Ainu'u Knows Where He Comes From, and Where He's Going
Ainu'u Knows Where He Comes From, and Where He's Going
Still only 21 years old, David Ainu'u comes into the USA team a veteran.
The product of the Liberty Patriots program in Washington state, Ainu'u was a champion when he was 14 years old, leading the Washington Loggers select side to a Youth win at the Great Northwest Challenge (see photo of him with Salty Thompson). His rise since then has been meteoric. In the last seven years he has gone from a quiet, soft-spoken, relatively short 14-year-old prop into a confident, still-soft-spoken professional.
(We've mentioned this before but it bears repeating because it's unique in American rugby. In Western Washington, there are about a dozen boys HS teams (sometimes more, sometimes less). Of those, six different teams—Chuckanut, West Seattle, Eastside, Tacoma, Liberty, and Budd Bay—have produced men's 15s Eagles in the past ten years. In most states, it's two or three programs that accomplish that. California could rival the raw numbers, but not the percentage—more than half the teams in the region producing Eagles.)
Surprise Field Time
After a couple of years riding the pine with Toulouse, getting some time but mostly struggling to break through, Ainu'u became a key part of the best professional club in Europe. Toulouse won the European Cup and the French Top 14. The American prop came on to cap off the last 16 minutes in the Euro final at Twickenham. He did the same in the razor-thin Top 14 semifinal, right before the Thomas Ramos try that sealed it for Stade Toulouse.
Getting those high-profile minutes as a closer for a championship time meant a lot to Ainu'u, especially after cruelly seeing his Rugby World Cup end almost before it had begun with an ankle injury in the early moments of the first game.
"I didn't think I'd be playing that much those season," Ainu'u told Goff Rugby Report. "I thought it would be more like 2019. But to be a real part of it was great. We had some injuries but the coaches also told me they had the confidence in me to do the job. I usually play loosehead but they said they wanted me at tighthead and they had faith in me."
That faith was rewarded, and it could also reward the USA team as Ainu'u prepares to start at loosehead prop on Sunday at Twickers.
"Because they had that confidence in me, I had the confidence too. I felt like I could play at a high level."
A Veteran?
Ainu'u, therefore, came into USA camp feeling more confident, more of a veteran, Despite being only 21, and having only nine caps to his name, he's a double champion in one of the toughest pro leagues in the world.
"I feel like I am in a position where I can play my best," he said. "I still need to listen. I still need to learn. I listen a lot to Joe [Taufete'e]. We have so many knowledgeable players, players who could have been in the position I was in. I am happy to still be learning."
Ainu'u said he and Paul Mullen and Mikey Sosene-Feagai have a massive job to take on in the front row when they face England.
"We are the first guys up there; Mikey, Paul, and I have to come together as a front row. When we've had trouble in the scrum it's because of our cohesion, and we've got the other five in the pack, but we're the first men up there."
In open play, Ainu'u had emerged as a powerful hitter and a guy who does not back down in the breakdown. He has become stronger, more confident, and he acknowledges that he's developed that part of his game in Toulouse, and perhaps is enxious to show what he can do for the USA.
Thankful For The Start
And we looked back to that kid seven years ago, who moved on from the Youth Loggers to the Varsity Loggers, HS All Americans, and then Toulouse and the Eagles, all before he turned 20. We asked Ainu'u if winning the Youth GNW in 2014 mattered a lot and what he thinks of it now with some perspective.
"It meant a lot to me then, but I think it means a lot more to me now," he said. "I looked back and everything started from that. Had I not played for the Loggers I don't think I'd be where I am today. I am really grateful for that and, yeah, it was a big dea then, but those early experiences are a bigger deal now."
USA vs England is live on FloRugby.com Kickoff 9am ET July 4. David Ainu'u starts in the #1 jersey.
