Blair makes feelings known
for Tonga previously and Woolf said they had all expressed a desire to return while at their best in recent years.
While Taumalolo signed a 10-year, $10 million deal with the Cowboys earlier this year, the players are giving up a five-figure pay-day to play for Tonga - a fact Woolf believes should not be ignored.
‘‘Jason mentioned to me at one stage that he was certainly thinking about it leading into this
Woolf, who has coached Tonga since 2015, can sympathise with Kidwell. He would often select a ‘‘dream team’’ in his head prior to test matches only for those plans to go out the window as his best players were snapped up by tier one nations.
He admits player eligibility is a huge grey area but says the new rules that allow players to switch between tier one and two nations are vital for the future of international rugby league. JASON Taumalolo is refusing to answer questions about his decision to switch from the Kiwis to Tonga for the Rugby League World Cup.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, he was asked why he hadn’t spoken to Kiwis coach David Kidwell about the move, and said: ‘‘I can’t answer that question’’.
He gave the same answer when asked if he had any issues with Kidwell or New Zealand Rugby League, and when asked if he intended to play for the Kiwis again in the future.
The North Queensland Cowboys lock revealed on Wednesday that he would play for Tonga rather than the Kiwis in the World Cup, which begins at the end of the month.
In the interview with the Daily Telegraph, Taumalolo said Te Maire Martin, his Cowboys teammate, was the only Kiwis player he had heard from since making the decision and that the halve had ‘‘shown his support’’.
Taumalolo played for Tonga at the last World Cup, and said that while he had been thinking of doing so again for a while, it was only after Sunday’s NRL grand final, where his Cowboys lost to the Melbourne Storm, that he made his decision, which had made for ‘‘a bit of a rollercoaster week’’.
His refusal to open up about the circumstances surrounding his switch comes as Adam Blair, the Kiwis captain, has called for him to ‘‘be a man and own up’’.
In a radio interview with NZME, Blair said that if Taumalolo was ‘‘man enough’’ he would have called Kidwell before announcing his switch to Tonga.
‘‘I’m sure he would have had a feeling before he got selected in this team that he was going to do something like this.
‘‘He could have told them a couple of weeks ago because I don’t think it was a last-minute decision. Obviously, this was something he was thinking about doing.’’
‘‘It’s shattering because I’m passionate about New Zealand rugby league and I’m passionate about the Kiwis,’’ Blair told NZME.
‘‘Maybe they don’t feel the same way as some of the other boys about the jersey or our country or what we want to do. It was a hard pill to swallow and all of these boys have been in the team before and done a great job for New Zealand and a lot of faith was put back into them and they were about to be named in the Kiwis squad.
‘‘So to be in the team and then call up the coach an hour before, it’s a little bit disrespectful to New Zealand Rugby League and the coach himself.’’
One thing I do know is that Jason's motives are one hundred percent pure.’ TONGA COACH KRISTIAN WOOLF