Tonga Women Rugby League authority is under fire after Fiji men and Tonga women were involved in a mixed-gender training session, causing some to express concerns about the unusual arrangement.
Foxsports reported last week that “Fiji’s men’s team have used an unconventional opposed session with the Tongan Women’s team as they prepare for their Pacific Championships clash with Papua New Guinea”.
It alleged that a Tongan official had asked “for an opposed session with the men, and Fiji officials agreed.”
Samoa ended Tonga’s World Cup hopes last week with a 30-16 Pacific Championships win at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
However, the Tongan Independent webpage has criticised the move, stating it goes against young women’s dignity and Tongan culture and traditions.
The criticisms mentioned an incident in 2018, when an official directive from Tonga’s Ministry of Education reportedly prohibited female students at the country’s state school from participating in rugby and boxing. However, women’s rights activists strongly criticised the letter, saying it was “archaic” and “backwards.”
The Tonga Independent reported that the recent session had faced extensive criticism from members of the Tongan online community.
Foxsports said Bulldogs star Kikau revealed that the different training methods worked well for both sides.
“It’s obviously a bit weird but it was really good,” Kikau said.
“The Tongan coach was telling us to go hard, tackle and get some time on the ground.
“They were really good talkers and were loud the whole session. They helped us a little bit and hopefully we helped them in their preparation for this weekend.”
The head-to-head training session went for nearly 40 minutes with onlookers surprised at the competitive collisions between the men and the women, Foxsport said.
Tonga co-captain Natasha Penitani, who plays NRLW for Wests Tigers was excited by the challenge of facing the male players.
“It was really amazing for the men to let us have an opposed session against them,” Penitani said.
Tongan officials could not be reached for comment.
