Salesi Ma'afu

Prop Salesi Ma’afu has returned to CA Brumbies pre-season training after representing the Barbarians in the Gartmore Challenge against South Africa at Twickenham last month. The Barbarians defeated the Rugby World Cup Champions 22-5. Following his Barbarians involvement Ma’afu spent three weeks at English club Leicester. Brumby Jack caught up with Ma’afu on his return to CA Brumbies training.

Brumby Jack: How would you sum up your experience of training and playing with the Barbarians squad against the Springboks?
Salesi Ma’afu: It’s been a great experience for me. The whole week leading up to the match and the match itself was such a great occasion and great to be part of. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to train and play alongside so many world class players and I took a lot away from that.

BJ: What was it like playing at Twickenham?
SM: It’s hard to describe. I just tried to soak up the atmosphere as much as I could early on. It was somewhere I’ve always watched as a kid growing up and following the game but to actually run out there myself as part of a big match was very special.

BJ: How tough was it playing against the recently crowned Rugby World Cup Champions, the Springboks?
SM: They were always going to be tough. They’re a very solid side upfront with a big forward pack and they’ve got some very quick backs out wide. Our game plan was to shut them down at the set piece and not give their forwards any go forward. We stuck to the game plan and our defence was very good on the day which led to a very special result.

BJ: How did it compare to what you’ve experienced in Investec Super 14?
SM: It was different. There aren’t too many Super 14 games that have that many international players on the field at once. The impact and the speed of the game was a lot quicker. But having those players playing together essentially made it like an international and as a result the hits were a lot harder and we had to run longer.

BJ: What has it done for your confidence leading into this year’s Investec Super 14 season?
SM: It’s given me a lot of confidence leading into the season. It’s given me confidence in the set piece and I learned a lot from the forwards that I had packing in around me in the Baa-Baa’s game. I hope that I can use all the stuff I’ve learnt while I was away and that it will benefit me and the Brumbies this season.

BJ: You spent a bit of time with Leicester afterwards and getting a taste of Northern Hemisphere rugby. What did you take out of that experience?
SM: The Leicester experience was great. It was a very different rugby environment from what we have over here, in terms of facilities, training and the weather has a lot to do with it as well. Being a prop forward I learned a lot in how to get ahead with my scrummaging and a few other general tips that I will look to add to my game in Super 14 and any other level I get to play. But I learned a lot during my time in Leicester and they were a great bunch of blokes.