From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 14, no. 3, July 1999.

By Pesi Fonua.

“It‘s all in the mind,” said Polutele Tu‘ihalamaka, the coach of the ‘Ikale Tahi when he was asked for a prediction on the ‘Ikale Tahi versus the All Blacks in the first round of the Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom on October 3.

“It is the first time that the ‘Ikale Tahi have ever played the All Blacks, and physically we are nearly ready, but I keep working on the mental attitude of the boys, because if we can get that sorted out, then there is nothing to stop them,” he said of the match set for Bristol’s Ashton Gate Stadium.

“My message is the same when we were preparing to meet France. They have to get over the myth of their opposition, they are just going to play a top international side, so they have to settle down and put in their best performance.” Tonga defeated France 20 – 16 in June in front of an ecstatic home crowd.

Polutele’s message is that, “if the children of Israel can bring down the walls of Jericho by simply marching around it, then the ‘Ikale Tahi can bring down any rugby giants, if the boys will have faith, concentration and commitment.”

Tongan rugby stars are helping fire up the team. During the morning training session of the ‘Ikale Tahi at the end of July, Va‘inga Tu‘igamala, the former All Blacks winger who is now playing for the Manu Samoa, took the ‘Ikale Tahi for a sprint around the golf course. ‘Inga has always been a great supporter of the ‘Ikale Tahi, when the barefoot team toured the U.K. in 1997, he supplied the boots.

‘Inga, who is part Tongan, was in Tonga with his Tongan wife and his personal trainer. Polutele said that ‘Inga was most willing to be part of the ‘Ikale Tahi training camp. “It is a bonus to have him during this five weeks of our preparation before we leave for South Africa. He is making training a lot of fun; he offers prizes and the boys love it. On Wednesday, our day off, we are all going to go out and play golf, something that is unheard of in Tongan Rugby.” Polutele was a Tongan national representative player for 14 years. He was in the team that beat the Wallabies in 1973, but lost to England in 1974.

The ‘Ikale Tahi left for South Africa on August 24, where they were to spend six weeks of intensive training under their World Cup coach, David Waterston at the Falcons Club in Transvaal, the final stage of their preparations, before they go on to the U.K. for the World Cup. Waterston, a New Zealander, was technical adviser to Kitch Christie’s South African World Cup-winning squad in 1995, while Guy Kebble who will act as his assistant is a former Natal, Western Province and Springbok prop. They have helped Tonga to qualify for the World Cup and are providing the technical skills, and game plans to lift the ‘Ikale Tahi to another level of international rugby, and Polutele said they were working very closely together.

“They said that our style of playing is very similar to theirs. During the last two Rugby World Cups, the stars have been Tongans. In 1990 it was Viliami ‘Ofahengaue with the Wallabies, then in 1995 it was Jonah Lomu, so their thinking is that if individual Tongan players are that good, what would be like if you get a whole 15 of them together. So our objective is that we will take the ‘Ikale Tahi to the semi final, after that, who knows.”

Polutele said that there was going to be very intensive training in South Africa, and there would be three doctors, each specialising in fitness, nutrition, and psychology. Part of the program includes target shooting and swimming. The ‘Ikale Tahi will also meet the top South African provincial side, and the South African A side.

The 30 players include 11 players from Tonga and 19 Tongans from Japan, U.K., New Zealand, and Australia. “But we are still negotiating because we would like to take more players for exposure and in preparation for other international matches after the World Cup. The South Africans have arranged a few test matches after the World Cup,” said Polutele.

Group of Death

Tonga in Pool B will meet the All Blacks first, to be followed by Italy, and then England. (See fixtures page 15). They have been dubbed “the Group of Death” by the rugby press. Tonga played England in 1974 and lost, but it has not played either the All Blacks or Italy.

“We have come a long way. When I was selected in January this year to put a team together for the Repechage World Cup qualifying tournament I had only four players to work with. The Tonga Rugby Union was in disarray, there were a number of crunching defeats against the Australian Wallabies, the Fijians, the Samoans, the New Zealand A and the New Zealand Maoris. The national coach was changed three times during that time and the players were loosing interest in Rugby Union, and some changed to Rugby League.

“I visited the homes of known players and asked them to come back. We also made contact with our overseas players, and then the South African coaching group came in, and we managed to get into the Repechage tournament in full force. We would have been pleased if we were able to attract some of our Super 12 players, but I am also happy that the boys who returned to play for Tonga were raised here, and through playing for the ‘Ikale Tahi won contracts to go and play overseas. For me that’s very important, because they have made a commitment for Tonga, it was through their effort that we eventually qualified to take part in the World Cup. During most part of our World Cup campaign we were touring without any daily allowances for the players, but they were committed.”

The ‘Ikale Tahi’s entrance into the Rugby World Cup was through blood, sweat and tears, considering that most of the qualifying matches were played under strained conditions—the players meeting for the first time two days before the match and the team was poorly equipped. Embarrassing also was the situation when the team was stranded at the airport because they could not pay their departure tax.

If having the will to win is half the battle then the ‘Ikale Tahi is surely a force to be reckoned with in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.