HE HASN’T GOTTEN a Munster tattoo just yet. When he does get around to it, Malakai Fekitoa is thinking of getting the province’s famous stag.
Fekitoa is starting to run out of space for new pieces but he’s determined to get some Munster ink after a season in which he came to love the place. He wanted to stay but the decision was made to let him go and Fekitoa has since signed for Italian club Benetton.
Today, the 31-year-old goes up against some of his former Munster team-mates at the World Cup. Conor Murray, Tadhg Beirne, and Peter O’Mahony all start for Ireland, with Dave Kilcoyne and Craig Casey on the bench, against a Tonga team that includes Fekitoa, who previously played for the All Blacks but switched allegiance in 2021.
Fekitoa steered clear of sending texts directly to his friends from Munster this week but he’s been keeping an eye on their social media, popping the odd comment under their posts. It will be strange to face them, having so recently won the URC with them.
“I know I was only there for a year, but I have a really good connection with those boys,” says Fekitoa. “They’re good boys, they looked after me when I was there.
“We’re more connected now because we won the championship, those memories last a lifetime.
“It’ll be weird, but at the same time I know I’ll give everything on the pitch and they will as well.”
Fekitoa left the province at the end of last season having earned his status as a real fan favourite. Many Munster supporters were sad to see him go. That’s all the more impressive when you think back to the start of the campaign when Munster were struggling and Fekitoa was one of many players in poor form.
There were many times before the turn of the year when Fekitoa wasn’t even picked in Munster’s matchday 23. So the turnaround was nothing short of spectacular. Fekitoa wishes the adventure could have continued but says Munster had made their decision earlier in the season.
“As a player, a lot of people don’t know what you go through,” says Fekitoa.
“Off the pitch as well, a lot went on behind the scenes. I don’t want to say anything, but obviously financial-wise, their business plan… I kept telling myself I know who I am and what I’ve done in my career.
“I back myself every day, it’s what I kept telling myself and even letting the boys know that I’d keep showing up, keep doing the job – I’m still here, I’ll give everything for the team. I told the coaches many times as well, ‘Whenever you need me, I’m ready’.
“Last Christmas I turned the corner from there, at the end it all worked out well. I wouldn’t change it, one year was perfect for me. I wouldn’t change anything that happened to me in that time.
“It taught me a lot about life, my relationship. I got to spend more time with my family when I wasn’t being selected for six weeks in November, December.
“It was perfect, I got to spend time with my kid. I got to experience Irish life and the country, get out and drive. I wouldn’t change anything.
“Those are some of the best memories because some people would say I should have signed to go somewhere else, to France or Japan for more money, but I chose to go there.
“I stood my ground, I kept fighting and it worked out well.”
Fekitoa and his fianceé, Claudia Velazco, welcomed their second daughter, Mila, into the world just two weeks ago, with older sister, Mara, now 14 months old.
They weren’t born on Irish soil but Fekitoa say he’s proud to have called it home for a year. He loved visiting the Cliffs of Moher and appreciated how welcoming the people of Limerick were.
He also felt a “massive connection” with the Munster fans, some of whom have been in touch recently.
“Even now, they’re going for Ireland but I’ve had messages saying, ‘Good luck Tonga’.
“They’re always reminding me that ‘you’re always a Munster man.’”
Fekitoa’s fondness for Munster is obvious, while he’s also deeply proud to now be playing for this native country.
He previously played for New Zealand 24 times, having moved to the country at the age of 17 on a rugby scholarship at Wesley College near Auckland. Fekitoa ended up with a World Cup winner’s medal in 2015 but his club career took him to Europe and ended this time with the All Blacks.
It’s a few years since he first decided to switch allegiance to Tonga, initially using a loophole in the eligibility laws to play 7s for his native land, before World Rugby changed the rules altogether in late 2021. Having made his debut last year, Fekitoa already has eight Tonga caps.
“It’s a lot for me, for my family,” says Fekitoa of the honour. “Obviously I was born and raised in Tonga, I played for Tonga at age-groups earlier, so I always had that connection as well.
“It’s my first language, most of my family are still in Tonga, so it’s very special that I get to hopefully make a difference to the team and to my family by representing them well in this campaign.”
Fekitoa is one of 14 siblings, with 12 of them left and dotted around the world. One of his brothers lives in France. Back home on the island in Haʻapai, his loved ones will have a big feed today and then crowd around the TV to cheer him on against Ireland.
Life in Tonga is better these days, almost two years on from the country being hit by a tsunami that had devastating effects. Fekitoa couldn’t get in touch with his family for several agonising days in January 2022 but thankfully, they were all alive.
He threw himself into fundraising to help with the rebuild, working hard to raise around $180,000 New Zealand dollars.
“It’s improved a lot because it’s been a year or two since then,” says Fekitoa.
“We went back to see, it’s been fixed up a lot. Houses have been built. Some of the islands were wiped out, a lot of people moved to the mainland so we went to see where they relocated.
“So, that was good. Things are back to normal, it will still take a while before everything is smooth.”
He loved going back to play in Tonga this summer for their first World Cup warm-up game against Australia A. He was reminded just how much Tongans love their rugby. The atmosphere in Nukuʻalofa was “crazy.”
Switching to Tonga also involved realising how they have relatively poor resources. Fekitoa says their travel schedule can be tough, while they sometimes don’t have new rugby balls for training.
But those aren’t excuses. Fekitoa and his Tonga team-mates are ambitious even if they know how difficult Pool B of this World Cup will be against Ireland, South Africa, and Scotland.
“It’s probably unrealistic to say that we want to be in the finals but that’s where we want to be,” says Fekitoa.
“Start with Ireland, we’ve got to believe it. We didn’t just come here to take part, that’s our main goal – we want to win. That’s our drive.
“It starts this week. They’re the best team in the world, the champions are there and even Scotland played well, but we want to give everything on the field every week. Whether it’s enough, as long as our people are proud, that’s the main thing.”
And on a personal level, Fekitoa is happy to be back on the biggest stage.
“Playing for the All Blacks was always unique times, very special because not many can achieve that and I’m always grateful to everyone in New Zealand who gave me the opportunity for development and to represent New Zealand for a while,” he says.
“But for me, it is about giving back now.
“I know I’m still good enough to compete with the best and what a time to do that.”
