With the success of the Allan Alaalatoa (ON 2011) being named Vice Captain of the Wallabies and the fantastic defeat over the Barbarians, we have recaptured the moment when Allan was a guest speaker at the College. Below is an extract from the Black and White article published on 22 August 2017.

It’s not everyday that a Wallaby player guest speaks at our assembly. Rarer still, is for that international sportsman to be an Old Boy who, at the current peak of his career, has something to say about overcoming negativity and finding the courage to dig deep and keep going.

Allan Alaalatoa (ON 2011) returned to the Centenary Hall stage for the Winter Sports Assembly. Reminiscing about his time at Newington, Allan says that Newington is the place “where I learnt a lot about myself and more so about how I can take on life post school”.

Allan came to Newington in Year 9 and says he was ‘that kid’ who took his schooling and life for granted; “who always chose the easy option and didn’t want to work hard”, he said.

“My first few weeks at Newington, I hated it, I was never used to wearing uniform, or handing in assignments on time, or even completing my homework.  It was a huge change which at the time I disliked but not knowing how it would all change my life around”.

Allan remembers being asked by Mr Brad Gill (ON 1992) to train with the First XV after a PE session where a beep test that Allan felt was his worst ever, showed his potential.

“To this day I remember my PE teacher, the one who happened to be the coach who came to me and said ‘Kid I see you have so much talent, but that’s only going to get you so far. You need to be able to work hard and have the ability to keep striving to be the best, and I am going to teach you that’.

“Coming to Newington changed my mindset at a reasonably young age.  When I was 16 I had made the NSW Rep team and handed in my assignments on time and then I was thinking if I can make it here I can go one more. So I pushed on to make the Aussie Schools team and from finishing assignments I sat my HSC, which I never thought I would do”.

 “People don’t understand the work we go through; the sacrifices we make to be where we are today and to have this rare opportunity to play this game this weekend.  All people see is results.  When you are at the top, people are just waiting for you to fall”.

Allan said that in the midst of this kind of scrutiny and judgement, it’s important to know why it is that you do what you do.

“There has to be a purpose to why you want to wake up in the morning and start your day. I’ve learnt that if you have a big enough why you can figure out the how.”

Allan said that for him, his family is his backbone and the reason why he does what he does.

“Because of my ‘why’ I am able to disregard all the noise that is irrelevant and concentrate firmly on the challenge ahead.

Allan Alaalatoa (ON 2011) 

Save the Date 

Rugby Season Launch Lunch. Friday 1st June 2018. Dockside, Darling Harbour