Frizell the All Black who played football for Tonga
He may have lost Shannon Frizell to rugby, but Timote Polovili is still proud of his ‘‘inspirational’’ former goalkeeper for making a career out of sport.
The youth development officer at the Tonga Football Association plans to plonk himself in front of a TV tonight and watch Frizell, a player he coached at under-17 level, make his international rugby debut for the All Blacks.
‘‘The rest of the Tongans in the rugby and the rugby league, and especially the soccer, we are really happy and excited to see Shannon continued his pathway and represent New Zealand. It’s very inspirational,’’ Polovili said.
Polovili conceded that football often loses out to rugby when it comes to player retention in a country where the oval ball is significantly more popular than the round one.
However, Polovili said he would never stand in a player’s way if he wanted to switch codes, as he understood that rugby could provide the naturally gifted Tongan athletes with a realistic shot of making a living out of sport.
‘‘My advice for the player in Tonga, like Shannon, is to encourage them to do what is better for their families.’’
‘‘We look forward to the first Tongan in the football to play overseas like in the rugby. But because sometimes in Tonga when they go to school and they have a scholarship in New Zealand to study and play rugby, it’s hard for the football [to
‘‘My advice for the player in Tonga, like Shannon, is to encourage them to do what is better for their families.’’
Timote Polovili
compete].’’
Frizell may be best known for his promising rugby career – arriving in New Zealand three years ago to play for Tasman, the Highlanders and now the All Blacks – but it was quick a shock when he revealed on Thursday that he used to play football for Tonga.
He was the goalkeeper at the OFC under-17 championships in 2011 and played 90 minutes across all four of their games, each ending in a crushing defeat. Seriously, there is no way to sugar coat it. Tonga really did struggle at the tournament, shipping 46 goals and scoring just two. The most one-sided result was a 17-0 loss at the hands of New Caledonia.
Polovili said the players, Frizell included, were rocked by the results. But at the same time it was good to expose them to better quality football.
‘‘It’s very hard for the player, especially when they participate and the score may be 17-0 or 12-0. But what I see with the Tonga players, they’re a little bit upset, but it also exposes them to a high level, especially in the under-17 or under20. They like to play and it doesn’t matter about the high score. They try to do their best.’’