Tongan national rugby union team
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| Nickname (s) | Ikale Tahi | ||
| Association | Tonga Rugby Football Union | ||
| Trainer |
 Toutai kefu
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| captain | Siale Piutau | ||
| WR abbreviation | TGA | ||
| WR rank | 14. (71.44 points) (as of February 4, 2020) |
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Most international matches Nili Latu (48) |
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Most scored points Kurt Morath (340) |
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Most attempts scored Fetu'u Vainikolo (17) |
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First international match Tonga 9: 6 Fiji (August 15, 1924) .svg){kind=small} |
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Biggest win Tonga 119-0 South Korea (March 22, 2003)  |
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Biggest defeat New Zealand 102-0 Tonga (June 16, 2000) |
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World Championship participations: 7 Best result: third in the preliminary round 1995, 1999, 2007 and 2011 |
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The Tongan national rugby union team represents Tonga internationally in the sport of rugby union . It is the World Association International Rugby Board (IRB) in the second strength class (second tier) divided. The team is called Ikale Tahi , which means something like "sea eagle". The responsible association is the Tonga Rugby Football Union . As part of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance , he sporadically organizes games for the Pacific Islanders , a team selected from three Pacific countries. Before each game, the Tongans dance the war dance Sipi Tau , which is similar to the Haka of the All Blacks and the Siva Tau of the Samoans .
history
In the early 20th century, sailors and missionaries brought rugby to the South Pacific, and in 1923 the Tonga Rugby Football Union was founded. The Tongans played their first international match in the capital Nuku'alofa against Fiji and left the field as the winner 9: 6. In the following decades, games against the Polynesian neighbors from Samoa and Fiji took place. The games against the Fijians in particular developed into hard-fought feuds.
In 1969 the Tongans beat the New Zealand Māori team . 1973 succeeded a 16:11 win against Australia after the first game of the two teams had been won with 30:12 by the Australians. The first tour to Great Britain took place in 1974. Of the ten games against regional selections from Wales and Scotland you could only win the opening game against East Wales with 18:13.
The Tongans remained a blank slate in Europe until 1986. That changed with the tour of the Welsh national team. Early on in the game there was a mass brawl in which almost all players on both sides were involved. A year later, for the first World Cup , both teams met again. Due to the events before, the Welsh spared their most important players and only just won 29:16. Tonga also lost their other two group matches, finishing last in Group 2, behind Canada and Ireland . In the following, they missed qualifying for the 1991 World Cup in England.
At the 1995 World Cup , the Tongans achieved their first victory. After two defeats against France and Scotland, the final game against Ivory Coast was won 29:11. The momentous accident of the Ivorian player Max Brito overshadowed the game. After only three minutes, Brito fell to the ground after a tackle, several players landed on him and he remained unconscious. He was immediately taken to a hospital where his life could be saved, but he remained paralyzed from the neck and has been in a wheelchair ever since.
1999 brought the greatest success for the Tongans. In Nukuʻalofa they defeated the French with 20:16. In the same year they managed again to qualify for the world championship. Although they had to admit defeat to the English and New Zealanders, they just won against Italy with 28:25 and so came third in the preliminary group.
The following year there was a 0: 102 against the New Zealand All Blacks, the biggest defeat in Tonga's rugby union history. To qualify for the 2003 World Cup in Australia, Tonga needed another attempt. After defeats against Fiji and Samoa, they prevailed against Papua New Guinea and then had to play in the play-off against the Asian representative from South Korea . The two games dictated the Tongans clearly and unequivocally and ensured the highest victories in their history with 75: 0 and 119: 0. They finished the World Cup as the last of their group with four defeats against New Zealand, Wales, Italy and Canada. Against the All Blacks there was another painful and high defeat. In the third group game they lost 7:91.
2007 succeeded again the qualification for the world championship . This tournament is the most successful in Tongan history to date. First the USA were defeated with 25:15, but more important was the victory against arch rivals Samoa with 19:15 in Montpellier . After these two victories, Tonga now faced the toughest opponents in the group. In both games, against South Africa and England , the Tongans were almost equal and the favorites were on the verge of defeat. Above all, the almost 25:30 defeat against eventual world champions South Africa caused a sensation. Tonga stayed in third place in the preliminary round, which automatically qualified for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand . Here, too, with two wins in group A, third place and qualification for the 2015 World Cup was achieved . This was rather disappointing with only one win from four preliminary round games.
Sipi dew
Like many Pacific rugby teams, the Tongan team performs a war dance before each game, which the locals call Sipi Tau. The team's appearance at the 2003 World Cup was particularly spectacular when they met the All Blacks, who began their traditional haka and the Tongans responded with their sipi tau. Both teams got very close to each other and the atmosphere was hard to beat.
successes
International matches
As of August 31, 2019
| country | Games | Won | Lost | draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina
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1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
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Australia
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4th | 1 | 3 | 0 |
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Australia A
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1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 Chile
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Cook Islands
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3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
 England
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3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
 Ivory Coast
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Fiji
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92 | 27 | 62 | 3 |
 France
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5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Georgia
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7th | 2 | 5 | 0 |
 Ireland
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2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
 Italy
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5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
 Japan
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18th | 9 | 9 | 0 |
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Junior All Blacks
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2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
 Canada
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9 | 4th | 5 | 0 |
 Namibia
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
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New Caledonia
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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New Zealand
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5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
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New Zealand Māori
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12 | 4th | 8th | 0 |
 Papua New Guinea
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2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
 Portugal
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Solomon Islands
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 Samoa
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65 | 27 | 34 | 4th |
 Scotland
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6th | 1 | 5 | 0 |
 Zimbabwe
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 South Africa
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2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
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South Korea
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6th | 6th | 0 | 0 |
 Tahiti
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1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 United States
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9 | 8th | 1 | 0 |
.svg){kind=small} Wales
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10 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Total | 279 | 107 | 165 | 7th |
Results at world championships
- World Cup 1987 : preliminary round (no win)
- 1991 World Cup : not qualified
- 1995 World Cup : preliminary round (one win)
- World Championship 1999 : preliminary round (one win)
- World Championship 2003 : preliminary round (no win)
- World Championship 2007 : preliminary round (two wins)
- World Championship 2011 : preliminary round (two wins)
- World Championship 2011 : preliminary round (two wins)
- World Championship 2015 : preliminary round (one win)
- World Cup 2019 : preliminary round (one win)
player
Current squad
The following players make up the squad during the 2019 World Cup :
Known players
- Inoke Afeaki
- Ipolito Fenukitau
- Taufaʻao Filise
- Pierre Hola
- Nili Latu
- Aleki Lutui
- Hale T-Pole
- Epi Taione
- Tevita Taumoepeau
- Lesley Vainikolo
- Viliami Vaki
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ World Rugby Rankings. world.rugby, February 4, 2020, accessed November 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Haka and sipi tau set Lang Park alight ( Memento from November 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ All Blacks Haka v Tonga Sipi Tau 2003 RWC on YouTube ; with better stadium sound, but annoying comments: HAKA vs Sipi Tau: New Zealand vs Tonga on YouTube
- ↑ International match statistics on espnscrum.com.
- ↑ Kefu names squad tasked with making history. Rugby World Cup, September 3, 2019, accessed September 6, 2019 .