Matt Faessler on his unlikely rise: 'It's a fickle game'

Queensland Reds hooker Matt Faessler will tinker with his game and slowly transform his body to chase a Test chance against the British and Irish Lions.

The Toowoomba toiler made history last year against Wales, becoming the first Wallabies hooker to score a hat-trick.

But a calf injury cut his spring tour short, Faessler left yearning for more European-style rugby after unsurprisingly admitting he loved the grind in his first northern hemisphere exposure.

The Lions will tour this year, and Faessler is determined to prove himself once more after his dramatic rise from Sydney club rugby’s scrap heap.

Fundamentally sound behind a rolling maul and throwing at lineouts, Faessler has gone from a short-term injury replacement player at the Reds to Wallabies starter in two years.

Faessler’s injury then allowed former Reds hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa an opening after he’d returned from France to play for the Western Force this year.

A former Sydney garbage man, he and Faessler – a Toowoomba Grammar prospect who was initially overlooked for a professional contract – represent the other side of the rugby story.

“Mate, it’s a fickle game,” the 26-year-old Faessler said ahead of the Reds’ season opener in Brisbane next Friday.

“You have those traditional pathways out of school, then you have myself or BPA (Paenga-Amosa) just working jobs and thinking maybe (the former second-tier) NRC is it.

“We (Paenga-Amosa) knocked around heaps in camp and get along well. Talk a bit of footy, particularly scrummaging after he’s come from France, where it’s such a focus.

“But just lifestyle stuff; he’s got some good life experience, bit of a character, and has a crazy story.”

Faessler unsurprisingly relished his time against England and Wales last year.

“I loved it … the atmosphere and the style of play really suited me,” he said.

He knows Super Rugby is a different beast though, and will balance what the Reds need with what will be required against the Lions later this year.

“Super clubs play different styles; it tends to be more of a running game,” Faessler said.

“There are things to focus on, but it can’t detract from what’s important at the Reds.

“In my case, you do tend to see guys a bit lighter, then get heavier approaching Test season, when there’s bigger collisions.”

The Reds have high expectations in 2025 after showing promise in Les Kiss’s first season as coach before losing a second straight quarter-final.

“It’s about turning those tight losses into tight wins,” Faessler said.

“To progress we need to nail those moments at the back end of games.”