Tongan rugby players Sione Ofa and Sione Timani played their first game in English rugby last weekend and made their presence felt gainst a UK Division One team.

The two joined Bedford Athletic after being noticed earlier this year while playing for the Tongan U21 in the world cup competition in Scotland.

Tom Fowler who organised their contracts said that both boys played very well in their first match against Bedford Blues, "and only lost 26-5 which was a very impressive result. The boys made some crunching tackles and Sione Ofa, the number 8, got a good talking to from the ref! Sione Timani, the second-row, helped set up the try that Bedford Athletic scored."

Also watching the match was a Tongan researcher from Japan, Raelyn Esau, who was over in the UK on a conference but is studying Tongans who migrate overseas.