By Eleanor Gee

Former All Blacks, Malakai Fekitoa will lead Tonga Sevens Rugby team as captain in next week’s Olympic Sevens qualifying tournament in Monaco, with vice captains Alaska Taufa and David Halaifonua.

The tournament will also be a family affair for Malakai who will get to play alongside his brother Saia, and his uncle Alaska Taufa, who have been selected in the final team.

Head Coach for the tournament, Adriaan Ferris, told Matangi Tonga training was going well and all players were now in Monaco. However, one notable player was not included in the team.

“The final 12 has pretty much been confirmed now that Tima Fainganuku could not travel from NZ.”

Tima is a former New Zealand Sevens player who was certified as eligible to play for Tonga.

The final team was selected by Adriaan together with the Tonga Sevens coaching team (Tevita Tuifua and Richard Weightman) based in New Zealand who were not able to travel due to COVID-19, as well as the Tonga Rugby Union CEO, Peter Harding.

“Tevita Tuifua is still involved via regular WhatsApp and FaceTime calls with Pila Vaki, Vunga Lilo and myself. Tevita, Peter Harding and Richard Weightman have worked tirelessly to finalize the squad.”

Adriaan said there have been a lot of challenges for this tournament including the PCR testing protocols required by World Rugby.

“It is different from other tournaments - teams are a lot more isolated from one another for obvious reasons.”

The tournament will be held on 19-20 June, with Tonga first playing pool matches against Samoa on 19 June at Stade Louis II, followed by Ireland and Mexico. They face Zimbabwe on 20 June. The top two teams will go into the playoffs.

Pool B has France, Hong Kong, Chile, Uganda, and Jamaica.

The overall winner of the tournament will secure the last men’s spot for the Olympic Sevens in Japan in July.

Tonga Sevens Rugby final team:

Head coach: Adriaan Ferris

Coach: Viliami Vaki

Manager: Vunga Lilo