From garbage man to Wallabies call up: The Brandon Paenga-Amosa Story

Following his call-up, to the Wallabies squad Reds hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa has revealed that his fellow Wallaby hopeful Folau Fainga’a worked together as garbage collectors in Sydney while looking for their big rugby break.

Following Stephen Moore’s retirement and Australian coach Michael Cheika’s decision to rest Tatafu Polota-Nau has left Paenga-Amosa in a battle with Jordan Uelese and Folau Fainga’a to play the three-Test series. 

Whoever wins the battle will duel with 111 Test veteran Rory Best with all three Wallaby hopefuls boasting a combined 30 minutes of international experience. 

It seems a rapid rise for the Super Rugby newbie but the Auckland born powerhouse says it’s been quite the journey since moving to Sydney as a four-year-old.

The Reds hooker, who played rugby league until he was 15, also spent time studying theology, landscaping, labouring and scaffolding as he plied his true trade with club rugby outfit Southern Districts.

Looked at and then overlooked by the Rebels, Paenga-Amosa has flourished since called on by Queensland coach Brad Thorn and said his latest honour was hard to fathom.

“It means the world — it’s been a hard journey, been a lot of setbacks,” he said, revealing he broke down on hearing the news.

“It (working as a garbage man) has helped me really work hard for things in life, it’s taught me to be humble — up at 4am every morning — and taught me lots of life skills, I owe it to the garbos.”

Full story via foxsports.com.au