10k run to training pays off for Temo

EVERY time Temo Mayanavanua sits down to watch the children's TV show Cocomelon with his young son Elnathan, the Northampton lock is reminded of one of his greatest days in rugby.

-  JON NEWCOMBE

Winning the Premiership in his first season in England would have been beyond his wildest dreams when he was a kid running 10kms to training and back in Suva, but the evidence is there, right in front of his eyes.

"It is shining brightly in my living room.

There is a reason I put it in the living room. That is the first place that I go to every morning," the 26-year-old said.

"It is hanging just behind my TV, so every time I put on the TV I am looking at it.

"I look at it and, I don't know, it just motivates me to become a better me every day. I think it is pretty early but to have another one of those would be unreal."

Sadly, Fiji's Pacific Nations Cup win a few months later did not merit individual medals. But Mayanavanua played his full part in helping his country win a sixth PNC title by appearing in all four games, to take his tally of caps up to 21, and dominating opponents in defence.

Like a lot of Fijians, Mayanavanua's rise to professional rugby wasn't straightforward, and involved some personal heartache, which makes everything he has achieved all the more commendable, and special to him.