Anthony Fainga'a (born 2 February 1987) is an Australian former professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. His usual position is centre.

Family and early life

Anthony Fainga'a was born in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, and started playing rugby league as a five-year-old with the Queanbeyan Kangaroos. He attended St. Edmund's College where he first represented the school's 1st XV aged 15. He was selected as vice-captain of the Australian Schools team in 2004. Anthony's twin brother Saia, and younger brothers Vili and Colby are also professional rugby union players. The Fainga'a's are of Tongan and Aboriginal descent.

Rugby career

Fainga'a was vice captain of the World Championship-winning Australian Under 19's in 2006. He sealed Australia's 17–13 Under 19 final win over New Zealand with a late drop goal and was later nominated for the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

's Under 19 Player of the Year. He also represented the Australian Under 21s in 2006. Fainga'a made his Super 14 debut for the Brumbies against the Bulls in 2007 after recovering from a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot and added a further two caps during the season, coming off the bench against the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

and Sharks. A confident ball player and punishing defender, Fainga'a was called into the Australian Sevens side for the final two tournaments of the 2007 World Series in London and Edinburgh. He played in all eight matches for the Canberra Vikings in the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship, taking on the goal kicking duties at the back end of the season. In 2008, Anthony and his twin brother Saia signed on with Queensland Reds for the 2009 season. He joined the Reds Development Tour to Ireland and France at the end of 2008 and made his full Reds debut in 2009. At the start of the 2010 season, he lined up as the Reds' starting No. 12. Fainga'a made his test debut for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

against the All Blacks in Melbourne in 2010. He played in 16 matches of the Reds 2011 Super Rugby title-winning season in including the semi-final win over the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and final victory over the Crusaders. He was selected alongside his brother Saia in the Wallabies squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where Australia took third place.

Reference list

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fainga'a, Anthony 1987 births Living people Australian rugby union players Indigenous Australian rugby union players 21st-century Indigenous Australian people ACT Brumbies players Queensland Reds players Queensland Country (NRC team) players Rugby union centres Australia international rugby union players Australian sportspeople of Tongan descent Sportspeople from Queanbeyan Hanazono Kintetsu Liners players Australian expatriate rugby union players in Japan Rugby union players from New South Wales 2011 Rugby World Cup players People educated at St Edmund's College, Canberra 21st-century Australian sportsmen