Tonga national rugby union team

Not to be confused with Tonga national rugby league team.

Tonga

Union	Tonga Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)	ʻIkale Tahi
Emblem(s)	The White Dove
Coach(es)	Isitolo Maka
Captain(s)	Finau Maka
Team kit Change kit
First international
Tonga  9 – 6  Fiji (15 August 1924)
Largest win
Tonga  119 – 0  South Korea (22 March 2003)
Largest defeat
New Zealand  102 – 0  Tonga (16 June 2000)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (First in 1987)
Best result	First round, third in pool 1995,2007 & 2011

The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi (Sea Eagles). Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao (aka the Sipi Tau). They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a monumental 19 - 14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

History

Main article: Tonga at the Rugby World Cup

Rugby was brought to the region in the early 20th Century by sailors and missionaries and the Tonga Rugby Football Union was formed in late 1923. Tonga beat Fiji 9–6 in their first test in 1924 played in the capital Nukuʻalofa. However Tonga lost the second test 14–3 and drew the decider 0–0.

Between 1924 and 1938 Tonga and Fiji played three test series every alternate year. Matches between the two Pacific nations were hard fought; many have claimed that the ancient feuding wars between the Islanders were transplanted onto the rugby field. Troubles during the third Test of Fiji’s 1928 tour to Tonga forced the game to be abandoned with Tonga leading 11–8. In 1954 Tonga played host to a touring Western Samoa.

Tonga beat New Zealand Māori in 1969 but had to wait until 1973 before they played their second test match a 30–12 defeat against Australia in Sydney. They got their revenge when they beat Australia in Ballymore, Brisbane 16–11, scoring four tries to two in June 1973. The following year they travelled to the Arms Park for a non-cap international against Wales, a game that ended in a 26–7 defeat.

The first Tongan tour to Great Britain was in 1974 when they played 10 games, including those in Wales against East Wales, Llanelli, North Wales, Newport, West Wales and a Wales XV. The only tour victory was by 18–13 in the opener against East Wales. The 'tests' were lost by 44–8 to a Scotland XV and by 26–7 to the Wales XV.

They remained a little-known quantity in Europe until 1986 when Wales embarked on a tour of Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. Early in the game against Tonga Welsh flanker Mark Brown was flattened by three Tongan forwards, leading to a mass brawl involving the entire team except Malcolm Dacey and Mark Titley. Robert Jones^{[disambiguation needed ]} describes the event in his book Raising The Dragon as "the worst brawl I have ever seen on a rugby field." At the post-match dinner Jonathan Davies was asked to give a few words in Welsh and as the hosts politely applauded he described them as "the dirtiest team I have ever played against!"

Tonga were drawn to play Wales again in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The previous meeting, plus the decision to rest some of the leading players, led to a poor Welsh performance though they managed to win 29–16. Tonga lost its other two games to Ireland (32–9) and Canada (37–4).

They failed to qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. In 1994 they won the South Pacific championship on try count and so qualified for the Super 10, they finished bottom of their pool with only one point.

They qualified for the 1995 World Cup ahead of Fiji on points difference. Tonga managed only two victories in the next two World Cups, against the 29–11 Ivory Coast in 1995 and Italy in 1999. The win over the Ivory Coast brought tragedy when Ivory Coast winger Max Brito was left prone on the turf and has used a wheelchair ever since.

June 1999 brought their greatest home victory, a 20–16 defeat of France in Nukuʻalofa over a touring France but in 2000 they were humiliated 102–0 (including 15 tries) by New Zealand. As seen from this type of results, Tonga is fierce upon home games and manage to face great difficulties on away games.

After losing their first four matches to Fiji and Samoa, Tonga finished third in the Oceania qualifying group. As a result they had to play home and away matches against Papua New Guinea, which they won 47–14 and 84–12, followed by a play-off against South Korea, who finished as runners-up in the Asian section. Tonga thrashed them 75–0 and 119–0.

At the 2003 Rugby World Cup Tonga lost all their games and finished bottom of their pool. Despite keeping Wales to 20–27, they were again thrashed by New Zealand 91–7.

In 2007 Tonga participated in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, winning 2 of their pool matches and nearly defeating the eventual champions, South Africa, in one of the most memorable and exciting games of the tournament, eventually going down 30–25.

Tonga achieved one of the greatest victories in Rugby World Cup history with their 19 - 14 win over France in the 2011 World Cup. Which was one of the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history.

Sipi Tau

Main article: Kailao

Like a lot of the big Pacific rugby nations, Tonga has a pre-game war dance (Haka). The Sipi Tau is a form of the Kailao. Tonga perform the kailao/Sipi Tau prior to the commencement of a match. The kailao was originally a war dance that was imported to Tonga from Wallis Island. It is usually performed at both public and private ceremonies.

One of the most memorable performances in modern times of the Sipi Tau was during the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, in Tonga's match against the All Blacks. The All Blacks began their traditional haka, and then Tonga answered to the haka through the sipi tau whilst the All Blacks were performing it, bringing the teams within metres of one another just prior to kick-off.^[1]

Tongan squad selectors have surprised their supporters in the past but the exclusion of regular starter and captain since 2009, Kirk Watton-Green III from the world cup 2011 squad has caused a lot of controversy back on the island. Watton-Green III has been left out due to his recent signing for Exeter Chiefs in England according to selectors but there have been rumours that it may be down to the bad boy tag that comes with him.

Overall Record

IRB World Rankingsv · d · e
Top 20 Rankings as of 7 November 2011[2]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	91.43
2		Australia	87.42
3		France	84.70
4		South Africa	84.34
5		England	81.58
6		Ireland	80.65
7		Argentina	80.28
8		Wales	80.18
9		Tonga	76.63
10		Scotland	76.20
11		Samoa	75.81
12		Italy	73.99
13		Canada	72.92
14		Georgia	71.09
15		Japan	70.45
16		Fiji	68.78
17		United States	65.63
18		Romania	63.98
19		Namibia	61.24
20		Portugal	60.67
*Change from the previous week
Tonga's Historical Rankings
Source: IRB - Graph updated to 07/11/2011[2]

Their Test match record against all nations, updated to 09 September 2011, is as follows:^[3]

Nation	Games	Won	Lost	Drawn	Percentage of wins
Australia	4	1	3	0	25%
Canada	6	2	4	0	25%
Chile	1	1	0	0	100%
Cook Islands	3	0	3	0	0%
England	2	0	2	0	0%
Fiji	85	27	55	3	31.7%
France	4	2	2	0	50%
Georgia	2	1	1	0	50%
Ireland	2	0	2	0	0%
Italy	3	1	2	0	33.3%
Ivory Coast	1	1	0	0	100%
Japan	11	7	4	0	64%
South Korea	6	6	0	0	100%
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100%
New Caledonia	1	1	0	0	100%
New Zealand	4	0	4	0	0%
New Zealand Māori[4]	12	4	8	0	33.3%
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100%
Papua New Guinea	2	2	0	0	100
Samoa	42	17	23	2	40.4%
Scotland	2	0	2	0	0%
Solomon Islands	1	1	0	0	100%
South Africa	2	0	2	0	0%
Tahiti	1	1	0	0	100%
United States	4	3	1	0	75%
Wales	6	0	6	0	0%
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	100%
Total	214	89	120	5	44%

Current squad

Tonga's 30-man RWC squad was announced on 23 August. Chairman Bob Tuckey allegedly resigned over the proposed selection of former captain Nili Latu. ^[5]

• Caps and ages relevant to start of World Cup.

Head Coach: Isitolo Maka
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by the International Rugby Board.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Aleki Lutui Hooker 1 July 1978 (aged 33) 30 Worcester Warriors Ilaisa Ma'asi Hooker 5 February 1982 (aged 29) 7 Counties Manukau Ephraim Taukafa Hooker 26 June 1976 (aged 35) 30 Mont-de-Marsan Halani Aulika Prop 31 August 1983 (aged 28) 2 Highlanders Taufa'ao Filise Prop 26 May 1977 (aged 34) 15 Cardiff Blues Kisi Pulu Prop 31 January 1978 (aged 33) 23 Perpignan Sona Taumalolo Prop 13 November 1981 (aged 29) 4 Chiefs Soane Tonga'uiha Prop 21 January 1982 (aged 29) 8 Northampton Saints Paino Hehea Lock 1 February 1979 (aged 32) 16 Lyon Tukulua Lokotui Lock 31 December 1979 (aged 31) 5 Kintetsu Liners Sione Timani Lock 3 September 1984 (aged 27) 7 Scarlets Joe Tuineau Lock 18 August 1981 (aged 30) 4 Southland Finau Maka (c) Flanker 10 July 1977 (aged 34) 5 Pamiers Samiu Vahafolau Flanker 24 April 1978 (aged 33) 10 Béziers Sione Vaiomo'unga Flanker 8 April 1989 (aged 22) 7 Toloa Old Boys Sione Kalamafoni Number 8 18 May 1988 (aged 23) 14 Nottingham Viliami Ma'afu Number 8 9 March 1982 (aged 29) 5 Mitsubishi Samisoni Fisilau Scrum-half 29 November 1987 (aged 23) 7 Counties Manukau Taniela Moa Scrum-half 11 March 1985 (aged 26) 2 Pau Tomasi Palu Scrum-half 23 September 1986 (aged 24) 3 Norths Kurt Morath Fly-half 13 November 1984 (aged 26) 9 Souths Alipate Fatafehi Centre 13 December 1984 (aged 26) 7 Lyon Suka Hufanga Centre 18 June 1982 (aged 29) 22 Newcastle Andrew Ma'ilei Centre 24 May 1980 (aged 31) 18 Bordeaux Siale Piutau Centre 13 October 1985 (aged 25) 2 Highlanders William Helu Wing 19 April 1986 (aged 25) 7 Bristol Rugby Alaska Taufa Wing 24 July 1983 (aged 28) 5 Akita Fetu'u Vainikolo Wing 30 January 1985 (aged 26) 2 Connacht Viliame Iongi Fullback 8 August 1989 (aged 22) 9 Scarlets Vunga Lilo (vc) Fullback 28 February 1983 (aged 28) 21 Bordeaux

Notable former players

• Inoke Afeaki
• Stanley Afeaki
• Ipolito Fenukitau
• Benhur Kivalu
• Usaia Latu
• Gus Leger
• Nisifolo Naufahu
• John Payne
• Sateki Tuipulotu
• Maama Molitika
• Aisea Havili
• Josh Taumalolo
• Sililo Martens
• Salesi Finau
• Nili Latu
• Hale T-Pole

Notable players from other countries of Tongan Decent

All Blacks

• Jonah Lomu
• Pita Alatini
• Doug Howlett
• Isitolo Maka
• Kupu Vanisi
• Charles Riechelmann
• Carl Hoeft
• Saimone Taumoepeau
• Sam Tuitupou
• Anthony Tuitivake
• Sione Lauaki
• Ben Atiga

England

• Leslie Vainikolo

Wallabies

• Viliami 'Ofahengaue
• Fili Finau
• Daniel Manu
• George Smith
• Toutai Kefu
• Wycliff Palu
• Steve Kefu
• Lloyd Johannsen
• Mark Gerrard
• Rodney Blake
• Tatafu Polota-Nau
• Sekope Kepu
• Salesi Ma'afu
• Anthony Faingaa
• Saia Faingaa
• Sitaleki Timani

Wales

• Toby Faletau

Notes

1. ^ Haka and Sipi Tau set Lang Park alight ABC
2. ^ ^{a b} "World Rankings". International Rugby Board. http://www.irb.com/rankings/full.html. Retrieved 7 November 2011. 
3. ^ RugbyData.com – International Rugby Union Statistics – Statistics for Tonga – Teams Played
4. ^ Although the New Zealand Maori are not New Zealand's national representative team (see All Blacks) many Test nations award their players Test caps when playing them.
5. ^ "Tonga name 30, chairman resigns?". Planet Rugby. 2011-08-23. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_7119051,00.html. 

See also

• Tonga national rugby league team
• World Cup
• Pacific Tri-Nations
• Pacific Nations Cup
• 2008 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
• Pacific Islanders rugby union team
• Tonga Rugby Football Union

Sources

• Tongan rugby history (from the BBC)
• The good and bad of Tonga (from the BBC)

External links

• Official site
• Tongan rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• Tongan Rugby News
• Details on Rugby WC's squads
• World Cup Preview
• Supporters website of The Pacific Islanders Rugby Team