Alaalatoa brothers Allan and Michael set to make Super Rugby debuts in successive weeks

BROTHERS Allan and Michael Alaalatoa are set to achieve an amazing feat by making their Super Rugby debuts in successive weeks – for different clubs.

Rugby Union Dad Vili Alaalatoa with his son Michael who debuted for Waratahs last weekend and his other son Allan debuts for Brumbies this weekend. pic. Phil Hillyard

GIANT brothers Allan and Michael Alaalatoa are set to achieve the remarkable feat of making their Super Rugby debuts in successive weeks – for different clubs.

And their World Cup hero father Vili couldn’t be prouder, declaring: “When my kids were young they had my name hanging around them, but now they’re making their own names”.

Michael, a 130kg prop, debuted off the Waratahs’ bench against Queensland last Saturday, and in a stunning twist of fate, 125kg prop Allan has been rushed onto the Brumbies’ bench for this weekend’s elimination final against the Chiefs in Canberra.

“It is a very surreal experience,” said Vili, who played in the front row of Samoa’s famous 1991 World Cup team.

“I keep telling them, ‘You guys are way in front of me when I was at your age. I was nowhere near where you guys are at’.

“It is a special time for the family.”

But the competitive spirit is strong between the brothers, as highlighted when Vili rang his youngest son Allan last weekend to alert him to Michael’s impressive efforts for NSW at Suncorp Stadium.

“I rang him at half-time of that game and said ‘I think your brother’s doing all right’, and Allan was happy, but he was spewing as well,” Vili said.

“He was saying, ‘He beat me to it, I’m contracted and he’s not but he still played before I did’.

“As it turns out, he gets to hopefully make his debut the following week.”

Adding with a laugh, Vili said: “In the Samoan culture, it’s all about respecting your elders, so I’m glad Allan has respected his older brother and made his debut after him.”

Michael, 22, is also amazed by the turn of events.

He has no contract with NSW, yet has been training with them with the faint hope that an opportunity may come.

Allan, 20, secured an extended playing squad contract with the Brumbies for this season, but was also long odds to get a game, particularly a debut in the finals.

“The way it has worked out, I can’t believe it,” said Michael, who ran on for his debut in the 30th minute of NSW’s record 34-3 win over Queensland.

“I didn’t think it would come this quick, for myself or for Allan.

“I’ll be telling him, ‘Go out there and play your own game, don’t think about it too much’. Because the occasion does get to you – that is what I found.

“But he is obviously good enough to be there, so if he goes out there and does what the Brumbies have asked him to do, he’ll be fine.”

But while the siblings are carving out names for themselves in professional rugby, Vili has been careful to ensure they are not solely reliant on the game to provide for their futures.

Michael has already graduated from university and is keen to pursue teaching post-rugby, while Allan is in the midst of a degree in criminology.

“I always took the approach that education comes first,” Vili said.

“Their priority was always school first, rugby next.”

Having experienced the game’s highs and lows in his own career, Vili recognised that professional sport is an unpredictable beast.

“A broken arm or a leg and it’s all over,” he said. “So you’ve got to have something to fall back on.”

But for now, Vili and the rest of the Alaalatoa clan will delight in watching the brothers bounding forward.

Originally published as Alaalatoa brothers Allan and Michael set to make Super Rugby debuts in successive weeks