The Tongan Rugby Union at the beginning of December 2004 started its campaign to qualify for the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.

In two days time, at the end of December, after the final of the Aoniu Tournament the TRU will pick a squad of 60 players for a four-day trial between 8-12 January 2005 when a 30-member development team will be picked to tour New Zealand and Australia.

The Chief Executive Officer of the TRU, Sakopo Lolohea said that the ...‘Ikale Tahi development team will play an Auckland Blue...’s development team on March 4, a New South Wales Academy team on March 9, a Sydney development team on March 13 and the Brumby Runners on March 19.

Sakopo said that following the short tour of Australia and New Zealand the ...‘Ikale Tahi Development team will return to Tonga, when a squad of the best rugby players that Tonga can put together will be divided into teams for the ...‘Ikale Tahi Trial. Sakopo said that the ...‘Ikale Tahi team for 2005 will be announced on May 14, to start preparing for the 2005 Tri-nations Series.

Tri-nations Series

The Tri-nations is the beginning of qualifying matches between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa for the Rugby Union World Cup in 2007. The two top teams from the Tri-nations Series will automatically secure their place in the World Cup, but the third place will have to go through with the Repechage Round to secure a place. Tonga qualified to the last two World Cups this way, the Tongan National coach Viliami ...‘Ofahengaue is determined to reverse the trend, and to beat Fiji and Samoa and to secure a place in the World Cup after the Tri-nation Series.

Aoniu Rugby Tournament

The Aoniu Rugby Tournament (the equivalent of the Super 12 for New Zealand, Australia and South Africa has six teams that participate representing six main districts, the Tau Tahi, from the outer islands of 'Eua, Ha'apai and Vava'u; Vahe Kolofo'ou, the new part of Nuku'alofa; Vahe Kolomotu'a, the old part of Nuku'alofa; the Vahe 'Uta, the country team; the New Zealand Tongans, from New Zealand; and the Felenite from Australia.

The Aoniu has been a real test to some of these players, because the tournament usually starts at 1 p, when the temperature is about 27 c and the humidity is about 77%.

At the end of Round Four yesterday, December 28, leading the Aoniu was the Tau Tahi with 16 points; Kolofo...’ou with 13 points; Vahe ...‘Uta drew with New Zealand Tongans at nine points; Vahe Kolomotu'a with seven points and the Felenite from Australia with one point.

The final for the Aoniu will be on Friday December 31. The main game will be the Tau Tahi and Vahe Kolofo'ou for the first and the second place for 2004. New Zealand Tongans and Vahe 'Uta will battle it out for the third and fourth place and the Vahe Kolomotu'a and Felenite will battle it out for the fifth and six places.

Pacific Islands nations

Besides the Pacific rugby giants of Tonga, Fiji and Samoa, six other Pacific Islands nations are also given their chance to participate in the World Cup. The rugby islands of the eastern Pacific are, the Cook Islands, Niue and Tahiti, and in the Western Pacific are Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands.

The champion of the Eastern Pacific will play the champion of the Western Pacific and the winner of that match will play the No. 3 from the Tri-nations Tournament, all on a home-and-away game arrangement.

The winner of these games will then play a home-and-away contender from Asia for a place in the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.

There will be a total of 20 rugby teams in the 2007 Rugby World cup, including of the eight top rugby nations of the world, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, France, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, who automatically qualify to participate in the world Cup because they all had advanced to the semi-final in the 2003 World Cup. The top four teams of England, Australia, New Zealand and France, advanced further to make up the top four rugby nations of the world.