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The remarkable Radike Samo is relishing his return to the back row for Australia’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against South Africa on Sunday.
The freakish 35-year-old last week became the first player in World Cup history to play in the backs and the forwards at the same tournament when he started on the right wing against Russia.
But while the Wallabies cult hero enjoyed his cameo during Australia’s time of crisis, he was delighted to be reinstated at the back of the Wallabies’ scrum.
“I’m really happy to be back there. Last week playing on the wing was good but I’d rather play at No.8,” Samo said.
“We’ve got good forwards so I like to play at No.8 and run the ball a bit off the scrum so, yeah, I can’t wait.”
The Fijian-born veteran started his rugby career on the wing more than a decade ago and admitted his brief return to the flank renewed his appreciation of the work required for the reputed pretty-boy role.
“Playing on the wing is not an easy task to do,” Samo said.
“There’s a lot of running around there. It’s tough.
“I’d rather play at No.8 so you can do like you do, but on the wing you’ve got to try to stick with the backs.
“But I had fun.”
While Samo can’t wait to get stuck back in, crash-tackling centre Anthony Faingaa is chuffed just to be returning via the bench after being knocked out cold in Australia’s bruising win over the USA two weeks ago.
Coach Robbie Deans has reverted to three reserve backs to include Faingaa for what is expected to be another torrid encounter with the Springboks.
And Faingaa promised his coach he wouldn’t shy away from the heavy physical exchanges despite his recent bout of concussion.
“No, it was just one of those things – I got my head in the wrong place,” he said.
“That’s a big part of my game, so I really need to make sure that I bring that physicality to the tackle area.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.