Salesi Ma’afu reveals the boxing training behind THAT punch; Ben Alexander sprayed by tiger

IT’S been the talk of Twitter all week and former Wallaby Salesi Ma’afu reveals the boxing training behind THAT punch on Tom Youngs.

Salesi Ma'afu (L) hits Leicester hooker Tom Youngs.

SALESI Ma’afu’s thunderous punch on Tom Youngs during the Aviva Premiership semi-final last week has become the stuff of legend on the internet, largely for the manner in which both combatants Tweeted each other friendlies afterwards.

With tens of thousands of retweets of the exchange between Leceister’s Youngs and former Wallaby Ma’afu – which made it as far as US sports megasite the Bleacher Report – here was a great example of how fisticuffs on the footy field should be handled.

@TomYoungs87 cheers mate. The jersey can overcome us in the heat of battle. I owe you a pint. #respect

— SalesiMaafu (@SalesiMaafu) May 17, 2014

But we also couldn’t help but wonder if Ma’afu had previously dabbled in the sweet science, so perfect was his textbook right to the body, left to the chin combination that floored England prop Youngs.

So we asked him.

From his base at Northampton, Ma’afu revealed that his family has a history in pugilism.

“My grandfather and his brother used to run a boxing gym in Balmain years ago when I was a kid and I used go along and watch and every now and then pick up the gloves and have go myself,” Ma’afu said. “These days it’s just boxing for fitness which I enjoy.”

It also got us thinking that Ma’afu would be ideal as the next footy star to dabble in professional boxing, and perhaps call out Sonny Bill Williams for a heavyweight showdown.

“As much as I wish I could, no,” Ma’afu said of switching to the squared circle.News_Image_File: Salesi Ma'afu (L) didn’t miss Tom Youngs.

“It’s a sport I like very much and admire the guys doing it. But I wouldn’t start now like other players that have done so. Though if I weren’t a rugby player boxing would probably be my sport of choice.

“Sonny would have a lot guys lining up to fight him, not me though.”

Ma’afu was suspended for a week and fined $913 for the thwack on Youngs, but will be available for next week’s Aviva final against Saracens.

But far from wanting to glorify his punch, in the style of a true boxer Ma’afu indicated that he should not have reacted to Youngs’ provocation.

“It was just an instinctive reaction to what happened,” he said.

“I shouldn’t have done it and it’s done and dusted now.”

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ALBY Mathewson has chosen the Western Force over the All Blacks, with the Kiwi halfback set to re-sign for the in-form Perth team.

Mathewson’s retention by the Force is significant for two reasons.

The Force sought from the ARU – and have been granted – a dispensation from the rules restricting marquee foreign signings to only two years at a club.

Dispensations have been given before with Melbourne’s Gareth Delve allowed an extras season, but Mathewson’s new deal is believed to be for two more seasons; furthering the leeway given by the ARU to the Force on recruitment.

The second element of Mathewson’s decision is he has recently been in such strong form that some have tipped he could return to All Black contention if he moved back to New Zealand.

By opting to stay in Perth, the former Test no.9 will have to rely on Steve Hansen getting his way on picking Kiwis from Aussie provinces in the future.News_Image_File: Mathewson has made a huge difference at the Force.

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BEN Alexander is still struggling to wash the smell of tiger urine off him after an unfortunate incident at a South African game sanctuary last week.

The Brumbies prop had a day off on tour and was keen to get a close-up look of some lions in an enclosure at the Johannesburg park.

Suddenly the tiger emerged from the bushes.

The striped assassin walked up to Alexander, turned around, and promptly emptied a gallon of the yellow stuff all over the stunned player’s pants.

Video of the incident has been uploaded to Instagram and Facebook, much to the amusement of Alexander’s friends.

Perhaps the tiger was forecasting Alexander’s selection in the Wallabies squad with his generous action.

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A BELATED hat-tip to Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis, who was omitted from the Wallabies squad despite being asked by the ARU to pose up in the new gold jersey just a few short weeks ago.

It was an awkward situation to be put in but Dennis’ humility saved it from being worse.

Though holding doubts he was in the mix for Wallaby selection, Dennis dutifully attended the jersey event, did the photos but then quietly slipped away before media interviews kicked off so as to not offer up meaningless talk about the upcoming Test season.

It was a classy reaction to a difficult circumstance.News_Rich_Media: Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has named four uncapped players in the Australia squad to take on France in a three-Test series.

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SIX losses in a row for the Queensland Reds has stirred up talk CEO Jim Carmichael is back in the sights of the Brisbane Lions to take over as chief executive. Carmichael is a good friend of Andrew Demetriou and has a background in AFL administration, and was linked to the Lions last month. But sources north of the Tweed say Carmichael isn’t interested in the Lions gig, and is more than content running the Queensland Rugby.

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HOW the mighty have fallen. Straight after the Reds won their Super Rugby title in 2011, they had 15 players in a 40-man Wallabies squad. Yesterday, the now last-placed Reds had just four names read out by their former coach Ewen McKenzie.

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INTERESTING tidbit from Phil Kearns in this month’s Inside Sport – the ex-Wallabies hooker was offered contracts to play league back in the Super League frenzy. Kearns revealed he had offers from one Sydney club and one “up north”, but with rugby poised to become professional in 1996, never took them seriously.

Asked how he felt he would have gone as a mungo, Kearns said: “Um… average?”.