Tonga is pushing to host a landmark Pacific Championships rugby league match in Nuku’alofa later this year.
The Tonga National Rugby League has proposed staging a Pacific Cup fixture at Teufaiva Sports Stadium, which holds 10,000 spectators. The preferred opponent is New Zealand, with the match slated for October or November.
Head coach Kristian Woolf is a strong advocate for bringing international rugby league to Tonga. “One thing we’d love to do is take a game back to Tonga and take our best players back to Tonga,” he said. “There’s not a bigger legacy we could leave than taking a game with our best players to Tonga.”
The stadium, refurbished after Cyclone Gita in 2018, is home to Moana Pasifika and Tonga’s national rugby union and football teams.
The Australian Government has committed $600 million over 10 years to the Pacific Rugby League Partnership, with $250 million allocated to grassroots development in Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji.
Hosting a Pacific Cup match would capitalise on Tonga’s fervent support for rugby league, as seen in 2019 when tens of thousands celebrated the team’s victory over Australia.
