Tonga national rugby union team

Tonga

Nickname(s)	ʻIkale Tahi
Emblem	White dove
Union	Tonga Rugby Football Union
Head coach	Toutai Kefu
Captain	Siale Piutau
Most caps	Nili Latu (54)
Top scorer	Kurt Morath (338)
Top try scorer	Fetu'u Vainikolo (15)
Home stadium	Teufaiva Sport Stadium
First colours Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current	13 (as of 23 November 2020)
Highest	9 (2011)
Lowest	20 (2006)
First international
Tonga 9–6 Fiji (Nuku'alofa, Tonga; 25 August 1924)
Biggest win
Tonga 119–0 South Korea (Nuku'alofa, Tonga; 22 March 2003)
Biggest defeat
New Zealand 102–0 Tonga (Albany, New Zealand; 16 June 2000) New Zealand 102–0 Tonga (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand; 3 July 2021)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1987)
Best result	Pool stage, 1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019
show Medal record Pacific Games 1979 Suva 1963 Suva 1983 Apia
Website	www.tongarugbyunion.net

The Tonga national rugby union team represents Tonga in men's international rugby union it's nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi (Sea Eagles). Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.

History[]

Rugby was brought to the region in the early 20th century by sailors and missionaries, and the Tonga Rugby Football Union was formed in late 1923. Tonga beat Fiji 9–6 in their first test in 1924 played in the capital Nukuʻalofa. However, Tonga lost the second test 14–3 and drew the decider 0–0.

Between 1924 and 1938 Tonga and Fiji played three test series every alternate year. Matches between the two Pacific nations were hard fought; many have claimed that the ancient feuding wars between the Islanders were transplanted onto the rugby field. Troubles during the third Test of Fiji's 1928 tour to Tonga forced the game to be abandoned with Tonga leading 11–8. In 1954 Tonga played host to a touring Western Samoa.

Tonga beat New Zealand Māori in 1969, but had to wait until 1973 before they played their second test match, a 30–12 defeat against Australia in Sydney. They got their revenge when they beat Australia in Ballymore, Brisbane 16–11, scoring four tries to two in June 1973. The following year they traveled to the Arms Park for a non-cap international against Wales, a game that ended in a 26–7 defeat.

The first Tongan tour to Great Britain was in 1974, when they played 10 games, including those in Wales against East Wales, Llanelli, North Wales, Newport, West Wales and a Wales XV. The only tour victory was by 18–13 in the opener against East Wales. The 'tests' were lost by 44–8 to a Scotland XV and by 26–7 to the Wales XV.

They remained a little-known quantity in Europe until 1986, when Wales embarked on a tour of Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa. Early in the game against Tonga, Welsh flanker Mark Brown was knocked over by three Tongan forwards, leading to a mass brawl involving the entire team except Malcolm Dacey and Mark Titley. Robert Jones describes the event in his book Raising The Dragon as "the worst brawl I have ever seen on a rugby field." At the post-match dinner Jonathan Davies was asked to give a few words in Welsh and as the hosts politely applauded he described them as "the dirtiest team I have ever played against"^{[citation needed]}

Tonga were drawn to play Wales again in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The previous meeting, plus the decision to rest some of the leading players, led to a poor Welsh performance though they managed to win 29–16. Tonga lost its other two games to Ireland (32–9) and Canada (37–4).

They failed to qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. In 1994 they won the South Pacific championship on try count and so qualified for the Super 10, in which they finished bottom of their pool with only one point.

They qualified for the 1995 World Cup ahead of Fiji on points difference. Tonga managed only two victories in the next two World Cups, against the 29–11 Côte d'Ivoire in 1995 and Italy in 1999. The win over the Côte d'Ivoire brought tragedy when Ivorian winger Max Brito was left paralyzed.

June 1999 brought a 20–16 defeat of France in Nukuʻalofa over a touring France but in 2000 they were defeated 102–0 (including 15 tries) by New Zealand.

After losing their first four matches to Fiji and Samoa, Tonga finished third in the Oceania qualifying group. As a result, they had to play home and away matches against Papua New Guinea, which they won 47–14 and 84–12, followed by a play-off against South Korea, who finished as runners-up in the Asian section. Tonga thrashed them 75–0 and 119–0.

At the 2003 Rugby World Cup Tonga lost all their games and finished bottom of their pool. Although they kept Wales to 20–27, they were again thrashed by New Zealand 91–7.

In 2007 Tonga participated in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, winning two of their pool matches and nearly defeating the eventual champions, South Africa, before losing 30–25.

Tonga achieved one of the most unexpected victories in Rugby World Cup history with their 19–14 win over France in the 2011 World Cup.^{[citation needed]}

On 24 November 2012, Tonga beat Scotland, at Pittodrie Stadium, 21–15 for their first victory over a traditional rugby power on a European pitch.

Sipi Tau[]

Like several Pacific rugby nations, Tonga has a pre-game war dance, called the Sipi Tau. It is a form of the Kailao, which was originally a war dance that was imported to Tonga from Wallis Island. It is usually performed at both public and private ceremonies.

During the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, in Tonga's match against the All Blacks, the All Blacks began their traditional haka, and then Tonga answered to the haka through the sipi tau whilst the All Blacks were performing, bringing the teams within metres of one another just prior to kick-off.^[1]

Wins against Tier 1 nations[]

30 June 1973	Australia	11–16	Tonga	Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane	show
	Try: Tindall Pen: McGill	Report	Try:	Attendance: 9,563 Referee: ()

16 June 1999	Tonga	20–16	France	Teufaiva Sport Stadium, Nukuʻalofa	show
	Try: Taumalolo (2) Con: Sateki Tuipulotu Pen: Sateki Tuipulotu	Report	Try: Sarraméa Con: Lamaison Pen: Lamaison (3)	Attendance: 7,000 Referee: (Wales)

10 October 1999	Italy	25–28	Tonga	Welford Road, Leicester	show
	Try: Moscardi Con: Domínguez Pen: Domínguez (6)	Report	Try: Sateki Tuipulotu Con: Sateki Tuipulotu (2) Pen: Sateki Tuipulotu (2) Drop: Sateki Tuipulotu	Attendance: 10,244 Referee: Dave McHugh (Ireland)

1 October 2011	France	14–19	Tonga	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	show
	Try: Clerc 80' m Pen: Yachvili (3/3) 1', 23', 49'	Report	Try: Hufanga 26' c Con: Morath (1/1) 28' Pen: Morath (4/8) 6', 35', 66', 72'	Attendance: 32,763 Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)

24 November 2012	Scotland	15–21	Tonga	Pittodrie, Aberdeen	show
	Pen: Laidlaw (5/7) 10', 38', 46', 55', 61'	Report	Try: Lokotui 51' c Vainikolo 65' m Con: Apikotoa (1/2) 52' Pen: Apikotoa (3/5) 5', 64', 72'	Attendance: 20,306 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

26 November 2016	Italy	17–19	Tonga	Stadio Euganeo, Padua	show
15:00 CET (UTC+1)	Try: Cittadini 12' c Allan 54' c Con: Canna (1/1) 13' Allan (1/1) 55' Pen: Padovani (1/1) 77'	Report	Try: Piutau 51' c Con: Takulua (1/1) 53' Pen: Takulua (4/5) 32', 45', 77', 80'	Attendance: 18,125 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

Overall record[]

Men's World Rugby Rankings v t Top 20 as of 13 September 2021[2]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.49
2		New Zealand	090.31
3		England	085.44
4		Ireland	084.85
5	2	Australia	084.11
6	1	France	083.87
7	1	Argentina	082.86
8		Scotland	082.02
9		Wales	080.59
10		Japan	079.13
11		Fiji	076.87
12		Georgia	073.73
13		Samoa	073.59
14		Italy	070.65
15		Tonga	068.57
16	1	United States	067.12
17	1	Uruguay	067.02
18		Romania	066.22
19		Portugal	065.67
20		Spain	064.82
21		Canada	062.08
22		Hong Kong	061.23
23		Russia	060.94
24		Netherlands	059.30
25		Namibia	059.04
26		Brazil	056.32
27		Belgium	056.16
28		Chile	055.20
29		Switzerland	054.12
30		Germany	053.13
* Change from the previous week
Tonga's historical rankings
See or edit raw graph data.
Source: World Rugby - Graph updated to 13 September 2021[2]

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Tongan national XV at test level up until 25 July 2021.^[3]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	2	0	2	0	0%	28	73	−45
Australia	4	1	3	0	25%	42	167	−125
Australia A	1	0	1	0	0.00%	15	60	−45
Canada	9	4	5	0	44.44%	188	216	−28
Chile	1	1	0	0	100.00%	32	30	+2
Cook Islands	4	4	0	0	100.00%	289	32	+257
England	3	0	3	0	0.00%	33	172	−139
England Saxons	1	0	1	0	0.00%	14	41	−27
Fiji	92	27	62	3	30.97%	1237	1809	−572
France	6	2	4	0	33.33%	96	172	−76
Georgia		2	5	0	33.33%	141	119	+22
Ireland	2	0	2	0	0.00%	28	72	−44
Italy	5	2	3	0	40.00%	82	154	−72
Ivory Coast	1	1	0	0	100.00%	29	11	+18
Japan	18	9	9	0	50.00%	453	459	−6
Namibia	2	2	0	0	100%	55	35	+20
New Caledonia	1	1	0	0	100%	58	3	+55
New Zealand	7	0	7	0	0.00%	42	520	−478
Junior All Blacks	2	0	2	0	0.00%	23	77	−54
Māori	12	4	8	0	33.33%	165	319	−154
Papua New Guinea	2	2	0	0	100.00%	131	26	+105
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100.00%	24	19	+5
Romania	3	2	1	0	66.67%	64	55	+9
Samoa	67	27	36	4	40.3%	1001	1223	−222
Scotland	4	1	3	0	25.00%	58	136	−78
Scotland XV	2	0	2	0	0.00%	13	67	−55
Solomon Islands	1	1	0	0	0.00%	92	3	+89
South Korea	6	6	0	0	100.00%	464	66	+398
South Africa	2	0	2	0	0.00%	35	104	−69
Spain	1	1	0	0	100.00%	28	13	+15
Tahiti	1	1	0	0	100.00%	74	0	+74
United States	10	9	1	0	88.89%	272	153	+119
Wales		0	9	0	0.00%	108	301	−193
Wales XV		0	1	0	0.00%	7	26	−19
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	0	100.00%	42	13	+29
Total	290	112	171	7	38.62%	5466	6742	−1276

World Cup record[]

World Cup record									World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A		P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Pool Stage	3	0	0	3	29	98		Automatically qualified
1991	Did not qualify								3	1	0	2	64	62
1995	Pool Stage	3	1	0	2	44	90		2	1	0	1	34	26
1999	Pool Stage	3	1	0	2	47	171		7	2	0	5	317	241
2003	Pool Stage	4	0	0	4	46	178		8	4	0	4	398	178
2007	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	89	96		7	3	0	4	329	136
2011	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	80	98		Automatically qualified
2015	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	70	130
2019	Pool Stage	4	1	0	3	67	105		4	1	0	3	68	93
2023									3	1	0	2	82	89
Total	8/9	29	8	0	21	472	966		34	13	0	21	1292	825

Current squad[]

On 17 June 2021, a 30-man squad was announced for the matches against New Zealand and Samoa.^[4]

Note: Caps correct as of 24 July 2021

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Siua Maile	Hooker	(1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 (age 24)	6	Manawatu
Sam Moli	Hooker	(1998-12-24) 24 December 1998 (age 22)	3	Tasman
Jethro Felemi	Prop	(1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 27)	5	GPS
	Prop	N/A	2	Grammar Tech
Lua Li	Prop	(1991-05-11) 11 May 1991 (age 30)	1	San Diego Legion
	Prop	N/A	4	Counties Manukau
Sila Puafisi	Prop	(1988-04-15) 15 April 1988 (age 33)	31	Counties Manukau
Ben Tameifuna	Prop	(1991-08-30) 30 August 1991 (age 30)	16	Bordeaux
	Lock	N/A	3
	Lock	N/A	3	Grammar Tech
Sione Tuipulotu	Lock	(1997-12-02) 2 December 1997 (age 23)	4	Auckland
	Loose forward	(1994-04-25) 25 April 1994 (age 27)	1	Hawke's Bay
Mateaki Kafatolu	Loose forward	(1989-08-11) 11 August 1989 (age 32)	4	Wellington
Zane Kapeli	Loose forward	(1992-09-28) 28 September 1992 (age 28)	12	Chiefs
Nasi Manu	Loose forward	(1988-08-15) 15 August 1988 (age 33)	9	Otago
Viliami Taulani	Loose forward	(1997-01-17) 17 January 1997 (age 24)	4	Chiefs
Maama Vaipulu	Loose forward	(1989-07-21) 21 July 1989 (age 32)	13	Castres Olympique
Leon Fukofuka	Scrum-half	(1994-09-08) 8 September 1994 (age 27)	14	NHRU Wildfires
	Scrum-half	(1993-06-29) 29 June 1993 (age 28)	1	North Harbour
Sonatane Takulua	Scrum-half	(1991-01-11) 11 January 1991 (age 30)	42	Toulon
James Faiva	Fly-half	(1994-06-13) 13 June 1994 (age 27)	12	Petrarca
	Fly-half	(1991-03-06) 6 March 1991 (age 30)	12	Counties Manukau
	Centre	(1998-05-19) 19 May 1998 (age 23)	4	North Harbour
Hosea Saumaki	Centre	(1992-05-10) 10 May 1992 (age 29)	3	Canon Eagles
Walter Fifita	Wing	(1997-06-06) 6 June 1997 (age 24)	3	North Harbour
Viliami Fine	Wing	(1997-12-01) 1 December 1997 (age 23)	1
	Wing	(1997-12-25) 25 December 1997 (age 23)	4	Counties Manukau
	Wing	(1996-04-07) 7 April 1996 (age 25)	1	Otago
Nafi Tuitavake	Wing	(1989-01-29) 29 January 1989 (age 32)	17	Massey
Sam Vaka	Wing	(1992-10-26) 26 October 1992 (age 28)	2	Agen
Mali Hingano	Fullback	(1992-01-27) 27 January 1992 (age 29)	7	Bayonne
	Fullback	(1993-06-17) 17 June 1993 (age 28)	8	Southland

Individual all-time records[]

Most caps[]

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Won	Lost	Draw	%
1.	Nili Latu	Flanker	2006–2017	48	47	1	28	5	0	1	0	19	28	1	40.62
2.	Vunga Lilo	Fullback	2007–2018	44	41	3	87	12	3	7	0	19	25	0	43.18
3.	Siale Piutau	Wing	2011–2019	43	41	2	32	6	1	0	0	17	25	1	40.69
4.	Sonatane Takulua	Scrum-half	2014–present	42	40	2	231	11	37	34	0	17	24	1	41.66
5.	Elisi Vunipola	Fly-half	1990–2005	41	40	1	50	8	2	2	0	15	26	0	36.58
6.	Pierre Hola	Fly-half	1998–2009	39	38	1	322	12	68	42	3	19	20	0	48.72
	Benhur Kivalu	Number 8	1998–2005	39	35	4	40	8	0	0	0	14	24	1	37.17
8.	Aleki Lutui	Hooker	1999–2015	38	30	8	25	5	0	0	0	12	25	1	32.89
	Kurt Morath	Fly-half	2009–2019	38	32	6	340	2	48	78	0	18	20	0	47.36
10.	David Halaifonua	Wing	2009–present	37	30	7	27	4	2	1	0	13	23	1	36.48
	Sione Kalamafoni	Flanker	2007–2019	37	33	4	10	2	0	0	0	12	25	0	32.43

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most tries[]

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1.	Fetu'u Vainikolo	Wing	2011–2016	28	27	1	85	17	0	0	0
2.	Josh Taumalolo	Centre	1996–2007	26	23	3	118	14	6	12	0
3.	Pierre Hola	Fly-half	1998–2009	39	38	1	322	12	68	42	3
	Vunga Lilo	Fullback	2007–2018	44	41	3	87	12	3	7	0
5.	Sonatane Takulua	Scrum-half	2014–present	42	40	2	231	11	37	34	0
6.	Fepikou Tatafu	Centre	1996–2002	23	21	2	50	10	0	0	0
7.	Viliame Iongi	Wing	2011–2016	21	15	6	45	9	0	0	0
	Benhur Kivalu	Number 8	1998–2005	39	35	4	45	9	0	0	0
9.	Telusa Veainu	Wing	2015–present	12	12	0	40	8	0	0	0
	Elisi Vunipola	Fly-half	1990–2005	41	40	1	50	8	2	2	0

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Leading point scorers[]

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Start	Sub	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1.	Kurt Morath	Fly-half	2009–2019	38	32	6	340	2	48	78	0
2.	Pierre Hola	Fly-half	1998–2009	39	38	1	322	12	68	42	3
3.	Sonatane Takulua	Scrum-half	2014–present	42	40	2	231	11	37	34	0
4.	Sateki Tu'ipulotu	Fullback	1993–2003	20	19	1	190	5	33	32	1
5.	Fangatapu Apikotoa	Fly-half	2004–2014	30	20	10	147	2	40	19	0
6.	Josh Taumalolo	Centre	1996–2007	26	23	3	118	14	6	12	0
7.		Fullback	1996–2001	13	12	1	114	1	32	15	0
8.	Vunga Lilo	Fullback	2007–2018	44	41	3	87	12	3	7	0
9.	Fetu'u Vainikolo	Wing	2011–2016	28	27	1	85	17	0	0	0
10.	Fepikou Tatafu	Centre	1996–2002	23	21	2	50	10	0	0	0
	Elisi Vunipola	Fly-half	1990–2005	41	40	1	50	8	2	2	0

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most points in a match[]

#	Player	Pos	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Pierre Hola	Centre	44	2	17	0	0	South Korea	Nuku'alofa	22 March 2003
2.	Fangatapu Apikotoa	Fly-half	30	2	10	0	0	South Korea	Henderson	10 February 2007
3.	Sateki Tu'ipulotu	Fullback	27	1	8	2	0	South Korea	Seoul	4 May 1999
4.	Benhur Kivalu	Fly-half	25	5	0	0	0	South Korea	Nuku'alofa	22 March 2003
5.	Pierre Hola	Fullback	24	0	9	1	1	Papua New Guinea	Nuku'alofa	7 December 2002
6.		Fullback	23	1	9	0	0	Cook Islands	Nuku'alofa	5 July 1997
7.	Viliame Iongi	Centre	20	4	0	0	0	United States	Esher	8 June 2011
	Kurt Morath	Fly-half	20	0	4	4	0	Fiji	Lautoka	2 July 2011
	Sonatane Takulua	Scrum-half	20	1	3	3	0	Samoa	Nuku'alofa	1 July 2017
10.	3 players on 19 points

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most tries in a match[]

#	Player	Pos	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Benhur Kivalu	Number 8	25	5	0	0	0	South Korea	Nuku'alofa	22 March 2003
2.	Viliame Iongi	Wing	20	4	0	0	0	United States	Esher	8 June 2011
3.	Josh Taumalolo	Fly-half	15	3	0	0	0	Cook Islands	Nuku'alofa	5 July 1997
	Josh Taumalolo	Fullback	17	3	1	0	0	Georgia	Tbilisi	28 March 1999
		Flanker	15	3	0	0	0	South Korea	Seoul	4 May 1999
	Viliami Hakalo	Wing	15	3	0	0	0	Cook Islands	Raratonga	24 June 2006
7.	48 players on 2 tries

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Most matches as captain[]

#	Player	Pos	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw	%	Pts	Tries	Conv	Pens	Drop
1.	Nili Latu	Flanker	2006–2016	42	15	26	1	36.90	23	4	0	1	0
2.	Siale Piutau	Wing	2015–2019	19	9	10	0	47.36	22	4	1	0	0
3.	Inoke Afeaki	Lock	2001–2003	12	4	8	0	33.33	15	3	0	0	0
4.	Fakahau Valu	Flanker	1977–1987	11	0	11	0	0.00	12	3	0	0	0
5.	Aleki Lutui	Hooker	2004–2011	9	1	8	0	11.11	5	1	0	0	0
	Elisi Vunipola	Fly-half	1999–2001	9	4	5	0	44.44	15	3	0	0	0
7.		Number 8	1973–1975	7	1	6	0	14.28	15	3	0	1	0
8.		Number 8	1987–1990	6	1	4	1	25.00	4	1	0	0	0
	Sonatane Takulua	Scrum-half	2017–present	6	1	5	0	16.66	33	2	1	7	0
10.	Mana Otai	Number 8	1995	5	3	2	0	60.00	5	1	0	0	0
	Fe'ao Vunipola	Hooker	1994–1998	5	2	3	0	40.00	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Youngest players[]

#	Player	Pos	Age	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Elisi Vunipola	Fly-half	17 years and 292 days	Fiji		24 March 1990
2.	Viliami Hakalo	(Wing)	18 years and 182 days	Japan	Fukuoka	4 June 2006
3.	Sione Kalamafoni	(Flanker)	18 years and 268 days	South Korea	Henderson	10 February 2007
4.	Soane Havea	Scrum-half	18 years and 292 days	New Zealand	North Shore City	16 June 2000
5.	Semi Taupeaafe	Wing	18 years and 317 days	Fiji	Suva	11 June 1991
6.	Sinali Latu	Number 8	18 years and 320 days	Fiji	Suva	7 July 1984
7.	Unuoi Vaʻenuku	Centre	19 years and 51 days	France	Pretoria	26 May 1995
8.	Pita Alatini	Centre	19 years and 119 days	Samoa	Nuku'alofa	8 July 1995
9.		(Scrum-half)	19 years and 171 days	Australia A	Sydney	25 May 2007
10.		Centre	19 years and 176 days	Fiji	Nuku'alofa	24 March 1990

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Oldest players[]

#	Player	Pos	Age	Opposition	Venue	Date
1.	Fakahau Valu	Flanker	37 years and 362 days	Ireland	Brisbane	3 June 1987
2.	Polutele Tu'ihalamaka	Lock	37 years and 249 days	Canada	Napier	24 May 1987
3.	Aleki Lutui	(Hooker)	37 years and 95 days	Argentina	Leicester	4 October 2015
4.	Joe Tuineau	Lock	36 years and 302 days	Samoa	Suva	16 June 2018
5.	Hale T-Pole	Lock	36 years and 152 days	Namibia	Exeter	29 September 2015
6.	Elvis Taione	Hooker	36 years and 76 days	Canada	Lautoka	8 August 2019
7.	Rudi Kapeli	Hooker	35 years and 311 days	Australia	Brisbane	4 July 1993
8.	Tukulua Lokotui	Lock	35 years and 282 days	New Zealand	Newcastle	9 October 2015
9.	Vunga Lilo	Wing	35 years and 269 days	Georgia	Tbilisi	24 November 2018
10.	Kuli Faletau	Lock	35 years and 185 days	Canada	Nuku'alofa	3 July 1999

Last updated: Cook Islands vs Tonga, 24 July 2021. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Kit history[]

Tonga usually wears a home kit consisting of a red shirt, white shorts and red socks and an away kit with the reversed colours. In the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Tonga wore an all-red home kit. Since 2007, Tongan traditional designs, similar to the ones found on the tapa cloths, were incorporated on the jersey design.

Kit manufacturers:

• 1974–1980s Umbro
• 1980s–1999 Canterbury
• 2000–2002 Carisbrook
• 2003–2005 Sekem
• 2005–2008 KooGa
• 2008 Samurai Sportswear^a
• 2008–2010 ^b
• 2011–2012 KooGa/BLK
• 2012–2015 Kukri
• 2016–2020 Mizuno
• 2021-present Siomai Print
• ^a Tonga wore Samurai Sportswear kits in the matches against Maori All Blacks and Japan in 2008
• ^b Tonga wore kits manufactured by the local brand Aoniu in the 2008 end-of-year international tours.

1987–1995 Home

1987–1995 Away

1999 RWC Home

2003 Home

2003 Away

2007 Home

2009 Home

2011 Home

2015 Home

2015 Away

2017 Home

2017 Away

2019 Home

2019 Away

Coaches[]

Name	Span	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw	%
[5]	1985
Prince Mailefihi	1986–1987
Fakahau Valu	1995
Polutele Tuʻihalamaka	1999
David Waterston	1999-2000[6]
	2000–2001
Jim Love	2001–2003	19	6	13	0	31.58
Willie Ofahengaue	2004–2005	8	0	8	0	0.00
	2006–2007	7	5	2	0	71.43
Quddus Fielea	2007–2010	16	5	11	0	31.25
Isitolo Maka	2010–2011	14	7	7	0	50.00
Toutai Kefu (caretaker)	2012	3	1	2	0	33.33
Mana Otai	2012–2015	24	11	12	1	47.91
Toutai Kefu	2016–present

Notable former players[]

See also[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tonga national rugby union team.

• Tonga national rugby league team
• World Cup
• Pacific Tri-Nations
• Pacific Nations Cup
• 2008 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
• Pacific Islanders rugby union team
• Tonga Rugby Football Union

Notes[]

Sources[]

• Tongan rugby history (from the BBC)
• The good and bad of Tonga (from the BBC)

External links[]

• Official site
• Tongan rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• Tongan Rugby News
• Details on Rugby WC's squads
• World Cup Preview
• Supporters website of The Pacific Islanders Rugby Team