chosen for the Wallabies team. They played in the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where Australia finished in third place.
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 top league. He left the club before the 2020–21 season.
