SIONE'S NEW CHAPTER - I KNEW I NEEDED TO CHANGE

After working hard on his physical and mental health, the Warriors legend is ready to face the public again

For years, Sione Faumuina has been running from the limelight. But content with the new life he has built for himself, wife Renay and their three - soon to be four - children in Rotorua, the Sione who is chatting to Woman's Day now is a far cry from the one some Kiwis might remember.

"I like to think I'm a different man now," he says with a wide smile as he and Renay wrestle their kids, daughters Ella, seven, and Aiva, six, and son Kees, two, in front of our photographer with minimal fuss. "There's still chaos but now it's a completely different kind!"

It's been years since the former New Zealand Warrior and international league legend has willingly put himself in front of the public after a string of highly publicised alcohol-fuelled incidents that plagued the talented athlete's career.

So when the opportunity presented itself to be a part of TV show Match Fit, a programme following former professional rugby league players as they fight to regain their fitness and lose weight, Sione, 42, was initially hesitant.

"It was a hard decision to figure out if I wanted to be back in the public eye," he admits. "Twenty years ago, I was probably in the media for the wrong reasons. Fast forward to now, I'm a lot more mature, I've got children and I'm in a far better place. But I really wanted to connect with the other boys again, so I decided it was time."

It's a completely different ball game - pun intended these days for professional athletes. Offered tonnes of support and mental health care from the beginning of their careers to the transition out of professional sport, athletes now have resources they can use to help them through their struggles.