By 1news.co.nz
Tonga are seeking to host an inaugural Pacific Championships international at the end of the year in what would be a huge boost to the code in the powerhouse rugby league nation.
Head coach Kristian Woolf is backing the plan for a clash at Teufaiva Sports Stadium in Nuku’alofa, which had a capacity for 10,000 people.
The stadium, repaired after Cyclone Gita struck in 2018, already had as tenants the Moana Pasifika Super Rugby side and Tongan international rugby union and soccer teams.
The Australian government allocated $600 million (NZ$644 million) over 10 years last December towards rugby league in the Pacific. While $290 million (NZ$311 million) of that was dedicated to the operations of the PNG side that will enter the NRL in 2028, there was also $250 million (NZ$268 million) set aside for what is known as the Pacific rugby league partnership.
The partnership would facilitate and strengthen grassroots participation and create an elite pathway system for players in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji. That would eventually include development officers and academies.
The Tongan Rugby League believed hosting a Pacific Cup match this year, while interest in the team was sky high, would generate enormous interest and fast-track the planned development programmes.
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The Pacific Championships, which have a Cup and Bowl component in both men’s and women’s league, were jointly funded by the Australian Government and NRL.
It was unknown how much longer superstar Tongan players such as Jason Taumalolo would keep playing but he and the likes of Isaiya Katoa, Haumole Olakau’atu, Felise Kaufusi and Eliesa Katoa have created the interest and following.
There was a wave of momentum behind Tongan rugby league and taking the game there would assist rugby league in its quest to “own” the hearts and minds of the public and become the number one code.
This year’s Pacific Cup in October/November would feature Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand.
The Tongans were proposing the home match this year be played against New Zealand. AAP has been told their preference was for the Tonga v Samoa clash to be played at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta in front of a potential sellout crowd. That would open up a New Zealand v Samoa fixture in Auckland in front of another capacity crowd.
In 2019, between 30,000 and 40,000 people lined the main streets of Nuku’alofa to welcome the team after they had beaten Australia 16-12, the first time the Kangaroos had lost to a tier-two nation. The population of Tonga was 104,000.
The extraordinary scenes were a demonstration of the passionate support and interest the Tongans have created in the code.
While Teufaiva Sports Stadium itself held 10,000 people, if a Pacific Cup clash was played there it was likely two to three times that amount would be outside and in the main square to keep tabs on the game in what would be a true festival of rugby league.
When Tonga beat New Zealand 25-24 in Auckland in last year’s Pacific Cup, there were thousands of people packed in the square watching the match on a big screen.
