For ACT Brumbies wingers Henry Speight and Joe Tomane, there is a lot to be said for the do, not the least of which is personal comfort

Jake White used to hate the afro hairstyle, insisting that at least one of the ”fro bros” keep things short and tidy.

But for ACT Brumbies wingers Henry Speight and Joe Tomane, there is a lot to be said for the do, not the least of which is personal comfort.

“It’s give and take; you lose a bit of speed with the fro, but you get a lot of comfort,” Speight said.

By Chris Dutton of the Canberra Times

“You don’t need a cushion on the plane because the fro’s there, it keeps your head warm in winter. There are more positives than the one negative of losing a bit of speed.”

Speedsters and try-scoring machines, Speight, aka “the bro with the fro”, and Tomane, “the fro with the show”, will be key men as the Brumbies look to beat the Waikato Chiefs in a Super Rugby qualifier final at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

But the sight of the duo’s frizzy hair-dos would have had former Brumbies coach Jake White getting the scissors ready, with Tomane revealing he kept his hair short and neat last year to avoid the wrath of the World Cup-winning mentor.

Now with wild-haired rugby director Laurie Fisher in charge, they have been allowed to grow and grow at will.

“I’ve always wanted to grow the hair,” Tomane said. “I didn’t have much freedom when Jake was here. He likes his players clean cut.”

Speight started growing his fro as part of Fijian culture and a tribute to his cousin Malachi, who died last year.

It is hardly aerodynamic and befitting of Speight’s fleet-footed try-scoring ability, but the Fijian flyer says: “When you’re on to a good thing, why change it?

“Joey is a bit jealous; his is curly and has impressive size, but mine is compact and nice and tight.”

“I’ve thought about cutting it, but the little kids love it, so I’m keeping it for them. I see the happiness in their faces; if it’s another reason for them to come back and if I’m scoring tries, then why cut it?”

“I think Joey was a bit scared of Jake. He didn’t have the guts to grow it last year, but Jake didn’t say anything to me. He must have thought it helped scoring tries – don’t change a good thing.”

The Brumbies have sold almost 10,000 tickets for the grand final rematch against the Chiefs.

It is just the second Super Rugby finals game in Canberra since 2004 and the club is targeting a crowd of 20,000. If it achieves its goal, the club will donate $20,000 to the Hands Across Canberra charity.

Brumbies teammates even joke the pair is driven by religious beliefs, channelling Samson who was given supernatural strength by God in order to combat enemies, but he was powerless without his hair.

Tomane said: “Samson was blessed with amazing power and strength, but only if he didn’t cut his hair.”

Both Speight and Tomane have suffered long-term injuries this year – Speight broke his jaw and Tomane fractured his cheekbone – but they are thriving on the chance to get redemption against the Chiefs and charge towards the Brumbies’ first title in 10 years.

“We’re not focused on the past,” Tomane said. “This is a new opportunity to do something special, we’re excited about the challenge and hopefully we can go all the way.”