From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.

Named Man of the Match in a rugby league test between Tonga’s Mate Ma‘a Tonga and the NSW Universities, was Paula Fukofuka (28), a promising young Tongan full-back.

Paula, who has played five test matches for Tonga, said that the Man of the Match award, following the test at Teufaiva Stadium on September 6, was the highlight of his league career.

Paula grew up in Mu‘a where rugby was the only game they played, and at the start he was in it just for fun. “I never thought of pursuing it professionally,” he said. “My ambition in life was to become an accountant, mainly because there weren’t many of them in Tonga. Playing the game was just for fun,” Paula said.

So in 1991 he set off to study for a Diploma in Business at the Pacific Adventist College in Papua New Guinea. After earning his diploma Paula continued studying for a Bachelor of Education, majoring in Business, and graduating in 1995.

Paula returned to Tonga in 1996 and began teaching Economics, Mathematics and Accounting at the Seventh Day Adventist’s Beulah College, at Vaini.

Mu‘a Saints

He joined the Mu‘a Saints team, and then began to see the game as more than just a hobby and as something that he could be really good at.

In 2000 Paula said his ambition of becoming an accountant was realised when he joined ‘Uta‘atu and Associates, a firm of certified public accountants in Nuku‘alofa.

He then set a new goal in his life, which was to play for the Tonga national Rugby League team, Mate Ma‘a Tonga, a dream that came true the same year when he was chosen as a fullback for the national team.

“Since most of the fullbacks had either left for overseas or retired, I was the only choice,” said Paula.

For the future, Paula hopes he will have a chance to play rugby overseas.