Initially, while at high school, Fa’amatuainu played basketball, not rugby. In that sport, he represented New Zealand at under-16 and under-18, and Samoa at under-20 age-group level. He started playing rugby relatively late, at the age of 18, when the rugby coach at his school (De La Salle College, Mangere East in Auckland) asked him to join their rugby team, because the team needed a flanker. After some hesitation, he agreed and it didn’t take long for his (international) rugby career to take off.[1][2]
In January 2006, Fa’amatuainu joined Bath Rugby in the EnglishAviva Premiership on a short-term deal[3] but was offered a two-year contract a few months later.[4]
^Information obtained by checking the team lineups via the 'match centre' linked to results of games played by Samoa on "www.worldrugby.org". Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2016.