As part of our 'Top Teammates' series, Rebel players reflect on the teammates that have shaped them most in their career.
Up first is Rebels rake Jordan Uelese.
One player who had a huge impact on me was Tetera Faulkner.
He’s one guy who knows a lot about scrums. He really helped me with my overall knowledge on scrums and the mental side of rugby, which fast tracked my growth as a player.
He was a strong Loose Head (can play both) and I really enjoyed having him on my left side in scrums during games.
As a player you really felt a sense of calmness, always knowing you were going to go forwards because he just always loved the contest, so you could always rely on him to bring our scrum up.
Tetera was someone who left it all out in the field. For example, one of the small things you don’t see on tv off the ball is what we like to call the ‘shitters’- the stuff most players don’t like to do, putting your head in places not many players can - that was something I admired about him .
Off the field, having that older head was always someone we could go to for advice or just a laugh, one down to earth lad.
He was also one of my best mates, we were actually roommates for a long time on Rebels and Wallabies tours.
We had this tradition where every time we checked into a hotel we’d check the room service menu - salads only of course! HAHA
