A subtle positional switch three years ago has cleared the way for Wallabies props Allan Alaalatoa and Scott Sio to surpass the Rugby World Cup deeds of their fathers.
There will be no prouder parents than Vili Alaalatoa and David Sio when their sons run onto the Sapporo Dome turf on Saturday to face Fiji in their opening tournament match.
They were both props in Manu Samoa’s storied campaign of 1991 when the minnows toppled tournament co-hosts Wales at Cardiff Arms Park.
The only asterisk was that David Sio never played a match at the tournament while Alaalatoa senior started in all four, including the quarter-final loss to Scotland.
The two contemporary Wallabies could have faced the same scenario in Japan, had Allan Alaalatoa not switched from the loosehead to the tighthead side of the scrum for the Brumbies in 2016.
It meant he and Super Rugby teammate Scott Sio weren’t battling for the same berth and opened the door for their historic first Test together later that same year.
“It’s pretty special. Back then I think (our fathers) were competing for the same spot,” Sio told journalists in Sapporo.
“Luckily for me, Allan decided to play tighthead so I got a run this week… it’s an honour and a privilege to run out alongside him.”
Adding to the familiarity on Saturday is the presence of starting Fijian prop Campese Ma’afu, who was a clubmate of Alaalatoa and Sio at junior club level.
Ma’afu is the younger brother of former Wallabies prop Salesi Ma’afu and named after former Australian Test great David Campese.
Sio noted Ma’afu had forged a successful career in Europe and was typical of the modern breed of top Fijian forwards, who were far from pushovers at scrum time.
“They’re quite consistent across the board now. A lot of that valuable time they’ve had over the last couple of years playing in the (French) Top-14 and a couple in the (English) Premiership as well has put them in good stead.
“It’s a different style of rugby up there and a lot of them have benefited.”