Red revolution in the wind as Woolf pack gets ready to rip and tear into Kangaroos

Get ready for a red revolution.

The next step in Tonga’s remarkable journey as a league nation is at Eden Park tonight as they take on the Kangaroos for the second time in 12 months.

They’ve never had a better chance to dethrone the world champions.

They have surely the most intimidating forward pack seen in New Zealand, and more importantly, they are match-hardened and conditioned, in contrast to last year’s ambush at Mt Smart Stadium.

They participated in the Rugby League World Cup Nines in Sydney, followed by their historic 14-6 win over Great Britain in Hamilton.

“What we’ve had this year in terms of opportunities has been outstanding,” said Tonga coach Kristian Woolf. “We come in really, really well prepared for this game.

“We’ve had almost two-and-a-half weeks together now, and coming off the back of a game and a performance we were really happy with last weekend certainly puts us in the best position we’ve been in.”

The match against the Lions also demonstrated the team has been galvanised by the dramas of recent months, when a player mutiny effectively forced the reinstatement of Woolf, after he was dumped by the Tongan board.

The clinical Kangaroos may be a bridge too far tonight but Tonga are certainly gaining on the “Big Three”.

They have claimed the scalps of the Kiwis and Lions, and were close against England at the 2017 World Cup.

Such success will be selfperpetuating and encourage more young players to represent their country of heritage.

On reflection, their progression has been remarkable. In 2014, the year Woolf was appointed, Tonga almost didn’t play at all, before an invitation to play Papua New Guinea in Lae, with the Kumuls covering all the costs.

They lost 32-18, with a squad including Ben Murdoch-Masila and Sio Siua Taukeiaho.

Their only other games in the next two years were against Samoa (two losses) and Cook Islands (their only win).

But everything changed at the 2017 World Cup, after the high profile defections of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita, among others.

“It was always something that had the potential to happen,” said Woolf. “We knew if we got all the best players playing for Tonga, we were going to compete with the best in the world.

“It’s a credit to these guys, they are the ones making the sacrifice, [they] have made a commitment to playing for Tonga. It’s not only done great things for Tonga, as a nation and football team, but also the international game.”

Between the 2013 and 2017 World Cups, Tonga played only four games, and none against a tier one nation.

Tonight’s game in Auckland will be their fifth of the cycle, and all but one have been against the established elite.

That, and the adversity of recent months, makes Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga wary ahead of their clash.

“They have developed a bond and the players have bought into the cultural piece and playing in that red jersey,” Meninga said yesterday.

“They have got that passion, that drive and desire, and that’s dangerous. We have to match that passion.

“They were extraordinarily good last week and played with so much passion. We have to prepare really well to match [them].”