Fiji A beat Tonga 46-32

The Tonga Netball Association (TNA) is still a young organisation after its official establishment in 2012 and the development squad is a great milestone for TNA and netballers in Tonga seeing the efforts put in after the Kau Mai Tonga campaign and other netball events. Not only are women participating more but it's bringing our communities together as sports is a great tool that fosters a positive influence to bring about development changes. The 'Umatamoana put up quite a show at the Vodafone Arena and we are very proud of the girls given that Fiji has always been an outstanding high profile team ranking high from the Oceania countries. The fact also that Mo'onia Gerrard is the team coach is a great honor and to have someone of her caliber support the team is truly humbling. 'Umatamoana are making ripples rather than waves right now but this is a stepping stone for Tonga to play ranking games opening up doors for more regional and hopefully international games to take netball to the next level for the kingdom. Yes they were beaten by Fiji A but our girls deserve our respect and love for the awesome effort. I would've proudly painted my face red and white and cheered them on if I was fortunate enough to see this history in the making. I'm saddened as a journalist and as a woman to see that sports for women is still not given the attention it deserves. A big malo 'aupito to the TNA team and all supporters of sports for women for the difference that you make. Keep doing what you're doing. This is only the beginning, watch this space!