After his first start of the season in last week’s win over the Waratahs, Brumbies winger Lausii Taliauli says he is feeling great about returning to the field.
“It was a great opportunity to be back out there with the boys. It’s been pretty tough after copping another knee injury in a trial game.”
Taliauli was hurt in the Brumbies final trial game against the Waratahs, and there was some concern for him after missing a lot of time due to injury since joining the Canberra franchise in 2017.
“I was quite nervous because I knew there was something wrong with my knee at the time,” explained Taliauli.
“I was lucky enough it wasn’t anything serious, just a couple weeks setback. Now I’m back and feeling good.”
The large winger made 7 runs as well as breaking 2 tackles in his return to Super Rugby.
Improving his speed and fitness by losing 10kg was important for Taliauli, who gave some great advice when asked what his weight loss secret was.
“Mate, it was just cutting the junk food out! You know us islanders love KFC,” joked the Brumbies winger.
“It was definitely cutting the chicken out. Especially for dinner.”
This Sunday the Brumbies take on the Reds at Suncorp Stadium and Taliauli says the match will be a tough one for the Canberra based team.
“They’ve been playing some good footy, just haven’t got the results that they want.”
“They’ve definitely got a bit of speed on the outside. We’ll be wary of that and we’ve done a lot of vision so hopefully we can stop them on Sunday.”
Lausii Taliauli spent time with the Gold Coast Titans NRL team and then played Rugby Sevens before eventually making the move south to the Brumbies.
“I’m from Queensland so it’ll be good to play up in front of my family,” he said about returning to the Sunshine State.
Taliauli moved to Queensland as a young teenager and played in the Reds system growing up, giving the match extra meaning to the winger.
“It does give me some meaning just to prove something to the Reds,” he says.
“I just want to have a great game and prove to the Reds and the Brumbies what I can do.”
