Super Rugby: ACT Brumbies' Fred Kaihea ready to fill Scott Sio's absence in 2023

These are the ACT Brumbies Fred Kaihea has been looking up to for the last two years as he earned his prop stripes alongside them.

As both are Wallabies stars, it made it almost impossible for the 23-year-old to earn himself a loosehead prop spot in the Brumbies' game day squad.

With Sio departing the club, Kaihea's time in the wings may have ended.

He has re-signed with the Super Rugby Pacific semi-finalists on a two-year deal and is ready to grab the opportunity with both hands.

But he has not forgotten his education from Sio over the last two seasons.

"It definitely helped a lot, especially spending time with Scotty last pre-season as he wasn't in the Wallabies," Kaihea said.

"He helped me both on and off the field, especially mentally preparing and getting my body right for the weekend by giving me tips and stuff, which has been pretty good.

"So with him leaving now, I have to help Slips and just keep pushing myself for a spot on the bench."

His first multi-year deal provides some breathing room for the rookie prop, especially since it was not all smooth sailing for the Kiwi before his Super Rugby AU debut last year.

Kaihea grew up bouncing between relatives homes in Christchurch and Auckland, before a holiday in Australia at 14 changed everything.

He decided it was "too short" of a visit to see his older brothers, and it led him to make the visit across the ditch permanent to attend Karabar High School.

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At this point he was a self-confessed "diehard" All Blacks fan, but had yet to take to a rugby union field himself.

Canberra changed that, and it explains why he considers the capital home and wants to don a green and gold jersey in his future.

"I was always in love with the sport but I just never got the chance to play it over there [in NZ]," Kaihea said.

"As soon as I got here I was looking around the club teams, and then one needed numbers so I just went and filled in.

"I was with my brothers, so that was another part of making the decision to stay here and go to school."

His representative journey kicked off when Brumbies Super W coach Dan Hawke helped him get into Erindale College's rugby union program 18 months after his move.

From there it was representative team after representative team. But more challenges were to come.

An ankle fracture put an end to his Junior Wallabies call-up at 20. His father died soon after. He was called into the Brumbies' squad as injury cover but a posterior crucial ligament tear in his knee put an early end to his Super Rugby debut season.

He penned a one-year deal for 2022, and things began to get back on track.

Now a two-year deal will be announced on Friday.

"It feels really good," the young prop said.

"It feels like they're backing me up on all the progress that I've been doing, especially just learning from the two big dogs [Sio and Slipper].

"But having those two years behind me, and those two years locked in, now I can finally relax, put my head down and go to work and keep fighting for a position, and hopefully more game time next year."

Having come into the ACT program under departing coach Dan McKellar, Kaihea had yet to cross paths with incoming Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham.

But he has heard great things from those who have, and was excited to play his part to help the side build on its 2022 semi-final appearance next season.

"I don't really know much about Larkham," he said.

"The boys tell me he is pretty great, but he has a very different coaching style to McKellar, because McKellar was more forward-based."

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