In the latest of our ex-player feature interviews, hullfc.com caught up with former Black & White powerhouse back-rower Willie Manu to discuss his love for the club and his time in the UK, as well as where his career has taken him since…
Manu joined the then Grand Final runners-up from the previous year ahead of the 2007 season from Castleford, and was one of Hull’s big-name signings for the new season, alongside fellow Aussie Matt Sing.
The Tongan-international would go on to make 165 appearances for the club and become one of only 16 overseas players in the club’s history to surpass 100 appearances.
A fans favourite throughout, Manu started by explaining how the move to the Airlie Birds came about following relegation with the Tigers in 2006.
“I was quite young when I originally decided to head over to the UK and I wasn’t in the right head-space over here in Australia, doing some silly thing that was getting me in trouble, so me and my manager thought it might be time for me to try something different and come over to the UK and have a bit of a fresh start.
“Castleford got relegated at the end of the 2006 season and after that, I didn’t have a contract. The first phone-call I got from my manager the next day said we’d wait and see what interest we got in the UK – I didn’t know Peter Sharp personally but my manager was pretty close with him, and Sharpy was the first coach to get in touch about signing me up.
“He called me straight away, and when I met up with him, I was really keen. I’d seen what Hull had done over the last few years with the 2005 Challenge Cup win and reaching the Grand Final in 2006, and I knew some of the players already so I thought that that would be the best move for me. It was too good an opportunity to turn down to join a club in a strong position like that.”
The now-40 year old expressed his excitement to be heading to a Rugby League hotbed, as well as joining a talented squad.
“When I first came to the UK, it was my first time in my life away from home, so I didn’t know too much about the Rugby League culture here when I arrived, but I did have the inkling that it was a really big town in terms of their love for the sport. As soon as I arrived, you could see that. In Australia, Rugby League is big but its not like it is here.
“I tried to embrace the culture as much as I could. If you do that, you’re bound to enjoy your time a lot more. You hear whispers sometimes that Hull isn’t a good place, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I loved every minute of my time there.
“It’s always good when the squad is built of home-grown talent. A lot of them players played together when they were younger, and they’ve been building them combinations for years. That was a real strength of the squad during my time at the club – we also had the right balance of overseas players too I feel.
“I knew Matt Sing a little bit – I used to watch him in Origin when I was younger so it was pretty cool to link up with him, and me and Motu Tony played Junior Kiwis together too. He was on the phone to me when Castleford got relegated trying to convince me to come and telling me everything I needed to know.
“In those later years, that was a special pack. There was so much experience in there, and it was great to pick the brains of the likes of Fitzy and Ogre. We jelled really well and it’s a shame we couldn’t go on to win anything around that time but I just think injuries caught up with us a little bit. But it’s definitely one of the best packs I have featured in during my career.”
Manu reflected on some of his finest memories during his time at the club, explaining that the chance to feature in the first Hull Derby of the Super League era was special, as well as the chance to play in his first major final in 2008.
“It (2007 Hull Derby) was a special experience. I’d never played in front of a crowd like that before that was so vocal, and you could just feel the tension in the air too with it being the first competitive game between the sides for so long. All the Hull Derbies I played in were special occasions – the build-up was something else. I was just surprised at how intense it was.
“I remember the game on Good Friday in 2011 at home too – it was the game where Willie Mason was due to play for Hull KR but got pulled from the squad a couple of days before. That was a special occasion and unforgettable, just like the others. There was always a story just like that to add to the occasion.
He added: “The 2008 Challenge Cup Final was the first major final I had ever played in, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. We obviously don’t have that competition back home in Australia so I didn’t really appreciate how big it was until we walked out for kick-off.
“When you leave the tunnel, on a boiling hot day in front of 85,000 fans in a huge new stadium like that, that’s when it hits you. Obviously we didn’t get the result but to play in that match in front of my wife and family brings back proud memories.”
Although he would never go on to play for the nation, it was in 2010 that Manu was considered for the England squad for the Four Nations later in the season though the 5-year residency rule in place, with the back-rower expressing his shock, but honour to be given the chance.
“I was shocked at first, but pretty humbled at the same time that Steve McNamara had considered me. I had to really think about it when they first approached me, because before I was approached, I didn’t even know I was eligible to play for England having been born in Australia and already represented Tonga through my heritage.
“When I sat down and thought about it, I thought Rugby League gives you plenty of opportunities, and this was one to play against the best in the world in the form of Australia and New Zealand, so I would definitely have given it a crack had it come to it.”
However, Manu did instead get the chance to go up against England in the Exiles Origin matches, being named in the squad in 2011 and 2012, playing alongside fellow Hull FC teammates Crag Fitzgibbon and Mark O’Meley.
“It was a great experience playing for the Exiles, and one that really excited me. I felt like a little kid again playing alongside some of the players I looked up to when I was a little kid. To go into a training camp with them guys a few times a year was a breath of fresh air. It was nice to catch up with all them guys who are in a similar situation to you on the other side of the world.”
Manu departed the club at the end of the 2012 season, heading for St Helens for two seasons where he would ultimately go on to win the Grand Final in 2014. However, despite calling the achievement one of the greatest of his career, Manu explained he didn’t just come to the UK to claim trophies and medals.
“When I first signed with Hull, one of the goals was to win silverware, but it wasn’t my ultimate goal. At the end of the day, I just love playing Rugby League – I’m still playing now! For me it was more about experiencing the game on the other side of the world, and winning anything along the way would have been a bonus.
“When I moved over to Saints, winning that Grand Final will stand as one of my greatest achievements, especially after knowing what it felt like to lose a final before, but winning silverware was second to me enjoying the game in general throughout my career.
“When you move into a new team like I did at Saints, it is scary at first. They’re a really successful side with plenty of history so you doubt yourself at first that you can fit in, but they were really welcoming. It was a great place to be at the time – they had some great young players coming through at the time with the likes of Adam Swift, Tommy Makinson, Luke Thompson and Mark Percival who were all in their early 20s at the time. And then our seniors with the likes of Paul Wellans, James Roby and Sia Soliola brought some really good experience – it was a well balanced squad.”
Manu detailed the work he has undertaken since returning to Australia in 2015, settling up a business alongside his brothers, but expressed his desire to move into youth development in the sport in the coming years.
In Rugby League, I don’t have a lot of times on my hands anymore as I have a full-time job – me and my brothers set up a company called Manu Concreting & Constructruction, so we’ve been working on building that up since I returned to Australia. But over the next few years, I would love to get involved some way in youth development over here. I’ve done a little bit with my son’s team from time to time – I just want to share my experience and knowledge as much as I can with the next generation. I’ve never coached before so that would be another great experience.
And although busy away from Rugby League in his day-to-day life, Manu still tries to keep up with the form of his old clubs, including Hull, and expressed his excitement to see fellow Tongan internationals Manu Ma’u and Mahe Fonua at the club in 2020.
“Well when I first heard Hull were going to sign Manu, I thought “Blimey, they love a Manu over in Hull!” But that’s an awesome signing for the club. I’ve met him a few times over here when I’ve been with the Tongan team and he is a real gentleman – the media like to show the scary photos of his face but when you meet him you realise how much of a nice guy he is. And it’s also great to see Mahe Fonua back at the club too – they definitely like the Tongan boys over in Hull.”
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