Tonga receive royal stamp of approval
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf is adamant his players will not be overawed by the occasion when they finally get the chance to test themselves against Australia.
Auckland’s Tongan community has been buzzing all week, while many have flown in from overseas, for the Pacific Island nation’s first test match against the world champion Kangaroos tonight.
A crowd of about 28,000 is expected to pack out Mt Smart Stadium and the enormity of the day was only enhanced for the squad on Thursday night when they were addressed by Tonga’s King Tupou VI.
It’s a continuation from last year’s memorable World Cup run and Woolf is confident the lessons learned from that experience will serve them well.
‘‘You learn to deal with that the more you’re exposed to it and we’ve been exposed to it a lot over the last 12 months,’’ Woolf said.
‘‘My advice to these players is enjoy what we’ve got here. This is our first time to play Australia. The [crowd] is somewhere between 26,000 and 30,000 – I don’t think too many are going to be Aussies.
‘‘So it’s going to be a terrific occasion and we just need to get out
and enjoy it. If we’re enjoying it I think we’ll play our best footy.’’
The Kiwis’ shock defeat of the Kangaroos last week did Tonga no favours with Mal Meninga’s side under immense pressure to bounce back. But Woolf said there was no shortage of belief amongst his players.
Unlike Australia, who are going through a transitional period, Tonga have a largely settled squad with back-rower Manu Ma’u the only player missing from their last visit to Mt Smart, the heartbreaking World Cup semifinal to England 12 months ago.
While the finish to that game was marred by the controversial no-try call against Andrew Fifita, Tonga’s execution let them down in the first half.
They blew several opportunities, which they can’t afford to repeat if they want to compete with Australia.
‘‘We made it really difficult for ourselves through our own discipline and just not icing our opportunities early in the game,’’ Woolf added.
‘‘Quite often they ended in errors and England having the ball again. The beauty of this team is that the majority of these players were there . . . so you learn from those experiences. I’ve got no doubt we’ve learned from that.’’
With the test only confirmed last month, Tonga did not have enough time to organise a warm-up game, leaving a question mark over their conditioning.
The other chief concern is the inexperience in the halves, with the World Cup combination of Ata Hingano and Tuimoala Lolohea only playing 15 NRL games between them this year.
But their job is made a whole lot easier working behind Tonga’s explosive forward pack.
Fifita and former Kiwis star Jason Taumalolo dominate the headlines, but Tonga’s pack boasts size and strength across the board.
They hold the key to their chances while there has also been a big emphasis on shutting down the likes of Latrell Mitchell and Valentine Holmes on the edges.
‘‘It will be through the middle,’’ captain Sika Manu said when asked how they can win tonight.
‘‘I think our forwards are a lot bigger but at the same time Australia are an awesome team. They’ve got a lot of strike on the edges, a lot of good forwards as well and a lot of experience.
‘‘They’re dangerous on the edges and if we can look after that then we’ll be all right.’’
The team has also been given the perfect pep talk from King Tupou VI, a rare experience for anyone in Tonga which was not lost on the players.
‘‘He told us a bit about the history of Tonga and the warriors back in the day. I’m sure the boys will take a little bit of that into the game,’’ Manu said.
‘‘It’s a huge thing to meet the royal family, especially the King. I can’t explain how special that was, not only for myself but the whole team.’’