Fa'afili making up for lost time

Fa'afili played for Warrington in Super League

Henry Fa'afili hopes to make his Leeds Carnegie debut as soon as possible.

The 29-year-old Samoa international back only arrived in Leeds on Sunday after a visa delay and is keen to make up for lost time.

"It was very frustrating just having to wait, but I kept myself fit," Fa'afili told BBC Radio Leeds.

"I played with local teams in New Zealand so I could hit the ground running, but it's up to the management staff when I actually play."

Fa'afili signed for Leeds from French club Biarritz in May but has had to wait for a visa before moving back to the UK.

Team-mates Juan Gomez, Mike MacDonald and fellow Samoan Fosi Pala'amo have suffered the same problems, with the latter two still waiting to be allowed back into the country.

"I'm very happy to have finally made the journey over and I'm very excited now I'm here," said the former rugby league player.

"I now want to get stuck into it and become a full member of this team and am looking forward now to the future and the rest of the season.

"I've had a training programme give to me be the coaching staff, so i was doing that while I was away.

"It's not up to me when I play, it's up to the coaching and medical staff to decide when I'm fit enough and ready to play."

Fa'afili's joy at finally arriving in West Yorkshire was dampened by the news of the tsunami that hit the Pacific on Tuesday night.

"I was watching the news with my partner when it came on about Samoa and American Samoa being hit by the tsunami," he said.

We are only a small country and this is a devastating blow

Henry Fa'afili on a tsunami hitting Samoa

"It is terrible news for Samoa and my thoughts are with everyone who has been caught up in the tragedy.

"My immediate family are okay but we are unable to hear anything about my other relatives in Samoa because the power is down and the phone lines are not working.

"It appears that American Samoa has been worst hit whilst the coastal villages in Samoa have been the ones that have been destroyed by the tsunami.

"We are only a small country and this is a devastating blow."