There are four players of Tongan heritage in the Wellington Hurricanes set to face the Johannesburg Lions in the 2016 Super Rugby final at Westpac Stadium in Wellington tomorrow night Saturday August 6. They are Loni ‘Uhila, Vaea Fifita, Willis Halaholo and Ngani Laumape.

Wellington Hurricanes communications manager Toby Robson commended the four and told Matangi Tonga Online “Our Tongan players have been fantastic this season both on and off the field.”

Loni ‘Uhila, better known as the “The Tongan Bear”, debuted for the Hurricanes this year. The 27-year-old Prop and ex-Liahona High School student has made 14 appearances for the Hurricanes, scoring one try against the Natal Sharks. Last year he won a highly publicised boxing match against a former Mongrel Mob gang leader “The Brown Buttabean”. Loni stated this year that he wished he had the superpower “to fly so I can go to Tonga every day”.

Auckland born Willis Halaholo (26) plays as a Midfield back and debuted for the Hurricanes last year 2015. He has so far made 17 appearances and has scored two tries for the Hurricanes. Willis stated that his biggest fear is “Tripping and falling into an industrial mulcher”.

New Zealand born Ngani Laumape (23) plays as a midfield back. He is a former rugby league player, having made 30 appearances for the New Zealand Warriors between 2013 and 2015. He debuted for the Hurricanes this year, and has so far made 11 appearances and scored four tries. Ngani stated that his most embarrassing moment was “Losing my tooth during a game”.

Vava’u born Vaea Fifita (24) debuted for the Wellington Hurricanes last year 2015. Vaea is an ex-student of Tonga College and plays in the Loose Forward position. He has so far made 19 appearances for the Hurricanes and has scored three tries. Vaea is widely considered to be a strong prospect for the All Blacks.