Tongan party stays on

The Tongan party shows no signs of stopping after beating their Pacific rivals, Samoa, 32-18 in the Rugby League World Cup on a memorable night in Hamilton.

The Tron was painted red from the moment Tonga’s team arrived on Wednesday and the bandwagon is firmly stationed in town ahead of next Saturday’s mammoth Pool B encounter against New Zealand at FMG Stadium Waikato.

More than 18,000 packed into the stadium to create an incredible atmosphere that you rarely see in New Zealand, and one that everyone in attendance will never forget after Tonga and Samoa united in song, prayer, and simultaneously performed the Sipi Tau and Siva Tau together as one.

The vociferous crowd on Saturday was predominantly Tongan red, though, and it’s likely to outnumber any New Zealand fans in what will effectively become a home game for Tonga if they generate the same kind of passionate support from the stands.

It was simply spine-tingling. Grown men cried. And the stadium shook like never before.

Tongan flags waved in unison with bursts of beautiful singing and the hype already surrounding this team following the defection of star players from New Zealand and Australia will grow intensely ahead of the facing the Kiwis.

Expectation levels rise every week this Tongan team is together as the likes of Jason Taumalolo, Michael Jennings and Andrew Fifita begin singing from the same hymn sheet.

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf doubts there are fans more passionate for their team than Tongans and it’s hard to disagree on Saturday night’s evidence.

‘‘I’ve got no doubt there’ll be just as many, if not more, Tongans [than Kiwis] here next week supporting us as well,’’ he said.

Cars boosted around Hamilton yesterday morning blaring music that briefly took you to Tonga’s beautiful beaches.

And that crazy carnival carries on for their final pool match against New Zealand, who won’t have the kind of support Tonga have en masse.