16 May 2023 , 20:27
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Making sure he didn’t damage his “old man” was the chief aim of Hull KR’s Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e.
But he was the one who ended up getting grounded as his dad enjoyed the last word in their surreal match-up. In a rare professional rugby league occurrence, the father and son full-backs played against each other on Sunday. On dual-registration with Keighley Cougars, Phoenix, 20, faced Quentin, 38, as Sheffield Eagles romped to a 46-18 victory in the Betfred Championship showdown.
He admitted: “It was weird, really. In the build-up, my main worry was I didn’t really want to hurt my old man! But both of us came out injury-free so it all worked out in the end. I still live at my mum and dad’s house but it was surprisingly normal on the morning of the game which I wasn’t expecting.
“We just had a few jokes about being each other’s enemy and that was it. I was pretty nervous but I tried my best to hide it. Then, in the game, the only tackle I made on him was when he made a break. I wanted to make sure he didn’t score. If I was to get one thing out of that game, it was just to stop him doing that! I chased back and managed to get him. But he played the ball quickly and they scored the next play so I didn’t even look at him!”
Former Samoa international ‘QLT’ is in his second stint at Sheffield where he's a club legend after joining in 2011, going on to score a huge 183 tries in 218 games. They briefly played together at Keighley in 2021 before ‘PLT’ made his Super League switch but the weekend was totally different.
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Sheffield Eagles' Quentin Laulu-Togaga', left, with son Phoenix, in Keighley Cougars colours, after facing each other for first time. (CREDIT: KEIGHLEY COUGARS) (KEIGHLEY COUGARS)Ex-Castleford and Toronto ace ‘QLT’, who hails from Auckland, insisted: “Getting the win was always the main thing. But to play against him was such a weird experience. As a father my job is always to protect him, to make sure he lives by good values and is brought up to respect his elders but that all went out of the window for 80 minutes.
“There was still part of me during that game, though, that wanted him to do well against us! And we had a good laugh afterwards as a family about that tackle. I joked I let him just so he could feel better about losing!”
Exciting talent ‘PLT’ has yet to feature for the Robins this term but made seven appearances last season and signed a new deal until the end of 2025 in January. He admitted: “It’s so good to have my dad still playing at a high level. I can still learn from him, go watch him and most people my age don’t have that pleasure of seeing their dad play so it’s a privilege. I try not to take it for granted. We went over Sunday’s game together, too. No matter what happens he’s always going to be looking out for me and trying to help me improve.”
Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e in action for Keighley Cougars against Sheffield Eagles (KEIGHLEY COUGARS) (KEIGHLEY COUGARS)With Aussie star Lachlan Coote retiring at the end of the season, he could get more of a chance at that No1 role with the Robins in 2024. ‘PLT’ said: “I hope so but I’m not really focusing on that right now. I know I’m only young and I have plenty of time so right now I’m just thinking about how I can improve every day. I’m enjoying it at KR. When you’re full-time you can learn a lot as you have access to a lot of things every day. It’s a really good environment to be around especially since we’re going quite well at the moment.”