by Israel Folau
‘Maxfield,’ Izzy answered. ‘They’ll be here to play us at two.’
‘Are they any good?’ Harrison asked.
‘Honestly, I don’t know.’ Izzy laughed. ‘Remember, the score doesn’t count. This is about improving and practising as a team.’
‘And enjoying our holiday,’ Jake said. ‘Speaking of which, when are we going back to the beach?’
Back at the motel, Daniel walked out of the bathroom to find Sione lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling.
‘Worried about the game?’ Daniel asked. ‘You’ll be fine. You did well today.’
Sione shook his head. ‘Izzy said I’m back on the wing.’
‘Cool!’ Daniel exclaimed, instantly realising how harsh that sounded. ‘I mean, not that you were bad at hooker or anything.’
Sione sighed. ‘Remember what I said about my mum?’
‘That your parents are divorced?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Sure,’ Daniel said.
Sione sat up. ‘Well … they’re not really divorced.’
Daniel’s stomach twisted. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear what Sione had to say.
‘Mum left.’ Sione looked down guiltily.
‘What do you mean?’
‘One day I woke up and she wasn’t there. Never seen her since.’
Daniel was stunned. ‘Why?’
Sione wiped his eyes and stood up. ‘Dunno,’ he said, walking out of the room.
Daniel’s shoulders fell. He wished he could have said something comforting but he didn’t know what to say. Being a captain and supporting your players both on and off the field was proving to be more difficult than he’d first thought.
Sione rushed from the room, overwhelmed with embarrassment. Why had he thought it was a good idea to tell Daniel? He didn’t seem to care at all. But Sione had to admit that it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn’t told anyone about his mum – ever. No one on the Tigers knew, and neither did anyone at school. He didn’t even talk about his mum with his dad because he knew it upset him so much, and Mele was too young to understand. But it was constantly on Sione’s mind. It was why his aunty had come to live with them, after all.
Sione hoped Daniel wouldn’t go around telling everyone else on the team about it. He still couldn’t figure Daniel out. He was mean and self-centred one minute, then a great friend the next. Sione knew the better times with Daniel were starting to outnumber the bad times, but still … At least he wasn’t a liar anymore. It felt right to have finally told Daniel the truth.
As Sione and his teammates stretched for the game against Maxfield, he felt anxious. Daniel and some of the others were carrying on in their usual way, geeing themselves up for the match. Sione, as always, prepared in silence. He closed his eyes as he stretched, praying that he didn’t drop another pass or mess up another scrum.
Surprisingly, Adam sat down next to him to join in the stretching. Adam was now able to walk without crutches but still wasn’t ready for a game, so he’d been given the job of waterboy for the afternoon. Sione was pleased, both for Adam and for the fact that it was a scorching-hot day and they had someone to deliver refreshment when it was needed. It was so hot that, for once, Sione wished he was mucking around on the beach instead of playing rugby in the sun.
The Maxfield boys lined up in their red-and-orange stripes on the halfway line to shake hands with Valley. Sione always hated this part of the match. He didn’t like shaking hands to begin with, but on top of this, opposing players would sometimes take the opportunity to give you a dirty look or squeeze your hand that little bit too hard.
Sione followed Daniel down the line, his eyes down and his handshakes soft. The match began and Sione had little to do early on. He took two passes well but couldn’t shake off the defenders. However, after he landed a tackle on his opposing winger that earned a clap from Izzy on the bench, Sione started to have fun. He was doing what he was used to, in his usual position. No one was expecting him to be a hero, or needing him to be one, and he was doing his bit to help out the team.
Then the unthinkable happened. Sean, playing in Adam’s spot at hooker, tripped in a ruck. A football boot came out of nowhere and kicked him in the head. He seemed fine but Tom and Mary Parker were soon ushering him off the field for a proper checkup. Sione could see Izzy’s eyes scanning the field. He was looking for someone. No, Sione prayed, please don’t move me.
Their eyes met, and Izzy called to him. ‘Sione! You’re in the scrum. TJ’s coming on to replace you.’
Hooker again? Sione’s mind screamed. This is the worst!
He trudged across to the middle of the field. The Maxfield front row looked him up and down but said nothing. Jake and Benny both put their arms around his shoulders, and Sione awaited the command to form the scrum.
‘Set!’ yelled the ref.
Now Sione had a better understanding of what to do, and when his head slotted between the shoulders of his opposition, like an upside-down cradle, he was amazed for the first time at how simple and special the scrum was. No other sport had anything quite like it. He pushed as hard as he could against the Maxfield forwards, his confidence boosted by the strength of his teammates pushing behind him.
The ball was fed, possession was won by Valley and soon Sione was making tackle after tackle. Slowly but surely, Valley managed to push closer to their scoring end. After gathering the ball from a tackle, Harrison passed to Daniel, who made a perfect dummy before running through a gap in the defence. He was dragged down only a metre from the tryline, but managed to slip a pass backwards to Sione, who had been following him closely.
The ball landed in Sione’s hands with a couple of Maxfield players directly in front of him. He could see the line. Instinctively, he rose up on his legs to jump over the tackling arms that had risen to block his way, but in a split second he changed his mind. He went in low, below the tacklers’ arms, diving beneath them and across the line for five. The red-and-orange Maxfield shirts were a blur on either side of him as Sione landed.
His teammates ran over, cheering. He had propelled Valley in front with a tremendous two seconds that capped off all the work the team had put in to get themselves into the position to score. Sione grinned, his spirits soaring even higher as Daniel easily kicked the conversion.
Play recommenced and Sione flung himself into his role as hooker with gusto, tackling and running hard. He wasn’t missing the wing at all.
Towards the end of the game, Sione was swapped back to wing for a much-earned rest. He was surprised to find himself feeling disappointed about the change, but consoled himself that at least he wasn’t being taken off. Izzy clearly trusted him to play full games for the team and that seemed even more important than scoring tries.
The full-time whistle blew just as a penalty was awarded. Daniel lined up for a shot at goal, and as he stared down the goalposts, the Valley boys began to chant.
‘Stay between the flags! Stay between the flags!’ they shouted.
When Daniel kicked the ball high and true, the team didn’t just cheer, they laughed and clapped and celebrated. They had won their first game.
‘Valley! Three cheers for Maxfield!’ Daniel yelled. ‘Hip hip!’
‘Hooray!’ his teammates called.
The Maxfield boys stood in silence, clearly stunned by the gesture, until one of their players returned the favour by starting a cheer in Valley’s honour.
‘That was awesome, Daniel,’ Izzy said, as they gathered to cool down and rehydrate. ‘We might even make it a tradition after every game, hey?’
Daniel grinned, chuffed. ‘Sure!’
‘Well done, everyone,’ Izzy said to the boys. ‘That was a fantastic display of smooth rugby, and a terrific win.’
‘Yeah! The other team didn’t score a single point!’ Tom added.
Daniel smiled, proud of their work as a team. It was a great achievement so soon after a loss. They had managed to bounce back and play well.
<
br /> They made their way to the beach for one final recovery swim. Today, the cold dip was enjoyed by all. Nothing – not even the chilly water – could dampen their spirits.
After the swim, Daniel approached Izzy. ‘Can I lead the team in the stretching?’ he asked tentatively.
Izzy broke into that familiar wide smile, pleased at Daniel’s initiative. ‘Sure! Go right ahead.’
Daniel ran off and ushered the team into a semicircle in front of him and then demonstrated the first stretch. Even Izzy joined in.
‘Yes, sir, captain, sir!’ Jake yelled, saluting him, and everyone laughed.
But no one told Daniel to stop or complained that he was being bossy. With each stretch, Daniel gave words of advice or encouragement.
After the cool-down exercises, the boys were relaxed and happy. They packed up their belongings, shaking the sand out of their towels and T-shirts. The walk back to the motel was full of laughter and joking around. Daniel, seeing that Sione was walking by himself near the back of the group, excused himself from the conversation he was having with Jake.
‘Great stuff today,’ he said cheerfully, appearing at Sione’s side.
The boy shrugged. ‘I dunno.’
‘You were awesome,’ Daniel insisted. ‘I bet your mum would have been proud to see you play today.’
Sione froze, his hands curling into fists. ‘Why did you say that?’ he hissed.
‘W-What do you mean?’ Daniel stammered.
Sione’s eyes pierced Daniel’s. ‘Why did you say that? Are you making fun of me?’
‘No! Of course not. I just …’ Daniel faltered. He’d thought it would have been a nice thing to say, but he had clearly made a mistake.
‘Why did you say that?’ Sione repeated.
Daniel swallowed. He looked up the street. The other boys were now turning into the motel’s driveway, oblivious to what was happening behind them. Daniel turned back to look at Sione.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said eventually. ‘I shouldn’t have mentioned your mum. I just thought it would cheer you up to know that you played really well today and I thought it would be nice to think of your mum wishing she could be here to watch you.’
Sione glared at Daniel for what seemed like hours. At last, his breathing slowed and he resumed his familiar pose of looking away and down at his feet. ‘Sorry, I … No one else knows about her, okay?’ he said quietly. ‘I don’t want the others to know.’
Daniel nodded. ‘I promise I won’t tell anyone.’
After that, they walked back to the motel in silence. Sione seemed to be deep in thought, so Daniel left him alone. He wondered what he had said that had been so wrong. When they reached the driveway, Sione stopped and looked up at Daniel.
‘If Mum would be so proud of me playing rugby, then wouldn’t she be here to see me?’ he asked, searching Daniel’s face for an answer. He shook his head. ‘She doesn’t care. She left, remember?’ Sione turned and walked away, leaving Daniel alone on the footpath.
After dinner Tom and Mary announced that they had a surprise for the team. They led the boys into the conference room and sat them down opposite a projector screen. Daniel gasped excitedly, as did the others, when the video began to play. He had no idea that their matches had been recorded! Seeing himself up on the screen was really strange, mostly because it was so different to how he’d always imagined he looked on the field.
‘Do I really look like that when I run?’ he asked no one in particular.
The boys stared at the screen, laughing one minute and quiet the next. They watched in silence as the match against Sunshine High unfolded before them. Some boys averted their eyes, wincing, and others groaned audibly.
It really is amazing how hard a team takes a loss, Daniel thought. I’m not the only one who wished it never happened.
When the footage of him yelling at the others to lift their game rolled onto the screen, Daniel hunched down in embarrassment. He witnessed the dirty looks the others had given him on the field and was stunned, but he couldn’t blame them.
They went on to watch the match against Maxfield, and this time the boys whooped and cheered at their smooth play. Each try was celebrated as if they were watching a grand final.
When the clip finished, Izzy stood up. ‘The contrasts are striking,’ he began. ‘I was going to go through the match with you point by point and indicate all the things that we did better in the second game, but I don’t think I need to. You know what we did right. We did our basics so well – we made tackles, we hit passes, we ran hard, we kicked between the flags – we were awake!’
Daniel smiled. The game today had been so much fun.
‘When we play to our potential we are an amazing team,’ Izzy continued. ‘I can’t wait to see how you perform in the State Championships. But, before I get ahead of myself, we have our stint in the Northern Territory to look forward to.’
Tomorrow, the team was going on a plane to the Northern Territory, and Daniel couldn’t wait. The Gold Coast had been great, but he had never been to the Top End before. He wondered if they would see any crocodiles. He hoped so, but it seemed unbelievable that this trip could get any better!
Sione opened his eyes and yawned. Waking up hadn’t felt this sweet in a long time. The team had really bonded over their experiences on the Gold Coast – first from their the shock loss, and then from their comeback win. Last night had been awesome fun, filled with laughter and jokes. Whenever his mind had drifted back to the incident with Daniel, he’d pushed the thought as far away as he could. He wanted to apologise to Daniel, but that would mean unfurling the ball again, so he dismissed that idea.
Sione sat up and stretched. On the wall next to him was the printout of the email that Izzy had written to him, welcoming him to the rep team. He had continued to keep it next to him during their stay, stuck to the wall so he could read it every morning and night. It helped him to remember that he deserved to be on the Valley team, that this was the right place to be.
He quickly got out of bed and splashed cold water on his face, then put on his training gear so quietly that the other boys didn’t so much as rustle in their beds. He shoved his room key in his pocket and jogged outside to the back of the motel, where there was a small patch of grass and a playground. From there, he watched Izzy perform his stretches. Without a word, Sione joined in, taking Izzy’s lead.
‘How about a jog?’ Izzy suggested after a while. He pointed to a route that led around the car park and the pool. ‘We could run around there, do some sprints on the grass and then tackle the obstacle course?’
Sione nodded, smiling. This had become the best part of his day by a mile. It was something none of his teammates knew anything about – it was just between him and Izzy Folau, the great Wallabies fullback. What a treat it was, to keep fit and bond silently with Izzy each day.
As they jogged, Sione thought about his life just a week before. Izzy had been an idol from afar, an image on his TV screen or the poster in his bedroom, not an actual, live person who he knew and talked to. Even when he had first stumbled upon Izzy’s early-morning training sessions at the training camp back home, Sione had felt shy and unworthy to be there. But, with Izzy’s encouragement and support, he now felt confident and at ease during these sessions. Sione felt lucky to have him as a mentor.
They jogged around the circuit five times before Izzy stopped and headed for the grass to do some sprints. ‘Having fun?’ he asked with a big smile.
Sione grinned and nodded.
‘Whereabouts in Tonga is your family from? Nuku’alofa?’
Sione nodded again. It was difficult to speak while running. ‘Dad was born there,’ he puffed.
‘You ever visited?’
‘Once, but I was too young to remember.’
They sprinted back and forth across the grass, Sione pushed himself hard and enjoyed every minute of it. It was almost like the beep test Izzy had given the boys a few days before. Sione wasn’t sure how many sets they did, but he wa
s puffing and sweating by the time they stopped and walked up to the playground equipment to begin the fun part of the session – the obstacle course.
Two mornings earlier, Izzy had designed a route through the playground that was a tonne of fun. They swung on the flying fox, charged up a ramp, jumped up some steps, ran around the fort, climbed a ladder, did five pull-ups on a set of bars, slid down the slippery dip, scrambled up the little rock-climbing wall, balanced across the bridge and then hopped down, only to do it five more times.
Sione smiled all the way through, though the pull-ups were always a challenge for him.
‘You’ve already come such a long way as a player since the tour began,’ Izzy said as they began their cool-down jog. ‘I bet part of that has to do with your focus on exercising and eating right. You must be one of the fittest on the team.’
Sione shrugged. ‘I just want to be the best player I can be.’
‘I’m proud of you,’ Izzy said. ‘I’m proud of the whole team. You’re a bunch of hardworking boys!’
As they sat and stretched in the grass, Sione noticed sand strewn among the green spikes, blown in from the beach. He lay back onto the grass, listening to his breathing and the sound of waves crashing in the distance. He’d never felt so relaxed and he was sad it was almost time to go.
‘Wake up, sleepyhead. We have to get to the airport!’
Sione’s eyes snapped open to see Jeremy Fisk standing above him. He was wearing board shorts and a towel was draped around his shoulders. Sea water dripped off his hair and landed on Sione’s forehead. Sione squeaked and sat up suddenly.
Izzy and Jeremy laughed. ‘See you round the breakfast table!’ Jeremy called as he made his way back to the motel.
It was the first time Sione had really interacted with Jeremy all trip. He had always been there in the background, organising the group’s movements, but he hardly ever spoke. Sione realised every adult on the tour was soft-spoken like he was. Maybe that’s why he was starting to feel so comfortable – he had barely thought about home at all.
