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Tahs' bolter plucked from daily grind
Jamie Pandaram, March 17, 2011
''I CAN do anything through Him who gives me strength,'' believes the Waratahs' latest bolter.
So much so that John Ulugia had the biblical quotation tattooed across his sizeable back, upon which much responsibility now rests.
Ulugia (pronounced Oo-loong-eeah) heard that saying daily from his grandmother, but could not truly appreciate its message until last year when he spent eight hours a day grinding carcasses at a meat factory, his rugby career in limbo.
''Having a year off and not be paid to be a footballer, you realise how good you had it,'' said Ulugia, the 113 kilogram hooker chosen to start against the Cheetahs on Saturday night.
Dumped by the Brumbies and with little other option, Ulugia, 25, joined the club rugby circuit in Sydney and landed a job at the meat factory courtesy of a club official. It was not how he had envisioned his life would turn out.
''Having that year off matured me a lot, that woke me up,'' he said. ''I went straight out of school into a professional team environment, living the happy life, you could say.
''Then when I was released from Canberra … you have to find some other way to make ends meet. I was working for a meat company, there were a lot of early starts.
''It made me want to get back into footy. I was still pretty young and felt I had a good three or four years to play in Australia.''
An opportunity came in the Waratahs' wider training squad late last year. He was the team's third-choice hooker and does not have a full-time contract or feature in the team's media guide. But suddenly he is being thrust into the Sydney Football Stadium's spotlight.
''It is obviously a big opportunity for me to get my name out there,'' Ulugia said. ''I was pretty fortunate they only signed three hookers. When you're the third hooker in line there's always going to be an opportunity when someone did go down, especially with Super Rugby because it takes a massive toll on your body.
''I knew the time would eventually come - that time is now.''
Waratahs assistant coach Michael Foley has played an instrumental role in readying Ulugia for the battle, even though he's played more than a dozen games for the Brumbies.
''I needed someone like Michael Foley to put me back on track, a lot of credit goes to Michael Foley, he stuck with me and gave me the time of day,'' Ulugia said.
Coach Chris Hickey said: ''John's performed really well in training and in the [NSW] A games. With Tatafu [Polota-Nau] not available this week that brought Damien Fitzpatrick and John Ulugia into the equation, and we felt for this game against the Cheetahs, who have a very big front row, that starting with John was probably the best strategy.''
NSW will also field the fastest back line in the tournament this week, with Lachie Turner replacing the injured Rob Horne at outside-centre, and Atieli Pakalani coming on to the wing.
But Turner played down the speed advantage. ''We've got some pretty talented footballers, but that's not going win us the game,'' he said. ''The main focus for us is to set a platform, follow the guidelines that our senior players have come up with.
''If we get carried away with all this speed and the different changes that's where we'll come unstuck.''
One person who will be getting carried away with the change at hooker is Ulugia's grandmother, whom he describes as ''the main influence on my life''.
''Her belief in faith, she is always on her knees praying for me, day in day out,'' he said. ''What she has done for me, I want to be able to repay her.
''She has given me the willpower to be the person I am today, to be strong, to set goals higher than what you think you might achieve.''
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