Peter Fatialofa tells the Truth!

10 August 2014

Another Peter Fatialofa story; this one from well-known New Zealand author, columnist and broadcaster Phil Gifford.

As Phil tells it; 'One time Peter and I were both speaking at the same sports dinner. In Peter's speech he also decided to hark back to the great win by Samoa over Wales in 1991 at the Rugby World Cup. He told the dinner; 'When I gave my final team talk to the boys before the game that day I told them I myself was prepared to do anything for victory in the game, 'to break an arm, break a leg or even break my neck in order to win.'

Phil Gifford said the sincerity of Peter's speech went down really well with the dinner crowd.

But when the two men were driving to the airport afterwards Fats leaned over to Phil and whispered, 'You know I wasn't completely honest with that speech back there. When I said that I had told the team I was prepared to break an arm or a leg or my neck to win, well, I was bullshitting about the neck!'

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2 July 2015 (8 years ago)

Rowbo

I love that story about Peter when late in his Super 14 career, he was asked whether there was any truth to the story that he was going to play his final year in Otago.

He said " No, I'm an Islander...not a Highlander!"

Every day there is Rugby History 24 August 1996

Click to show At long last! A test victory for NZ in South Africa

A great day for NZ at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Sean Fitzpatrick and John Hart's team silence the ghosts with a 33-26 triumph.

A-Z of Rugby

Click to show BAKER, 'SNOWY'

BAKER, REGINALD ‘Snowy’

New South Wales and Australia

2 internationals for Australia, 1904

Though Reg Baker’s international career of playing halfback in both losses against the 1904 British side reads unglamorously, he is listed in any record as one of the sport’s earliest all-rounders. He became the first man to represent Australia in five sports: rugby, boxing, polo, swimming and diving. He actually competed in 24 other different games! Among his greatest achievements was to represent Australia at boxing in the 1908 Olympic Games, where he lost the middleweight final to J.W.H.T. (‘Johnny Won’t Hit Today’). Johnny Douglas was later an England cricket captain. For the record, the bout was refereed by Douglas’s father!

After his brief rugby career, Baker settled in Hollywood, where he taught film stars to ride, swim, fence and fight. He also starred on screen several times. By then, his younger brother Harald (correct spelling) had also represented Australia in rugby and had won Australian titles in boxing, swimming, water polo, and wrestling. Harald Baker was a lock in three tests against New Zealand in 1914.

It goes without saying that ‘Snowy’ Baker won his nickname for having distinctive blond hair.