My Life in Rugby with Junior Paramore: ‘Nothing comes easy in life…You have to work’
52638312
The former Samoa, Bedford and Gloucester number eight talks about his life in the game
GROWING up, I preferred indoor sports; I only played basketball and volleyball until we moved to New Zealand when I was a teenager. I was scouted out by the rugby coach at Hillary College when he saw me jump and do a slam dunk and he recognised my potential for rugby as a lineout jumper. I was reluctant at first. I know it's probably hard for people who saw me play to believe this, but I did not want to get smashed. I had to have a word with myself because I knew if I didn't toughen myself up, I would get walked over.
I still remember my first game for the school's first XV, it was against De La Salle in Auckland. I jumped up for the ball and passed it to the scrum-half and thought, ‘that's my job done now'. It's fair to say, it took me a while to learn rugby and what my role was all about! After that, my rugby education continued at East Tamaki and Manurewa Rugby Clubs and I started to get some representative rugby under my belt, for Auckland U20s and for Counties, the same provincial team as Jonah Lomu.
My first involvement with Manu Samoa was through sevens. I was spotted whilst playing back home for Apia and Moata'a, my grandmother's village in Samoa, so to go from there to the Hong Kong 7s, one of the biggest rugby events in the world, was a big deal. After that, it all happened so quickly. I played in the Pacific Nations Cup in the buildup to the 1991 World Cup and was then fortunate enough to be selected for the tournament itself despite only having a couple of caps.
At the World Cup, I started the game against Australia at Pontypool. It was a miserable day, the rain poured down, and as you can probably imagine with the 9-3 scoreline, the match wasn't a great spectacle. It was proper ‘up-the-jumper' rugby, not how we normally play. But the big thing for me was the honour of representing Manu Samoa and all the people back at home.
The whole squad was in good spirits anyway after our win against Wales on our World Cup debut. It might have come as a shock to the rest of the world, but everyone connected with New Zealand rugby knew what we were about because a lot of us had been playing there for some time. We were still confident we could reach the quarter-finals, and we did, which was amazing.
I didn't play in that game against Scotland, but I was fortunate to experience playing at two more World Cups with Manu Samoa – as well as the 1993 Sevens World Cup for New Zealand. The World Cup in 1995 was amazing, not only for the rugby but to see with my own eyes how South Africa came together as a country and what had happened in the past put behind them. For us to make another quarter-final was like a dream come true. We were drawn against South Africa and the noise from the Ellis Park crowd was just incredible; you had to try your hardest to block it out, which
“S Africa's Francois Pienaar has to be one of my toughest opponents ever” was easier said than done when the locals' favourite, Chester Williams, scored four tries against us. Those South African boys are tough; Francois Pienaar has to be one of my toughest opponents ever.
Playing at a World Cup was such a big opportunity for all Pacific islands players, especially after the game went professional. But my first professional contract was actually in rugby league, with the new Super League franchise Hunter Mariners in Australia. But before the season started, a court ruling against Super League meant all players had to return to their NRL teams which left us rugby union converts without clubs. So we had to take up offers from other clubs, and I chose Castleford Tigers in the UK – on a season-long loan in the newly-formed Super League – over the other three Aussie clubs. I scored within two minutes of my home debut against Warrington so I'd like to think that helped me to settle. Nearly 30 years later, I'm still in the UK. It took me a while to understand the Yorkshire dialect but I got there in the end. I went over with my girlfriend, who is now my wife, and we loved finding out about another culture.
Just before I was due to return to Australia at the end of the 1996 Super League season, I was offered the chance to join Bedford when rugby union turned professional. It was great to get the Division 2 Player of the Year award at the end of my second season, the year we got promoted. That same season (1997/98), Pat Lam got the Premiership Player of the Year award, so that was nice for Samoan rugby, to have two players recognised in that way. Pat was one of the few other Islanders I knew in England. Inga Tuigamala was all the way up in Newcastle, and a few of the other boys were in rugby league which, of course, meant they were all up north too. Pat and I have known each other since the 80s and it's great to be working with him now at Bristol Bears, where I've been kit manager for the past five years.
At the 1999 World Cup, we beat Wales again. I started the match but I pulled my calf muscle in the first 10 minutes and I was subbed off and I didn't play again that tournament. In fact, I didn't play for anyone for a while as I had neck surgery and that delayed my debut for Gloucester, who I'd joined from Bedford for the 1999/2000 season. Five years at Gloucester, I played with my cousin Terry Fanolua, and saw many more of the southern hemisphere players making the move to England.
I loved my time at Gloucester, and I didn't want it to come to an end. The supporters, the people are so passionate about rugby and everyone welcomed us with open arms. We were playing some good rugby and won the Powergen Cup against Northampton. We topped the table by a mile the next year but lost the Premiership final, which was very, very disappointing. It wasn't really great that we hadn't had a game for weeks leading up to that final, but that is all history now and Wasps were better on the day.
Rudolph Straeuli rang me at the end of that season and I went back to Bedford. He is a really nice fella, a family friend, and looked after me and my family. I've got four children and my two eldest daughters were born in the town so it was good to go back there. The Bedford supporters were special as well, passionate and loyal, similar to Gloucester.
Whilst my playing days were coming to an end, my coaching career started there in Bedford as player-coach, and later on, I had spells at Luton, Bournemouth and Basingstoke, as well as coaching at Canford School in Dorset. I did my Level, 1, 2 and 3 badges but I jumped at the chance when the opportunity to become kit manager at Bristol came up. I have always liked the physical side of work, as well as getting back into the professional rugby life, and I get a buzz from assisting the players and staff with everything they need and enjoy speaking with them over lunch or a coffee.
Looking back, I have no regrets about my career. I always thank the Lord for giving me the blessing and the talent to play rugby and to be paid for doing something that I love. Without that, I wouldn't have played in three World Cups, or been able to live in England and help my family out. Before rugby went professional, I was a shift worker in a warehouse for Fisher & Paykel (electrical appliances) in Auckland. I used to have to go to work at 5.30am and my dad would wake me up at 4am to make sure I went for a run first. It was hard work, loading up all the trucks for delivery but, ultimately, the rewards were worth it.
Dad was a really good role model for me and my family. He was always there, always supportive, and would make sure I stayed humble. I remember coming home one day and saying I got man of the match, and he told me I still wasn't fit enough. That's dads for you, and I hope my son, Peter Tamatoa, would say the same about me. He's a 6'5 lock and is doing really, really well at Hartpury University. He might not have to get up at 4am to do his fitness work but I keep reminding him and my three girls, that nothing comes easy in life, you have to work for it.
