Tahu Committed To Cracking New Code With Staying Power
Sun Herald
Sunday April 20, 2008
WARATAHS recruit Timana Tahu has ruled out following Mat Rogers and Wendell Sailor and returning to the NRL.
Tahu did not make his comeback from his much-publicised hamstring problems against the Lions in Sydney last night, but he is getting closer to a return after completing a 30-minute speed session at Centennial Park unscathed yesterday. The former league star rated his speed and fitness at "90 per cent".Tahu's transition to the 15-man game has been complicated by ongoing hamstring issues and the Waratahs medical staff have completely overhauled his training regime. Despite the frustrations, the former Parramatta centre said he had no regrets about his code switch - and confirmed it would definitely be his last."I will never go back to rugby league," Tahu told The Sun-Herald."I still love the game but it's not something I really want to go back to."I've done a lot of things in rugby league and now the challenge for me is in union, trying to win a title for the Waratahs and hopefully make the Wallabies."Hopefully I can get to the World Cup."Rugby union is a world sport, whereas everyone knows in NRL that Australia is easily the best team in the world."It's just three international sides, you're playing against Great Britain and New Zealand. Probably the pinnacle of rugby league is State of Origin. The thing is the variety in rugby union."It's a new challenge now and I want to try and be successful in this sport. Hopefully everything goes well, I stay on the park and play my best football."Tahu denied suggestions he had to change his running style to avoid further injury, although the Waratahs have personalised a program to meet his needs."I still run the same, but there's a few major muscles, like my glutes, that weren't working," Tahu explained. "I've come from rugby league and at every club there's a different structure. "It took me a while to get used to it. If I've done stuff in the past that I know isn't going to work there's no use doing it."My hamstrings have been overloaded, when I'm running, doing my weights. I had to stay off doing the leg weights because they were making my legs a lot worse."The 27-year-old said recently he hadn't run at 100 per cent in seven years, a comment some took to mean he hadn't performed to the best of his ability in league. But he clarified his remark yesterday."I have run at 100 per cent in my football career, there are just times when you don't need to open right up because football's a game with support around you, you need to share the ball around when you're on the field," he said."It wasn't explained properly. It's not a problem any more."
© 2008 Sun Herald