Malakai Fekitoa

Fifteen-year-old Malakai Fekitoa was only supposed to be helping carry water on for the Tongan side. Instead, he beasted them in a fitness test, and earned himself a fast-track to the national squad. Aged just sixteen, he was going to wear the red of his homeland for the first time. More than a decade later, he made his second debut for the Tongans as captain, and now he’s aiming to go one better, and take them to the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Leamington Spa is a long way from Tonga, roughly 16,000km, give or take. And for Malakai Fekitoa, a resident of this Warwickshire town famed for Sophie Turner and Nizlopi, that means he’s a long way from his family. And family, for the Ha’apai-born Wasps centre is everything.

Above all, Malakai is a family man. His inspiration, his passion and his drive to continue all stem back to his loved ones. Growing up on the Tongan islands as one member of a large family, Malakai was rarely unoccupied. The mere suggestion of mischievous activities in his native land brings a wry smile to Malakai. “You know, just an amazing upbringing,” he says of Tonga. “As kids you just grew up and didn’t care about anything else. No social media, or doing anything but hanging out with a friend at the beach. Just going out, just living life.

“There’s fourteen of us kids,” continues the former All Black. “I’ve got six brothers and seven sisters. I’ve got, well, maybe around 40 nieces and nephews. There’s so many of us, but half of us are around the world. 

“[I’ve got] Brothers and sisters living in America now with American goods, and a brother in France with his goods there. In Australia, my nephew and nieces are there, and obviously in New Zealand as well, so, yeah, all around the world. 

“We’re lucky with social media, it’s the only way I could keep track of that many nephews and nieces, you know? It’s very hard to keep in touch, but I try to stay close to my mom, I think that’s the most important part. Just to check up on her, make sure she’s okay, and look after her.

 “I haven’t seen most of my family for six years now,” he admits, but adds he was back in Tonga four years back, “but I’d like to go back more often, sometimes, just to see my mom would be nice. I’ve been out here playing and working throughout all these years.

“When I go back I love seeing the people I grew up with,” he says. “After all these years, some of them are still doing the same thing – fishing, just living life. No phones, some of them. 

“Telling their stories, and hearing my experiences of being overseas in a foreign country, it’s exciting just to go back and share my experience and to hear about their story.”

Putting aside his family for the moment, like many Tongans, growing up, rugby was everything to Malakai. “If you’re not doing chores at home, helping the family out on the farm, growing crops, you’re out there with your friends playing rugby,” he says. “Sport was sort of a go-to when we’ve got nothing else to do.”

Not that family and rugby are mutually exclusive in Tonga. “My whole family was involved in rugby,” he says. “I grew up inspired by my brothers, and my dad as well was heavily involved. 

“I think we did well as a family on the island, living wise,” he reflects, looking back on his childhood in Ha’apai, a group of islands in the central region of Tonga. “We innovated a few businesses, we had the only shop, we had the only bus for the whole island – public transport was us. 

“My dad had a boat, so he had a bit to contribute to our village and he was the chairman for our rugby village. So, when we had to transport the team places, I was one of the kids that always tried to be on the front seat of the bus travelling to and from rugby, that’s how I got into rugby. 

“Because everywhere they played, I’d be the water boy, or putting out
the jerseys.”

Malakai arrived at Wasps two years ago, signing from Toulon, before which he’d played for the Blues and Highlanders in New Zealand, but his rugby journey was unconventional. 

With no access to live television, his only exposure to international rugby came via VCR. His family would sit together to watch a freshly-shipped, one-month-old replay of the All Blacks playing against Australia in the late 1990s. As they had no knowledge of the end result, it mattered little that the match had already taken place. They were watching the best rugby players in the world going toe-to-toe, and that was enough.

From that era came a lot of Malakai’s heroes: Jonah Lomu, Doug Howlett and Carlos Spencer, but his true heroes were the ones closest to him. “My brothers inspired me,” he says. “They all played, and they did well. At the time there was no recruitment. Rugby had just become professional, so they were the ones that paved the way for me. When my older brother came in [to the Tonga team], it was easy for him,” he says of his older brother Saia, who won two caps for Tonga. “When I came in, I said, ‘Okay, if my brother can do this, I could do better’.”

International rugby was a casual interest for young Fekitoa, but never a consideration. He never dreamt of playing for the All Blacks, or even his native Tonga. Instead, he just wanted to be the best version of himself. “To be honest, I just wanted to be a professional rugby player,” he admits. “In the late 2000s, when Super Rugby came about and the All Blacks were all over the television and the newspapers, I wanted to be like them. 

“Even though Tonga’s where we’re from, New Zealand isn’t far away, and I wanted to be like those guys. I wanted to wear my hair like Carlos Spencer at the time – like a blond mohawk. I always thought that I would try and make it outside of Tonga, but I didn’t think it was going to be the All Blacks.”

He entered the international frame at the age of fifteen. Already a first fifteen player with his local club, Malakai found himself at a Tongan sevens training camp, in very much a supporting role. “I went in with my cousin: Tupou Paul was in the wider Tonga sevens squad,” explains Malakai. “He said, ‘come for a run around, just come run the water or whatever’, and I said ‘okay’.

“I took my boots just so I could run around the side, and then they said they didn’t have enough numbers. Usually Tonga have twelve players, but sometimes the guys who are coming from overseas don’t get into the country on time, so there’s less numbers. So the coach at the time said, ‘okay, jump in’. They did a bronco [fitness] test, and I just smoked everyone.

“Everyone was like, ‘who’s this kid?’, you know?” he continues. “But I was already in our first fifteen, and I had just won a championship with our school as well. I had already played at a high level at my age, which showed I was capable of playing.

“The coach asked if I had a passport and a bag so I could travel,” explains Malakai. “Three months later, I made the team instead of my cousin and I was off to Samoa for a tournament – it was my first time on a plane and I was playing for the Tonga sevens. 

“By June I had just turned sixteen, and I was playing in a qualifier for the World Cup,” he says. “I’m playing with men, living in a hotel, getting 300 bucks. It felt like, ‘okay, I’m professional now’. I know what it’s like, I train with adults, and I feel like I can do this.”

This sense of self-belief hit Malakai like a train, and it didn’t go unnoticed. His new life with Tonga sevens took him to New Zealand for the Wellington Sevens. Here, the young centre was spotted and offered a scholarship to Wesley College. “The guy who got me the scholarship, he approached me and asked, ‘do you want to stay in New Zealand for school now?’ and I thought, ‘Anything, I’ll take it.’”

The next few years were a whirlwind for a young Tongan man learning his trade away from his home. Studying at Wesley College in Auckland, he was now in the New Zealand system and would make his senior, first-class debut for the Auckland provincial side in the then-ITM Cup aged 20. It took him only one year to make the jump to Super Rugby level with the Blues. After one season with them, he signed for the Highlanders, where he would become an All Black, coming off the bench in New Zealand’s late 2014 win against England. He impressed enough to earn seven further caps that year, including six starts, during which he scored two tries.

“It was probably the happiest day in my life, and for my family as well,” he says of his debut. “As a young kid, we’re all inspired by the All Blacks and the Wallabies, because they’re next door. 

“All the kids want to mimic that, they want to be those guys. It’s massive, and, you know, it’s very hard to be in that team. Everyone loves rugby in New Zealand, and yet there’s me from Tonga. So, it was very difficult, but just an amazing feeling. I don’t know how to describe it. I’m just really happy that I managed to make my family proud. Everyone was going crazy.”

Malakai won 24 caps in the famous black jersey, having spent the first couple of years competing with world-class centres Ma’a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams and Conrad Smith. He loved playing for the All Blacks, and giving that up – aged 25, to move to Toulon in 2017 – was the hardest decision of his career. “I obviously left the All Blacks at a young age, and I don’t know if it was the right choice or not,” he says. “A lot of people said it wasn’t, that I shouldn’t have left, but it all kind of played on my mind. 

“But I left because I wanted to look after my future. An opportunity came from Toulon and I felt it was the right call. We’re not from a well-off family, so I looked to secure my future. I left my dream, I left everything I knew, and my life in New Zealand. In all these years, I’ve been thinking about returning.”

The international return he dreamt of before, was undoubtedly not the one he’s on the verge of making now, with his beloved Tonga, through the Olympic rule, which allows players to switch allegiances if they play in Olympic Sevens qualification tournaments. “I’d been talking to my mom and my brothers about switching [to play for Tonga],” he explains. “The Monaco 7s in 2021 was my opportunity to change. 

“I had to make a decision before then,” he says. “It was either go home to New Zealand, or play Sevens so I can be eligible now.”

He chose the latter, leading his country out at Monaco in June. “Talking to my brothers, they’ve all been supportive and respectful of my decisions. They believe I’ve done the right thing. I’ve achieved so much with New Zealand rugby. I’ve won Super Rugby, I was part of the World Cup-winning team, it was massive. I should be proud that I’ve done enough in my career, coming from Tonga. So, I thought why not do something meaningful? It just felt good, and it’ll feel different. When I’ve finished my rugby, I can say I’ve done something great.

“I just think it’s the right call, I have a gut feeling,” he says, reinforcing his decision. “I feel like this is the right thing to do, and I hope that a few others will follow. I would like to show the young kids that sometimes you don’t need to play for the Wallabies or New Zealand to make it to professional rugby. 

“You can play for Tonga and make a good career as well. That’s what I want to show young guys, but it’s difficult, you know. It was one of the hardest decisions.”

One would suspect that Malakai had one or two awkward conversations about switching allegiances, but in fact it has been quite the opposite. 

At Wasps, he plays with Tongan-born All Black Vaea Fifita, and used to play with Samoan-qualified Lima Sopoaga. The centre states that not only have these guys been understanding of his decision, but some current All Blacks have as well. “Everyone is really happy for me,” he says, “even the current All Blacks, guys back home, and past All Blacks, because I’m good friends with a lot of them. 

“The guys in the current team are supporting my decision. They wish me well and they’re all happy for me. A lot of them are islanders as well. There’s a lot of Tongans in the current team, and Samoans, and they know what it’s like. 

“They know it’s all about the families and the culture,” he continues. “I don’t gain anything from going back – we don’t get paid a lot of money or anything. But I’m going for the right reason, to give back, and I think those guys are happy for me. 

“Vaea Fifita, Ngani Laumape, all these guys aren’t playing for the All Blacks, they’re still playing over here. They’re looking and hoping that the rules change soon, hopefully, so they can be available as well. They’re all young men, and I’m sure they’re all itching to put on the shirt as well.”

When he donned the red of the Ikale Tahi 7s for the first time in over a decade in Monaco, there was a true homely feeling to it. “After all these years, it felt the same,” he recalls. “The whole place, how they treated us, the whole environment. It’s still the Tonga boys. Island guys, laid back, some of them never on time. The feeling was still the same, but for myself, I feel a lot of responsibilities now. 

“I just feel the weight of representing my country now. I am so experienced, I’ve done everything. I’ve got a lot of people to represent, so in a way it feels a lot different to last time.”

Of course, he’s not the first big-name player to switch to Tonga. Former Wallabies Lopeti Timani and Cooper Vuna have also represented the Ikale Tahi, with Vuna even going to the Rugby World Cup in 2019. Malakai, however, has become the face of this move, as you’d expect, with him being a Rugby World Cup winner.

But he doesn’t want this to be a one-off; he hopes that fellow world-class talents such as Lima Sopoaga, Taqele Naiyarovoro and Charles Piutau will follow his lead. “I understand some guys are Kiwi at heart, or Australia born and raised, but I think if you haven’t played 100 games, why don’t you [switch]?” he says. “Especially some very talented guys who are still under 30. 

“I wanted to come out and lead the way, so hopefully they follow that. It’s okay to play for ‘tier two’ nations, and it’s okay to change. You can use your talent when you’re still young. You’re under 30, you’ve still got ten years left, and you can use that to inspire another generation to play the game.”

This gnarled, grizzly Wasps centre doesn’t shy away from the sentimental side of why he plays rugby; family, memories of home, making his loved ones proud. But above all, he plays the game because he loves it, and he believes that is in the Tongan blood. 

It has recently become a theme for Tongan players to carry on playing into their 40s – look no further than Fa’ao Filise, Ma’ama Molitika and Aleki Lutui, who is still playing. Is it purely for the love of the game? “Rugby is a religion for us,” he says. “Guys played at home for free, and guys over here play until they’re 40 because they love the game. That’s why I’d hope World Rugby will let players goback to their heritage, so we can help improve rugby back home, just to show the way, just to show how to be professional. Hopefully we can get some sponsorship and build something more stable for the next guys.”

The red jersey isn’t the only way Tongans can represent their country, as Malakai is quick to point out. “Even now, even the guys playing for England, or Taulupe [Faletau] for Wales – even when they make the team, kids want to be like them. 

“All the kids love it,” he says. “I’m sure many of them will come back and play [for Tonga], and it will be a massive boost for the kids.”

Now that he is eligible to play for his home nation in fifteens, he has already set his sights on the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Will he approach this World Cup cycle with a different mindset? “Yeah, I think so,” he admits. “I’ve got different guys around me, a different set-up. We play with more heart and pride in the jersey, because I know that a lot of kids are watching. It’s just different in a way, because being in the All Blacks, I had amazing people around me, so it made my job a lot easier, so it’s very fulfilling. This time around, I’m leading the way. I’m older now and I understand how to prepare for matches. I just hope that we can do well.”

This time round, international rugby will not daunt Malakai. He speaks a lot about his motivation to “show the way” for the next generation of Tongan kids, as well as giving back to his family life. “Back when I played for the All Blacks I was very young, just learning life,” he says. “I played amazing rugby, I was happy, proud, I played with all my heart every time I took the field. I was just buzzing to be around legends. Richie [McCaw], Sonny [Bill Williams] and all these guys were amazing, and I felt grateful to be a part of that. But now, I want to make a statement. I just want to lead the way. So I have a lot more responsibility now, and I don’t want to fail. I feel like I’ve got a lot to give, and a lot of eyes watching.”

So, what excites this world-class talent about playing international rugby again? Is it the prospect of challenging himself to become a strong leader? Or just the opportunity to play arm-in-arm with the likes of Walter Fifita, Telusa Veainu and Mali Hingano?

“Yeah. I mean, both really, you know, I’m excited,” he says. “Excited to play with guys I used to play with when I was young as well. [Leva] Fifita, I played with in under-19s – a lot of the guys I played with at age group level in Tonga. I’m excited to do that, and excited to lead. I’ve gained so much experience over the years and I want to put it to good use. I think by joining Tonga, it would be a really good way to contribute.

“Hopefully we can qualify for the World Cup first, that’s the first job,” he says, with a focus on the job-at-hand. “I want to get the pride of people supporting the team again. We’ve lost a bit, I’ve seen in Tonga, because of rugby league, and I want to get the support back. I want to get the people excited again about rugby, and Tongan rugby. And hopefully we could get some sponsorship, that’s another reason.”

As Malakai stated previously, he did not come from a well-off background, and truthfully, few in Tonga do. For the insane amount of talent that comes from not only Tonga, but also Fiji and Samoa, there is little financial support for their unions.

“Hopefully we can get some help financially, and build something. Build strong foundations, and better facilities back in Tonga. Hopefully I can talk to a lot of people. If I can get to Tonga, maybe I can talk to the guys who are over there, and we can start building. We can ask for help and get people donating. Hopefully we can build something strong long-term, and get back to winning ways.” 

Story by Will Owen

Pictures by Ben McDade

This extract was taken from issue 16 of Rugby.
To order the print journal, click here.