Tonga’s Jason Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita slam ‘stupid’ board feud
They led Tongan’s rise to international rugby league and now Andrew Fifita and Jason Taumalolo are prepared to fight once more to stop politics derailing the Pacific nation.
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FOR the second time in their careers Andrew Fifita and Jason Taumalolo believe they have taken a stand in the best interests of Tongan rugby league.
They led the revival of the international game when they pledged their allegiances to Tonga ahead of the 2017 world cup and two years on their public stance against their incumbent Tongan board is just as important according to the duo.
Taumalolo said the ongoing uncertainty had been “sad” and had it remained unresolved he would’ve walked away from the international game.
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“It’s been a rollercoaster trying to get a team ready,” Taumalolo said. “We are here. Our focus is on playing football.
“It’s been sad. We built ourselves a good fan base and a lot more players are opting to play for Tonga now. The amount of players that sacrificed a lot to be in this team. I was gutted when all this stuff was happening.
“It’s more upsetting — it’s our own people trying to do it to the players. I’m not a fan of it. The way everything has been handled is disappointing. Our main focus is playing for the people of Tonga.
“I had no doubt in my mind I would’ve retired (from international football) if this didn’t get solved.”
The Tongan’s have ditched the Mate Ma'a moniker in favour of Kuo-toa and as the team underwent its first training session ahead of this weeks world nines with a noticeable tape covering part of the back of their shirts.
They have been dubbed the “Wolfpack” by the Tongan board. A catchcry which Fifita has embraced.
“I really love it,” Fifita said. “I can't wait to get our old name back.
“And that's just being brutally honest. It's stupid, what's going on at the moment.
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“But look, Wolfpack, any kind of pack, as long as I'm standing next to these boys, I'm happy. You can call us anything in the world, but it's not going to affect us or our team.”
The pair also backed their matches against Australia and Great Britain to be classified as Tests despite being called a Tongan Invitational side.
“They'll be Test matches,” Fifita said. “I think everyone knows that. That's our strongest team.
“We're missing maybe a couple of players. But other than that, that's our Test team.
“Don't tell me they're not because that's our full Tongan team right there.”