Admit it, we’ve all been there—stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you wanted to know about the secrets of career success. This week we meet Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies Super Rugby Womens’ prop Faasasalu Fuesaina.
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Faasasalu Fuesaina, but most people call me Sally or Sals.
I play prop for the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby Women’s, making my club debut last year in our team’s Round 1 match against the Fijian Drua where I became player #84. Being a part-time rugby union athlete based in Sydney, I travel to-and-from Canberra throughout the duration of the season.
Outside of rugby I’m just a regular 32-year old mother to two beautiful girls, Athena and Luna. I also devote my time as a casual support worker and am currently studying to be a qualified individual support worker in the disability and aged care industry.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid, have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
Yes, playing rugby league and rugby union has always been a dream and passion of mine as a young Polynesian growing up in a small suburb called Claymore, which is located in Campbelltown, NSW.
I’ve always wanted to be a professional footy player in the NRL since I was 7 years old. Being surrounded by a majority of Pacific Islander kids in the neighbourhood, football was one of our three pillars in life: God, family and football.
Playing footy brought so much fun and joy to my childhood and it only grew as I got older. Going into high school, I had to face the reality that after the age of 12, we could no longer play footy with the boy’s teams and there were no girl’s rugby league teams that I could join.
It was at that time I had been introduced to rugby union in high school. I did not know much about it besides the awesome rivalry between the Wallabies and the All Blacks and of course, Jonah Lomu, who was a really big idol to the Pacific Islander community.
I was the youngest player to join our all-girl’s rugby team at Eagle Vale High School. It was an amazing first year, winning the NSW State Women’s Rugby Championship.
It wasn’t so much the winning that made me want to continue playing rugby union, it was more the culture and sisterhood felt being amongst the team. The coaches and senior players made me feel comfortable and welcoming. I felt encouraged as they saw the potential and ability in me as a rugby player.
What was your biggest break?
After having my second child, I had gone through a really tough period of postpartum depression. I really had to dig myself out of the state that I was in.
I needed to do something for me and something that I really loved. I headed back to the gym where I started to build a consistent routine, which helped with my mental and physical state.
I was still a big supporter of women’s rugby during this period. A close friend of mine, Atasi Lafai, who is a Member of the Wallaroos and NSW Waratahs, is someone that kept me inspired and motivated to keep the dream alive. I was always in awe watching her on TV, especially knowing she was from my hometown of Claymore. It made me realise how passionate I was about the sport and how much I missed playing rugby so much.
I called my old rugby club, Campbelltown Harlequins, to see if they had a women’s team. Unfortunately, they didn’t have one that year, though it didn’t stop me. So, I had asked a close friend If I could join their club at the Western Sydney Two Blues.
In 2022, I joined the Western Sydney Two Blues Women’s team. I really had such a burning desire and passion to be a part of the team and looked forward to a good season.
When I began, I started out as a back rower, playing my old position in previous years. My fitness levels weren’t great, but that was something I was already building and improving as the year progressed. I started out as a 20-minute player and would often sub myself off, though I had longer stints on the field and my fitness improved game by game.
The season was nearing an end and a squad was forming to have some Sydney players go against a squad of players from Canberra. I had friends in my team that had been invited to be in the squad that would play the Kestrels in the ACT Brumbies selection trial. But the coaches of the President XV Squad didn’t really take an interest in me and I wasn’t asked to join the squad.
I remembered leaving one of the two blues trainings one night and feeling absolutely devastated because I wasn’t invited — knowing I had improved and did a lot of great things within a year of coming back.
I’m an emotional person, so yes, I cried. I was being really dramatic at the time and called my partner and said “I don’t want to play rugby anymore because I wasn’t invited,” which I did.
I stopped playing rugby union and had gone to trial for a NSW Samoan Rugby League team. I had made the team which went against other national country teams in NSW. I was super proud that I made the side. But later that week, I got a call that the President XV side had trouble finding props for the team and thought I would be perfect for the position.
Fast forward to the trial game between the Kestrel’s and President XV. I had started the trial off in my old position as a flanker, but 20 minutes into the game, we have a scrum and the coaches wanted me to switch to loose head prop, a position I have never played before. So, here I was about to pack my first scrum, and all I was thinking about was, “Don’t collapse the scrum. Don’t fall, don’t fall!”. I was so scared to pack the scrum that I was warning my team in advance that this was my first time, so bear with me.
It turned out to be one of the best games I had, and we came out of that game with a massive win. We won the majority of our scrum set pieces and dominated in a position I had never played before that day.
The trial turned out to be a great opportunity for me, that led me here today as a starting prop for the ACT Brumbies Super Rugby Women’s Squad.
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in; what did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
I’m a travelling player from Sydney to Canberra. We only have one car, so when I take the trips back and forth, my family have to shuffle around with school drop-offs/pickups and babysitting etc. I also miss out on milestones for my girls. This takes its toll on me mentally and emotionally.
I tell myself most days, why do I do it? Why am I doing this?
And it’s simple, it’s because I love playing rugby. The love I have for this sport is the reason I make the trips to play and experience rugby at this level.
I also tell myself to think about all the sacrifices that my family and I have made to get here. I have a whole village behind me that has supported me on this journey. So I keep pushing through it and do my best.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Always tell your loved ones that you love them. Say “I love you” after every phone call, text or when you leave your home because tomorrow is never promised. So make every second, minute and hour count.
What is it about your industry that you love and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
I’ve said this before, I love the culture, sisterhood and mateship. But for the hair pulling part, I’d say it’s when we stress our coaches out too much. I mean ask our coach Scott. Haha jokes!
What I really love about this industry so much is, when you play rugby with your teammates and do the hard yards together. It’s the moments we create on and off the field that bonds us together, the memories we create that forms such great friendships through small victories and more importantly the hard losses.
What advice would you give your past self?
Don’t be afraid to take risks and fail. These are all lessons to build character and persevere through the struggles.
2024 Women in Business, Leadership & Sport Luncheon
Friday 6th September
Women in Business, Leadership, and Sport Luncheon is a fabulous opportunity to recognise the remarkable accomplishments of women who have excelled in the worlds of business, leadership, and sports.
This luncheon will take place at Hotel Realm and is set to be a remarkable gathering of influential leaders, sports enthusiasts, and advocates for gender equality. Tickets for the event will go on sale soon.
This article produced by Her Canberra has been republished with their permission.
