Silence is golden for Faletau

Wales' rising star Toby Faletau hasn’t exactly taken a vow of silence but the media at Rugby World Cup 2011 have quickly discovered he is a tough nut to crack when it comes to opening up about himself.

Number 8 Faletau was outstanding in Wales’ heart-breaking 17-16 loss to South Africa in Wellington last Sunday, scoring his team’s sole try and making several barnstorming carries.

“I think he’s just a naturally gifted rugby player and he seems to read the game so well,” Wales captain Sam Warburton said.

“He drops back in the pocket when he needs to. He’s sensible on whether to offload and when not to offload.

“For a 20-year-old, he’s just unbelievably calm and nothing seems to faze him. He’s a very popular and very relaxed guy in the training camp.”

The Welsh media have been doing their best to learn more about Tongan native Faletau but the 111kg forward, who has four caps for his adopted country, has given little away.Even for skipper Warburton it has taken some time to break down the walls surrounding Faletau, whose father Kuli played in the back row for Tonga at RWC 1999 at age 35.

“I’ve opened him up a little bit over the last few months I’ve got to know him. He’s a good guy,” Warburton said.

Faletau’s Newport Gwent Dragons teammate Dan Lydiate is probably best qualified to talk about the Tongan, who will be a key player against the strength of Manu Samoa in Hamilton on Sunday.

“He comes across as being shy but I know he’s very confident in his abilities and it shows in the way he plays," the blindside flanker said.

“It’s not like he’s mute on the field. He talks but he’s not one to be barking out orders. He’d just be saying `well done’ or `good tackle’.”

But as Lydiate points out, Faletau does not need to be shouting from the rooftop about his unbridled talents.

“He does all his talking on the pitch,” Lydiate said. "Against South Africa, that was the best game I’ve seen him play.

“You forget that he’s only 20. It’s like `watch this space’ with him over the next few years because he’s going to develop physically and it’ll be mad to see what sort of player he’ll develop into."