Alaalatoa hungry for Super Rugby success
Alaalatoa linked up with the Brumbies squad in January after an extended break following The Rugby Championship and the Wallabies Tour of Europe.
The 23-year old made his Wallabies debut against the All Blacks and never looked back, racking up a further eight appearances throughout the season to bring him to nine caps.
Making Alaalatoa's Wallabies success all the more impressive is the fact that he made the switch from loosehead prop to tighthead prop for the first time in his professional career just prior to his debut.
Alaalatoa said it was the most challenging part of his Wallabies experience.
"The main thing was moving to the other side of the scrum," Alaalatoa told brumbies.com.au .
"Playing all my Super Rugby at loosehead and then transitioning over to tighthead was the biggest change to me. It's something I'll be looking to develop over the next few years."
The 120kg prop said the switch was more of an adjustment then he had anticipated.
"There"s a lot of technical differences but for me it's a lot more physical to play tighthead.
"It's hard to explain but it takes a big toll on your body and you just got to be a lot stronger in different aspects of the position, particularly in the scrum."
Alaalatoa is back training full-time with the Brumbies as he and his teammates push for Super Rugby success.
With a host of experienced faces leaving the squad in the off-season, the Brumbies have a number of new players integrating into the side.
Alaalatoa said the squad had an unusual feel to it when he arrived back in Canberra.
"It's probably a bit different because the squad has changed a bit," Alaalatoa said.
"This is my fourth season now and we've got a lot younger squad but it's very, very exciting for us."
"First and foremost the boys have been great at training, it's been good to see a few new faces. It was great to see them have a good crack last weekend."
With midyear Test's against Italy, Fiji and Scotland as well as the Rugby Championship coming up in 2017, Alaalatoa has plenty of motivation to perform well for the Brumbies and secure his place with the Wallabies.
"The time I spent with the Wallabies has made me a lot hungrier, I want to be there again.
"Performing at Super Rugby level is what you have to do to be able to get the chance to pull on that jersey."
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