Solomona: Mum
Knows Best

David Solomona, one of the hard men of the New Zealand pack, has a confession to make - the Kiwi forwards are all ?mummy?s boys!?

The Wakefield Trinity second-rower has revealed he received a ticking-off from his mother after being banned for a dangerous tackle in the Kiwis' Gillette Tri-Nations win over Great Britain at Loftus Road a fortnight ago.

?It's always disappointing getting suspended,? he said. ?My mum wasn't happy, which is not a good thing. We're all mummy's boys at the end of the day.?

The good news for Mrs Solomona watching back home in Auckland is her son was banned for only one match after the tackle on Bradford prop Stuart Fielden was downgraded from reckless to careless and the tourists' game against England last Sunday freed him up for Saturday's return Test with the Lions at Huddersfield.

Coach Brian ?Bluey? McClennan has yet to name his team but pony-tailed Solomona is sure to win his 10th cap at the Galpharm Stadium after making a big impact on his return to the international stage after a three-year absence.

Ignored by Daniel Anderson for last year's series despite a magnificent season in which he was named in the Super League Dream Team, the 27-year-old Solomona returned home for the New Zealand summer with his wife Utu and their daughters Naomi and Faith not expecting to play again until February.

He did not even take his boots with him and was forced into panic measures when he and Hull's Motu Tony received a call-up on the eve of the opening match in Sydney.

"Last year I took some boots home in case I got a phone call but this year I didn't take anything, boots or headgear," he said.

"I did get a phone call during the year telling me that I could make the Kiwis but I also got that phone call last year. We popped into Brisbane on the way through and Bluey gave us a call and told us to come to training.

"It was a bit of a last-minute thing. I had to get together some stuff for the first training session. I had to borrow some boots from my little cousin."

As if making up for lost time, the former Parramatta and Sydney Roosters forward was impressive off the bench in the Kiwis' 38-28 win at Telstra Stadium and has started their last two matches in the second row.

?Those first 20 minutes at Loftus Road he was on fire,? said McClennan, who vividly recalls Solomona reaching out of a three-man tackle to score the match-winning try for the Wildcats in a televised engage Super League match at Wigan in July.

?Not many people in rugby league can do that,? added the coach.

Motivated by the record-breaking 47th Test appearance of popular captain Ruben Wiki and the farewell of close friend Stacey Jones, Solomona admits he was fired up for the game in

London, where the ?spear? tackle on Fielden set the tone for an explosive opening.

?I don't know what happened,? he said. ?With Rubes breaking the Test record and Stacey playing his last game, it was pretty sentimental in the changing room.

?I tried my best to fire up the boys. I grew up idolising Rubes and spent most of my college years playing with Stacey.?

Solomona, who has recovered from a calf strain received in that 42-26 victory, was relieved to receive only a one-match ban and is relishing the prospect of appearing in the November 26 final at Elland Road.

?It was a worry because I've had a few spear tackles in the past,? he said. ?But it was down-graded to a careless tackle because they realised there was no malice in it.

?It's a great feeling to be back in the squad. The spirit in the team is awesome. It's something that I've missed, especially being away from home in England.

?It's hard being away from our families but the bonding we have is quite special and unique. There are a lot of friends here that I call my brothers. I'd hang around with them even if I wasn't playing football with them.?

The Kiwis have one foot in the final already after winning two of their opening three matches but Solomona is expecting a tougher challenge from Britain after they pushed Australia all the way in Wigan last Saturday.

?They'll be a whole different team,? he said. ?It?s disappointing that they didn?t get a game to play before the Tri-Nations. It?s probably something they?ll have to look at in the future.

?But after two games they?ll be ready. We played them after two games and we felt we were ready. Also the fact that they?re playing games week after week will help them. We?re expecting them to come out firing. Not firing too much, hopefully.

?We just need to keep doing what we?ve been doing and probably tighten up our defence a bit. We don?t want to let anyone down. We could be part of something special if we try our hardest.?

Thanks to www.superleague.co.uk for this article.