HE DIDN’T WANT to impose too much during their busy build-up to the first Test, but Joe Tomane took the chance to see some of his old friends from Leinster last week in Brisbane.
He met James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Conan, and Garry Ringrose.
Lions boss Andy Farrell has always been good at including players’ families and it’s no different with the Lions. There was an emotional ceremony last Thursday when family members presented the players in the matchday 23 with their jerseys.
Before that special day, some of the Leinster players’ partners and kids joined Tomane’s wife, Anastasia, and their two girls on a trip down to the scenic Gold Coast for a few nights.
The Tomanes were only in Dublin for two years but they built strong connections there. They had known Scott Fardy and his wife Penelope from their Brumbies days but Tomane was blown away by the reception he got from Leinster.
“When we moved there, everyone opened their arms and made us feel so welcome,” says Tomane.
“It was crazy. I’d only been there for like a day and Johnny Sexton was calling me asking me if I needed any furniture and stuff for the house, then invited me over for dinner three or four days later, so I got to meet his family.
“Those sorts of things are the reason I feel like I still have a close connection because the players and the coaching staff really put in an effort to make me feel as comfortable as possible.”
Sitting in a coffee shop in the Coorparoo suburb of Brisbane, close to the office where he now works, Tomane reflects on the frustration of his time with Leinster too.
“I mean, unfortunately, I couldn’t repay them in the way of playing,” he says.
Tomane lets his hair down with Jamison Gibson-Park in 2020. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Persistent hamstring issues held former Wallaby Tomane back from making as big an impression as he might have. He made 13 appearances in his first season after joining from Montpellier in 2018.
Tomane was playing good stuff at inside centre in his second campaign before the pandemic struck.
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“We were actually in talks to extend but then obviously Covid hit and then on top of the hamstring injuries… so I understood,” says Tomane.
“It’s tough to make those business decisions, but they had to in the best interest of the club and I thought they actually did what was right, which is why I respect the decision. I have no hard feelings, man.”
35-year-old Tomane is back in his hometown now, having retired from professional rugby. He was born in New Zealand but moved to Brisbane with his family when he was three.
He initially played rugby league at Marsden State High, where Israel Folau also went to school, before moving to rugby union powerhouse Nudgee College on a scholarship for his final year. Tomane played with James O’Connor in Nudgee and with the Australia U18s but switched back to league after school.
He broke into the NRL with the Melbourne Storm and then played for the Gold Coast Titans. But the Brumbies lured him back over to rugby union in 2011.
“I was sort of in a bit of a crossroads with my rugby league career, mainly because of my own doing,” says Tomane.
“I was young and I probably wasn’t professional enough.”
He needed a change and life in Canberra – a quiet, hard-working sort of place – seemed ideal. It also helped that, having been coached by the legendary Craig Bellamy in league, Tomane was then working with Jake White, Stephen Larkham, and Aled Walters.
Tomane had good times with the Brumbies. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Within a year of switching to union, Tomane was making his Wallabies debut on the wing against Scotland.
Both of Tomane’s parents are Samoans who moved to New Zealand and then on to Brisbane in the pursuit of a better life for their kids. They made the working-class area of Logan their home. Tomane’s dad is 67 now, still working, and still getting up at 4 o’clock every morning.
Tomane has one sister and two brothers. One of his brothers, Jason, is a Romania international who lived with Joe in Canberra for a while.
“The blind leading the blind,” jokes Tomane, who is the eldest sibling.
“I’m the discipliner! I keep them in shape.”
Having seen his father working so hard for his family throughout their youth, Tomane’s Wallabies debut in Newcastle was all the more special because of a moment just beforehand.
“My father was there to see me sing the national anthem and I spotted him in the stand while I was singing,” says Tomane.
“I mean, I don’t know if he was crying but I could see some emotion on his face, so just seeing that… everything that I achieved was off the back of my family and especially my father’s labour. I’m just the fruit of his hard work.”
That stands out as the highlight of Tomane’s 17-cap international career with the Wallabies. Two of those caps came against the British and Irish Lions during their 2013 tour of Australia.
Tomane takes great pride in being a father himself now. He and his then-partner had Starsha just after they left school, so she’s now 16. Tomane missed the Lions Test in Brisbane last weekend because he was at one of Starsha’s important school events.
He and his wife Anastasia also have two girls, 3-year-old Amariah and little 5-month-old Gianna. Tomane says all three of his daughters are “absolute miracles.”
Tomane playing against Ireland in 2013. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
He headed abroad for the first time in 2016, joining French club Montpellier for two seasons before that enjoyable time with Leinster. After that was a stint with Japanese club Ricoh Black Rams before a second spell in France with Biarritz.
Things came full circle when the Tomanes moved back to Brisbane in 2023. He always fancied getting back to play in his hometown so when former dual-code Australia international Karmichael Hunt asked Tomane to come and play for the Souths-Logan Magpies rugby league club, he was delighted.
Tomane’s body wasn’t in good nick by that stage but he loved finishing up his playing days where it all started.
His new career is with a company called Tilermade, for whom times are busy because of all the building currently going on in Brisbane, which will host the 2032 Olympics.
Tomane is running the commercial division of Tilermade and says he feels a new purpose in life. He adds that having a mentor like managing director Anthony Karam, a big supporter of the Souths-Logan Magpies, has been key.
Tomane is also coaching U20 players at the local ‘Jeeps’ club and wants to help keep young people in the game.
“There’s more to rugby than just making money and playing professionally,” says Tomne.
“I see my role as making sure that kids still love the game enough to stick around and just play.”
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'I'd only been there a day and Johnny Sexton was calling me'
HE DIDN’T WANT to impose too much during their busy build-up to the first Test, but Joe Tomane took the chance to see some of his old friends from Leinster last week in Brisbane.
He met James Lowe, Jamison Gibson-Park, Jack Conan, and Garry Ringrose.
Lions boss Andy Farrell has always been good at including players’ families and it’s no different with the Lions. There was an emotional ceremony last Thursday when family members presented the players in the matchday 23 with their jerseys.
Before that special day, some of the Leinster players’ partners and kids joined Tomane’s wife, Anastasia, and their two girls on a trip down to the scenic Gold Coast for a few nights.
The Tomanes were only in Dublin for two years but they built strong connections there. They had known Scott Fardy and his wife Penelope from their Brumbies days but Tomane was blown away by the reception he got from Leinster.
“When we moved there, everyone opened their arms and made us feel so welcome,” says Tomane.
“It was crazy. I’d only been there for like a day and Johnny Sexton was calling me asking me if I needed any furniture and stuff for the house, then invited me over for dinner three or four days later, so I got to meet his family.
“Those sorts of things are the reason I feel like I still have a close connection because the players and the coaching staff really put in an effort to make me feel as comfortable as possible.”
Sitting in a coffee shop in the Coorparoo suburb of Brisbane, close to the office where he now works, Tomane reflects on the frustration of his time with Leinster too.
“I mean, unfortunately, I couldn’t repay them in the way of playing,” he says.
Persistent hamstring issues held former Wallaby Tomane back from making as big an impression as he might have. He made 13 appearances in his first season after joining from Montpellier in 2018.
Tomane was playing good stuff at inside centre in his second campaign before the pandemic struck.
“We were actually in talks to extend but then obviously Covid hit and then on top of the hamstring injuries… so I understood,” says Tomane.
“It’s tough to make those business decisions, but they had to in the best interest of the club and I thought they actually did what was right, which is why I respect the decision. I have no hard feelings, man.”
35-year-old Tomane is back in his hometown now, having retired from professional rugby. He was born in New Zealand but moved to Brisbane with his family when he was three.
He initially played rugby league at Marsden State High, where Israel Folau also went to school, before moving to rugby union powerhouse Nudgee College on a scholarship for his final year. Tomane played with James O’Connor in Nudgee and with the Australia U18s but switched back to league after school.
He broke into the NRL with the Melbourne Storm and then played for the Gold Coast Titans. But the Brumbies lured him back over to rugby union in 2011.
“I was sort of in a bit of a crossroads with my rugby league career, mainly because of my own doing,” says Tomane.
“I was young and I probably wasn’t professional enough.”
He needed a change and life in Canberra – a quiet, hard-working sort of place – seemed ideal. It also helped that, having been coached by the legendary Craig Bellamy in league, Tomane was then working with Jake White, Stephen Larkham, and Aled Walters.
Within a year of switching to union, Tomane was making his Wallabies debut on the wing against Scotland.
Both of Tomane’s parents are Samoans who moved to New Zealand and then on to Brisbane in the pursuit of a better life for their kids. They made the working-class area of Logan their home. Tomane’s dad is 67 now, still working, and still getting up at 4 o’clock every morning.
Tomane has one sister and two brothers. One of his brothers, Jason, is a Romania international who lived with Joe in Canberra for a while.
“The blind leading the blind,” jokes Tomane, who is the eldest sibling.
“I’m the discipliner! I keep them in shape.”
Having seen his father working so hard for his family throughout their youth, Tomane’s Wallabies debut in Newcastle was all the more special because of a moment just beforehand.
“My father was there to see me sing the national anthem and I spotted him in the stand while I was singing,” says Tomane.
“I mean, I don’t know if he was crying but I could see some emotion on his face, so just seeing that… everything that I achieved was off the back of my family and especially my father’s labour. I’m just the fruit of his hard work.”
That stands out as the highlight of Tomane’s 17-cap international career with the Wallabies. Two of those caps came against the British and Irish Lions during their 2013 tour of Australia.
Tomane takes great pride in being a father himself now. He and his then-partner had Starsha just after they left school, so she’s now 16. Tomane missed the Lions Test in Brisbane last weekend because he was at one of Starsha’s important school events.
He and his wife Anastasia also have two girls, 3-year-old Amariah and little 5-month-old Gianna. Tomane says all three of his daughters are “absolute miracles.”
He headed abroad for the first time in 2016, joining French club Montpellier for two seasons before that enjoyable time with Leinster. After that was a stint with Japanese club Ricoh Black Rams before a second spell in France with Biarritz.
Things came full circle when the Tomanes moved back to Brisbane in 2023. He always fancied getting back to play in his hometown so when former dual-code Australia international Karmichael Hunt asked Tomane to come and play for the Souths-Logan Magpies rugby league club, he was delighted.
Tomane’s body wasn’t in good nick by that stage but he loved finishing up his playing days where it all started.
His new career is with a company called Tilermade, for whom times are busy because of all the building currently going on in Brisbane, which will host the 2032 Olympics.
Tomane is running the commercial division of Tilermade and says he feels a new purpose in life. He adds that having a mentor like managing director Anthony Karam, a big supporter of the Souths-Logan Magpies, has been key.
Tomane is also coaching U20 players at the local ‘Jeeps’ club and wants to help keep young people in the game.
“There’s more to rugby than just making money and playing professionally,” says Tomne.
“I see my role as making sure that kids still love the game enough to stick around and just play.”
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