Towering figure born to play

The re-emergence of Radike Samo is what Hollywood scripts are made of, writes GERRY THORNLEY

IT IS perhaps, on the face of it, the story of the World Cup. A 33-year-old, deemed too fat and slow, is given a short-term contract with the Queensland Reds. His performances earn a two-year contract, he plays a starring role in their historic Super 15 title and revives a Test career that had stalled for seven years to become a shock inclusion in Australia’s 30-man squad, scores a match-winning try in the Tri-Nations decider and begins the World Cup as their starting number eight. You could hardly make it up.

But this is the world, right now, of Radike Samo, a typically easy-going Fijian freak of nature who was simply born to play rugby. One imagines, save for one or two opponents beaten out of his path or left eating his dust, Samo doesn’t have an enemy in the world.

Samo doesn’t exactly do anonymous. He cuts a towering figure at 6ft 6in and 116kg, all the more so with his huge afro, and is an engaging, softly spoken and laconic character. Having bridged that seven-year gap since his previous Test, he then waited until after his 35th birthday to score his first Test try, that wondrous 60-metre run against the All Blacks after his hand off had Kieron Read staggering to the ground like something out of a comic book, accelerating on to take Mils Muliaina’s tackle and touchdown.

“I never thought I’d score a try at Test level, you know, it was awesome to go back home and watch it again,” said Samo yesterday, recalling the score.

“My wife recorded the game and it was really crazy to look back; to make a break against the All Blacks. It’s not easy to make a break against the All Blacks, they’re a good team and they work hard on their defence and only once in a while can a team come up and beat the All Blacks.

“So for us to do that, I don’t know, it’s going to be there the rest of my life and when I look back once I’ve finished rugby, it’s not just my first try, it was an awesome try to break through two of the best rugby players in the world, and it was amazing to cross the line for your first try in Test rugby.”

That revived memories of what appeared until recently to have been his peak, circa 2004, as a lock with the Wallabies and ACT Brumbies. With the latter, specifically, he once took a short lineout bang on halfway and sprinted 50 metres along the touchline to score against the Waikato Chiefs.

He didn’t beat much, just Byron Kelleher and then Siviteni Sivivatu, on the outside.

Born in Nadi, Fiji, Samo played with the Fiji Under-19s before playing with the Brumbies 41 times between 2000 and 2006, also winning six caps in 2004.

However, in seeking riches abroad, he signed with Stade Français for two years in 2006.

He book-ended his first season in Paris by scoring a try within six minutes of his debut against Clermont Auvergne and the winning try in the French championship final against the same opponents before heading to Japan for two years in 2008. Last year, he appeared to be playing out time with the Southern Rebels in the Shute Shield competition.

“Before I got called up by the Reds I had a chat with my wife about it,” he recalled yesterday. “I wanted to come back and have another crack but at the time I didn’t have a team. I called around a few teams in Australia and they said I was a bit too old and a bit too slow.

“But I guess Ewen McKenzie knows me and knows who I am, because when I joined the Brumbies he was there. He knows the way I play and that I like playing rugby. He gave me a chance to play and from last year to this year it has been awesome.”

Around all the Reds tyros, Samo has been rejuvenated, and their victory over the Crusaders in the final was on his 35th birthday. “I enjoy playing with the young boys; it doesn’t make me feel old, it makes me a better player and makes me play twice as hard as the young boys. That’s part of it. Being a part of the young boys has been good, they are an awesome bunch of players.”

The following day, he was included in the Wallabies’ provisional 40-man squad for the Tests against Samoa and Tri- Nations opener against New Zealand and South Africa before surprisingly making the cut for the 30-man World Cup squad.

Cue his try against the All Blacks in the decider, and the distinctive Samo has become something of a cult figure.

With World Cup fever gripping the New Zealand capital, Samo has been recognised everywhere he goes. “Yeah, it’s crazy. When you walk down the street people know you, looking for photos and autographs. People love rugby and they know who you play for. It’s a World Cup, I guess, and people have come from all over the world for it.”

Samo’s rangy running and huge physicality in the collisions became more influential in the second half as Australia turned a six-all half-time scoreline into a bonus point win.

“We came back in the second half and changed the way we played; we played our own game. We had to dig really deep and at the end of the day we came up with the win.”

Such belief in themselves is typical of the Wallabies. Their knowledge of the Irish players appears to be negligible and, as a laidback Fijian, Samo is no exception.

“I didn’t see much of the Irish game,” he admitted. “I watched a little bit of it. I’m sure we’ll go through tapes, but they are a good team, they’ve got a good squad. I know in the last games before the World Cup they lost a couple of games to European teams. When they play against Australia they always come hard.

“They are a hard team, they are a good team. For us to play, we need to turn up 100 per cent and to find another 20 per cent on the performance from a couple of days ago. We have to dig deep.”

The other half of the Little and Large double act with Will Genia, he has a boyish, pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming outlook on it all, who is at a loss to explain his late re-emergence.

“I don’t know; I’m a bit surprised to be here. I never thought I’d be in a World Cup squad this year, but it’s been about doing my best, training hard and concentrating on what I do every day and every week in training. That’s probably the main thing that makes me play well at the weekend. I just really love playing rugby, you see? It’s the end of my career and I want to end on a high. That’s my other goal, play for another couple of years, but I’ve got to do it now.”