Fati and Fale To’o figured they’d just have to sleep in the lounge room.
That was the reality of raising seven kids inside a three-bedroom fibro house in Whalan. Tucked away in one of those rooms, always sharing with a brother or sister, was a chirpy kid who would one day be one of the NRL’s finest exponents of the Samoan sidestep, where footwork takes a back seat to brute strength in the game’s most primal seconds.
This is long before Brian To’o was running over the top of would-be tacklers on his way to a third consecutive NRL grand final on the flank for the Penrith Panthers.
“We were living together and doubling up in one room, my parents were sleeping in the lounge room and I would double up with my brothers or my sisters,” To’o said. “We’d be sleeping alongside each other. It made us be so grateful for everything we have.”
Which is why it meant so much to To’o when he bought his parents a home in Ropes Crossing earlier this year – although it took them some time to believe he was serious.
You can understand why, given To’o jokingly refers to himself as “the golden child” of the family before correcting himself and conceding he is “the weird one”.
Brian To’o says he chose to play for Samoa at this month’s World Cup out of “love”.Credit:Getty
“When I told them I was buying them a house, because I like to joke around a lot with them, they thought I was joking. They were speechless,” To’o said.
“It was the best feeling. It’s every Polynesian kid’s dream to buy their parents a home. It provides a token of gratitude, just to tell them how much we’re grateful for. That’s what I did for my mum and dad, not only gift them with the house to let them know how much I love them and appreciate them, but also to show all the little kids out there that dreams do come true.”
To’o will play for Samoa at the World Cup instead of chasing a place on the wing in Mal Meninga’s Australian team, which is favoured to defend the international game’s crown.
The 24-year-old is one of seven players featuring in Sunday’s grand final against Parramatta who will turn out for Samoa in the United Kingdom. He joins Panthers Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton, Izack Tago, and Spencer Leniu, as well as Eels forwards Junior Paulo and Oregon Kaufusi in the squad.
Many among them have been criticised for turning their back on the Kangaroos, but To’o says it is a decision born out of “love”.
“We obviously respect the jersey with Australia, that’s the highest point, that’s the team to make. All it comes down to is a decision, not with our minds but with our hearts. We obviously chose Samoa, that’s why,” To’o said.
“Representing my family, my culture, my background, it’s more than just a game. We’re representing not only our families, friends and ourselves, but we’re representing all the kids in Samoa. Hopefully, one day they get to pull on the jersey and represent Samoa themselves.”
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