The smallest of the three Pacific Island nations, Tonga is a collection of some 170 volcanic islands – only around a fifth of which are inhabited by a population of just over 100,000 people – that were called the Friendly Islands by Captain Cook.
Tonga won its independence from a British protectorate in 1970 and today is the only monarchy in the Pacific, King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV a rugby fan who bought the national team a scrum machine to prepare for Rugby World Cup 1999.
Rugby was brought to the region in the early 20th Century by sailors and missionaries and the Tonga Rugby Football Union was formed in late 1923, although the union did not join the International Rugby Board until after the inaugural World Cup in 1987.
Tonga’s first Test was played in the capital Nuku’alofa, which translates as the ‘land of love’, in August 1924 against the touring Fijians, a match they edged 9-6. Their finest hour came 49 years later when they famously beat Australia 16-11 at Ballymore.
The basis of the domestic game in Tonga, a poor country which has around 60 clubs and only 3,000 senior and 2,000 junior registered players, is the Super 8 competition.