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Faingaa desperate to join Wallaby twin
Wayne Smith From: The Australian May 27, 2010 12:00AM
HIS twin brother Saia appears a Wallabies certainty, his younger brother Colby left yesterday with the Australian side for the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina, but for Queensland Reds centre Anthony Faingaa the anxious wait continues.
Australia coach Robbie Deans will announce today a 30-man squad for the June inbound Tests against Fiji, England and Ireland, along with an additional 10 players being targeted at the two midweek Australian Barbarians matches against England.
And it hardly seems feasible Faingaa could miss out entirely.
Yet the only certainty about today's announcements is that some quality players will have to be passed over. Even with a dozen of the country's top players out injured, the competition for Australian squad berths is ferocious, especially among the backs.
Hence Faingaa's anxiety. He might just have completed his best Super rugby season by far, but the 23-year-old inside centre is vying for the position Quade Cooper occupied in the most recent Australian Test side, the one Matt Giteau is widely tipped to fill this winter. And of course Berrick Barnes, James O'Connor and 20-Test centre Ryan Cross are in the mix as well. What's more, all his rivals are fit, so he will have to get in the hard way.
In stark contrast, his twin brother, Reds hooker Saia , has had his path to a gold jersey made easier by injuries to Stephen Moore and Tatafu Polota-Nau. He was always expected to be included in the Wallabies squad, but as a back-up, not the presumptive Test hooker against Fiji in Canberra on Saturday week.
"I think this is the most nervous I've ever been in my life, just waiting to see if I make it," Anthony said yesterday.
It was all he could do to restrain himself from letting the ARU know he is already in Canberra visiting his family, so selecting him would save on assembly costs.
If the selectors do take a punt on him, it is more likely to be his outstanding defence that clinches the deal.
Although there are attacking weapons at Deans's disposal in just about every backline position, some -- such as Cooper and Kurtley Beale -- come with question marks over their defence.
But there are no such concerns where Anthony Faingaa is concerned. Extraordinarily, he was the Reds' most prolific tackler this season, even eclipsing All Black flanker Daniel Braid.
For a back to top the tackling stats is almost unheard of and amidst all the flashy Reds attack, Faingaa's performance largely went unrecognised.
But Faingaa, who finished the season on the sideline with a shoulder labral tear injury from which he has just been given the all-clear to resume playing, most prides himself on his attack.
"(Coach) Ewen McKenzie told me at the start of the season to work on my weaknesses, but also to stick to my strengths, which have always been in carrying the ball over the advantage line and breaking tackles," he said.
"But towards the end of the season, I started filling more of a ball-playing role to take some of the pressure off Quade."
The automatic assumption when winger Rod Davies went spearing through a gap to score a sizzling 40m try against the Hurricanes in Wellington was that it had been Cooper who had put him into the clear. In fact, it was Faingaa, and with the sweetest of no-look passes over his right shoulder.
Still, the skill area of his game is what Faingaa most wants to concentrate on, which explains why he is so desperate to force his way into the Wallabies squad.
"I look at what Robbie Deans did with Quade and Will Genia on the spring tour, taking their skills to a new level, and I'd really love to be coached by him," he said.
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