Tony Edwards is a true rugby man, and for years has been either liaison officer or manager for various teams, including the Waratahs, Australia A and the Pacific Islands. He is accustomed to weird behaviour from footballers. Still, his recent experiences with the Tongan side when they were in Australia playing in the Pacific Nations Cup take some beating.

Edwards explains: "Upon arrival at the airport, the first man out introduced himself, and I told him that I was his liaison officer. I asked him what his role was with the team, and he replied: 'I don't know what it is.' I opened my folder and looked up his name. He was quite surprised to be told he was 'The Manager'.

We then had a considerable wait for the rest of the team because there were problems with visas and, of course, the person with the necessary answers was the manager. I knew then that I was in for a typical couple of weeks of acting as quasi-team manager again. Friday, Coffs Harbour . . . 1.30pm was game time.

At 10am, I heard a lot of yelling and laughter outside my apartment. I went out onto the balcony to see three of the team up to their knees in black mud, hitting the surface of a backwater with large banana leaves. They were scooping their hands along the bottom, all the time rounding up fish. I could see what I presumed were mullet skimming through the water and the boys yelling in their native tongue to chase them. In the end, they landed a fish of about 1.5 to 2 kilograms. As they were washing it, I asked where they were going to cook it. They said: 'We're not going to cook it, we're going to eat it raw."'

A few days later, Edwards was contacted by the Coffs Harbour hotel, explaining that the Tongans had been docked an extra $300 for room cleaning costs. One unit contained a pig's carcass - the leftovers from a meal provided by a local Tongan - and another was littered with fish scales.

Greg Growden, Rugby Heaven, 08/06/07.