Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga. Tonga are considered to be a tier 2 rugby nation by the International Rugby Board. Tonga has four main rugby playing islands, Vava'u, Ha'apai, ʻEua, and Tongatapu the major island in the Tonga island group.
Rugby union was brought to the region in the early 20th century by sailors and missionaries. The main impetus for the establishment of rugby in Tonga came from the Irish missionaries in the 1920s, who introduced it to Tupou College and Tonga College. Since then, the main influence has been from New Zealand, as well as the neighbouring Pacific Islands of Samoa and Fiji, which not unlike Tonga perform far beyond their small population bases. Like Fiji and Samoa, they have a strong tendency towards rugby sevens, which suits their population and geography, and have performed well at the Hong Kong tournament. The New Zealand connection, as for Samoa, has been a mixed blessing, since on the one hand it means that Tongans can play in a major field, but on the other hand, winning a cap for the All Blacks is a major ambition for many Tongans. Notable Tongan players include:
The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup started in 2006 and involves representative teams from the three Pacific rugby unions, Tonga along with Samoa and Fiji. Tonga's Tautahi Gold team won the tournament in 2008. The aim of the competition is to improve the quality of rugby in the Pacific Islands.
Representative teams
National
The national team has performed quite well on the international stage. Tonga beat Fiji 9-6 in their first test in 1924 played in the capital Nukualofa. 1973 is arguably the high water mark of Tongan rugby, when they beat Australia 16-11. Tonga has competed in six Rugby World Cups since 1987. Both the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups were Tonga's most successful to date, both winning two out of four matches and both in a running chance for the quarter finals. In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Tonga won its first two matches, against the USA 25–15, and Samoa 19–15; and came very close to upsetting the eventual winners of the 2007 tournament, the South African Springboks, losing 30–25. A loss to England, 36–20 in their last pool game ended their hopes of making the knockout stages. Nevertheless, by picking up third place in their pool games behind South Africa and England, Tonga earned automatic qualification for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. In Pool A of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Tonga beat both Japan 31-18, and the 5th ranked eventual finalist France 19-14 in the latter pool stages. However, a previous heavy defeat to the All Blacks at the tournament's opener and a subsequent tight loss to Canada meant that Tonga lost out to France for the quarter finals due to 2 bonus points and a points difference of 46. Tonga's best results prior to 2007 came in 1995, when they beat Ivory Coast 29–11, and 1999 when they beat Italy 28–25. Tonga emerged victoryless in the 1987 and 2003 Rugby World Cups, and did not qualify for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Tonga used to compete in the Pacific Tri-Nations against Samoa and Fiji, which has now been replaced by the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, which now also involves Japan, Canada, and the United States. At club level, there are the Datec Cup Provincial Championship and the Pacific Rugby Cup. Rugby union is governed by the Tonga Rugby Football Union, which was also a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and contributed to the Pacific Islanders rugby union team, before both were disbanded in 2009. Tonga performs the Kailao before its matches.
Pacific Tri-Nations
The Pacific Tri-Nations was a series between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. It had been played from 1982 to 2006.
