Meet Mike - Ukulele-playing prop Ala'alatoa settling in at Leinster

Moving from one country to another is not easy.

Moving from one side of the world to the other is even harder. And doing it in the middle of a pandemic, well, that's not a walk in the park either.

Meet Mike Ala’alatoa.

Born and raised in Sydney, Australia of Samoan heritage, the giant prop arrived at Leinster last August following a five-year stint with Crusaders, where he won three Super Rugby titles.

The province’s home-grown production line means that they don’t have to look outside their own pool of talent as often as the other Irish sides but when they do they like to make sure they get bang for their buck.

Weighing in at 19st 11, and standing 6’3", the imposing tighthead cuts quite a swath at the RDS, even among the Leinster pack, for whom he has made nine appearances to date and scored his first try in the demolition job on Montpellier a week and a half ago.

The 30-year-old, whose brother Allan, has played 43 times for the Wallabies, lined out for Samoa against Ireland in the 2019 World Cup and has captained the team.

On the field, Ala’alatoa is slotting in seamlessly but what about the switch from Canterbury to Dublin, wife and young child in tow.

"I’m settling in really well," he tells RTÉ Sport.

"I’ve done a few months here in Dublin. We've enjoyed the lifestyle and the environment here in Leinster has allowed us to do that.

"Everyone from an administration point of view has been really supportive to help us to get settled, which puts my mind at ease and lets me concentrate on my job.

"It’s made it a lot easier. I’m really clear on what my purpose is. The Leinster environment is set up to make it easier for us to succeed."

Once player stays fit and gets enough game time, the work side of life tends to take care of itself.

B