Overcome by emotion, new All Black Folau Fakatava admits he broke down in tears as he heard his name being read out for the first time on Monday.
The Highlanders halfback, 22, was so anxious before the squad naming that he didn’t want to watch it, but partner Kerriana Tamoe convinced him otherwise. It was the right call.
“I was in tears straight away, I couldn't believe it,” Fakatava said in Dunedin on Monday. “I was nervous, but when they called my name I was crying for a good one minute, and my partner was crying as well.
“I was speechless. It’s unreal.”
Tongan-born Fakatava has been through a lot to get to Monday’s announcement – severe homesickness after leaving his family in Tonga at just 16, learning a new language in a different country, a serious knee injury in 2021, and question marks over his eligibility that were only recently answered.
As a result, Fakatava said his callup was very much a team effort, and impossible without the support of his partner and parents, in particular. The baby of his family, Fakatava said the phone call back to Tonga was an emotional affair.
“As soon as I hear my name I called them straight away,” he said. “Coming from Tonga, they’ve always been there for me, and were calling me to keep focusing.
“When we were on the call we couldn’t really say anything, we were just crying the whole time. My mum and dad were saying a prayer, crying and praying at the same time.
“They're so proud, and my family in Tonga, and friends, they're super proud of me. They can't wait to see me out there in a black jersey.”
Fakatava has been regarded as a potential All Black for years after first making a name for himself at Hastings’ Boys High School, but on Monday he also lifted the lid on just how difficult the past six years have been for him as he made a new life away from his family.
“For us [Pacific Islanders] it’s hard,” he said. “Because moving away from parents and the islands is hard.
“It's up to us to stay focused and keep training hard. It sacrifices a lot. Obviously, I was homesick most of the time. I was the youngest in my family.
“I left all of them for first time. It was hard. [But] at the same time, they gave me motivation to keep going.”
Another person has been critical in Fakatava’s rise: All Blacks halfback and Highlanders team-mate Aaron Smith.
Smith called Fakatava after the squad announcement and the pair have a genuine but healthy rivalry.
In fact, Smith has made Fakatava feel so comfortable at the Highlanders that it has brought out the younger man’s cheeky side, and he said that he wasn’t afraid of sledging Smith after “carving him up at training”.
“We're helping each other but at the same time we're going to compete for the [No 9] jersey],” Fakatava said.