WE HAD TO USE A COCONUT AS A RUGBY BALL
Tonga centre Vaea Vaea’s remarkable journey from a tiny island to Twickenham
LOOkINg around with wide eyes at the plush surroundings of Tonga’s team base near Twickenham, Vaea Vaea says: ‘This hotel is bigger than the island I grew up on.’
It is the 20-year-old Vaea’s first visit to the Uk. He grew up on the tiny island of Lofanga, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Less than one square mile in size, with a population of 120, it barely shows up on most maps.
‘We moved there when I was five for a couple of years to be with my mum’s family,’ Vaea explains.
‘You can only reach it by boat, and you would get around the island on a horse. We played touch rugby every day but we didn’t have a ball so we used a coconut down on the beach. Afterwards we would go straight into the sea.
‘I remember going fishing with my grandfather. Hanging up octopuses on the trees to make them dry. There weren’t many shops so fishing was the main way of getting food.
‘Sometimes we would go out in a boat and you would see massive whales jumping out of the water. The first time I saw them I thought they were going to eat me! I would swim around in the sea to find the fish and my grandfather would hit them with a little spear. I enjoyed it.’
It may sound like an idyllic island paradise, but life was tough. Money was short and there was not always enough food to go around.
Vaea is a raw talent, the youngest member of Tonga’s squad, and is tipped as a centre with rock star potential. Cut from a similar cloth to Malakai Fekitoa, rugby is his chance to break free from the cycle of poverty.
‘I used to smile but it was hard living because we didn’t have anything,’ he says. ‘No money. I have six brothers and one sister. We were living in my grandparents’ house with my auntie and her husband.
‘There were 12 people in a small house, made from wood with coconut leaves for a roof. All of the boys slept in the living room and the rain would come in through the roof in the night.
‘We never had breakfast. Sometimes you’d just climb a coconut tree, drink the milk and eat the stuff inside. That’s when I started learning about the hard life.
‘I look back at what I overcame and it makes me keep going, focus on my goals and train hard to help my family back in Tonga.’
Like many Pacific Islanders, rugby is Vaea’s ticket out. His older brother, Ita Vaea, was called up by the Wallabies in 2013 but the following week discovered blood clots in his heart and was eventually forced to retire.
‘My brother had to stop playing and that made me work even harder,’ he says. ‘I left home when I was 16 for a scholarship in New Zealand. It was hard because I didn’t know how to speak English. All I could say was “yes” and “no”. If people tried to talk to me I would just keep walking.
‘I stayed in my dorm, didn’t go to class and just came out for rugby training. The principal told me if I don’t go to class I won’t play rugby so eventually I started going and met some Tongans who invited me to stay at the weekends.
‘That’s when I started enjoying it. After school, I had the choice of going to the Crusaders academy or moving to Australia to sign a rugby league contract with the Brisbane Broncos. My uncle lives in Australia so I lived with him and sent everything I earned back to my parents. Two-thousand Australian dollars a month. It was my first time getting paid. A good feeling. It made me happy.’
After a year or so, Vaea was given an opportunity to return to rugby union and signed a deal with Pau in France. He has not looked back. Last weekend he made his international debut against Scotland at Murrayfield and on Saturday he could face the biggest game of his career so far at Twickenham.
‘When I called my parents to tell them I had been picked for Tonga they started crying,’ he says. ‘I have not seen them since 2018. It’s tough. My dad had to retire three years ago because he is sick. His body keeps shaking. He can’t drive and he can’t eat by himself. I’m not sure if he will make it to next year or not. It’s tough for me not being there.
‘That’s why I’m here, for my family. When the borders open, the first thing I will do is go back to Tonga. Every time I train, every time I feel like I can’t do any more, I think about my parents back home and it gives me energy.
‘My goal is to be the best centre in the world. I’m still young but I don’t care about age. I’ll push myself, do my best and make my family proud.’