\"It will be quite physical\": When the Sio brothers go to war - again

Thu, Aug 2, 2018, 6:01 AM
Iain Payten
by Iain Payten
There'll be no love lost between the Sio brothers, when they face off against each other for the first time at Leichhardt Oval.

When Scott and Patrick Sio were young boys, the brothers made every small contest into a battle.

Occasionally a winner emerged but mostly not, and on those days there was only one way to resolve the day’s war.

“We always had the boxing gloves there and sometimes that was the way we would settle it,” father David Sio says.

“They'd put the gloves on and smack each other around a bit.”

On Friday night, for the first time ever, the boxing ring will be a white-lined rectangle and instead of gloves, the Sio boys will be wearing footy boots.

Lining up on opposite sides of the Wallabies trial at Leichhardt Oval will be Scott with Michael Cheika’s Aussie squad, and younger brother Pat representing a Super Rugby selection.

The showdown could finally deliver a workable theory to the physics community about what happens when an irrestible force meets an immovable object.

“You know he is coming off second-best, come on,” Pat laughs.

“Nah it has always been a good battle, a heated battle since we were young. I don’t expect anything different.”

With some healthy side eye and older brother diplomacy, Scott added: “It will be our first official game against each other. I am pretty excited for the both of us to share the field with such a high calibre of player here in Australia. We are both looking forward to it. We will treat it as another game and I am sure if we cross each other in the game, it will be quite physical.”

The fact there’s a referee standing between them may be new, but in truth Scott, 26, and Pat, 24, have been going at each other since the days their dad – a former Test prop for Samoa – ran an impromptu rugby academy on Sunday mornings in Sydney’s west.

From when they were “about seven or eight”, the Sio boys – and their sisters Tina and Ana-Lise - would join family friends to “smash each other” for a few hours in the nearby park.

The training group had a fair success rate.

Scott Sio, Allan Alaalotoa and Will Skelton all grew up to be Wallabies, Mike Alaalatoa has won a Super Rugby title with the Crusaders and Tina and Ana-lise play for NSW in the Super W.

Pat Sio seemed destined for the same professional success in Australia but after representing the Australian under 20 side in 2013, and Eastwood and the Greater Sydney Rams, he didn’t get any bites from Super Rugby clubs.

He signed a deal with Parisian mega-club Stade Francais, and spent two years in pink and blue in the French Top 14.

Pat, a 110kg no.8, returned to Australia via a stint with Otago (where injury kept him sidelined) and he is now back at Eastwood.

The ball-running backrower had been hoping to catch the eye of Super Rugby recruiters from the Shute Shield, and the NRC, but late last week he got a call from his old Woodies coach (and unabashed Pat Sio fan) John Manenti.

He was coaching an Invitational team to play the Wallabies, and given Eastwood have a bye, how would Pat like to take on David Pocock and co?

“It is exciting stuff, particularly as I was playing club last week and this week I am playing against the Wallabies, and against the big man here (Scott),” Pat said.

Like many little brothers, Pat Sio is driven and inspired by the feats of his 76-Test sibling.

At all hours of the day, he watches and learns about what it takes to wear the gold jersey.

“I try to emulate a lot of the stuff he brings,” Pat says.

“He brings the professionalism home, in terms of he is always training and rolling out and doing recovery.

“That side of him I respect deeply and I try to put that into my own style of rugby and preparation. Also just watching him week in, week out, that’s a big pleasure for us as a family.

“You always want to reach the highest level and I think it is safe to say he has done that, and that’s what I want to try and do.”

Scott was pleased for his brother to get a “great life experience” and pick up a second language in Paris, but he is happy to see his old sparring partner back in the country.

“From a family point of view it’s good to have him back. Dad is enjoying having another male in the household, for a while it was just him and my sisters and my mother,” he said.

“He understands to crack Super Rugby it is about consistently playing well for your Shute Shield team and if he gets a call, I am sure he will be ready for it.

“It’s really to cool to see him showcase his talents against such a high quality of player out there, and he is probably playing against some of the players he idolises in the backrow in a Pocock and a friend like Lukhan Tui.

“I am really excited for him and really excited for Australian rugby moving forward. I think we have needed to have this match for a while, and what a special one for me to play against my brother in the first one.”


The success of the whole Sio clan probably comes back to those Sunday morning sessions, when they were out training while other kids were watching cartoons and scoffing Fruit Loops.

“Growing up but our parents have always pushed us to dream big and reach for new heights,” Scott says.

“But it’s one thing to understand where you want to be, but what they tried to instil in us was the hard work it would take to get there.”

David Sio says the entire family will file into Leichhardt Oval, as fascinated as anyone to see the two boys go at it.

“It's a bit of a dream come true for both of them actually,” he said.

“They've always wanted to play together in a team or against each other, at some kind of a professional level. This has come a bit out of the blue but I think they're both extremely excited and so are we.”

But, tell us Scott, seriously. Based on past history in the backyard boxing ring, who is going to come off second best when you collide on Friday night?

“What happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors in the Sio household,” Scott says.

“I guess everyone will find out when they stream it or watch.”

The Wallabies take on a Super Rugby Selection on Friday August 3, kicking off at 6:45pm AEST, LIVE and FREE on RUGBY.com.au. Entry is free, with all spectators in the running to win two tickets and a trip to the Japan Bledisloe, courtesy of We Love Rugby.

 

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