A few weeks ago the Brumbies star consulted his more inked teammates for advice before deciding to go for it.

"Talking to a few of the boys on the team who do have tattoos and the significance of each one to them, I thought it was just a nice way for me to remember her," Sio said.

"It was quite an experience. A lot more painful than I thought it would be, but that's part of it, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting it."

Sio got the tattoo on his left forearm done in Sydney, depicting his mothers name with her date of birth and death, and a cross.

For his first tattoo, it's a prominent one, and that wasn't by accident. He wanted it there as a constant reminder of what his mother instilled in him.

"It's quite visible and easy for people to see. I guess it reminds me every day to live life to the fullest - glass half full, rather than glass half empty - and be grateful for everything that we have," he said.

"It reminds me that there's more to life than rugby and to make sure that I'm doing my best in whatever I'm doing.

"That's how she lived her life. She made the moments count."

Sio said his mother was an influential figure throughout his life, and not just in supporting his rugby career.

"It's not one memory here or there, it's a collection of them of her always being there," he said.

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"People talk about unconditional love very loosely, but mothers are the ones that show it best.

"Your parents as a team do so much to give you the best opportunity to flourish.

"My entire childhood, adolescent, adult life, everything she did for me, just always being there every step of the way.

"It's just things that we want to continue in life as a family, with our friends and making sure we do everything in our power to keep her in our hearts."

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