Former Tonga international features in Bulletin’s Big Q&A ahead of GCDRU grand final

HIS playing days are all but over but former Tongan international Pierre Hola looms large over the Gold Coast District Rugby Union grand final, as he discusses in this week’s Big Q&A.

HIS playing days are all but over but Pierre Hola looms as a key figure for Helensvale in tomorrow’s Gold Coast District Rugby Union grand final.

The Tonga legend discusses the past, present and future in this week’s Big Q&A.

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Q. How have you found juggling the Hogs’ assistant coaching role with playing been this year?

A. I’ve only really played the last couple of weeks. I’ve only come in the last 10 or 20 minutes so I’ve just been coaching really. We had a few injuries so I’ve just been filling in and I’ll be on the bench on Saturday in case we have injuries. I’ve been doing the backs (coaching) with another guy, Chad Maxwell. He also coaches my sons. He’s pretty onto it. Because I was going to play this year, we got him on board this year in case as an assistant in case I was playing.

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Q. How did you end up at the Hogs after making the move from Sydney?

A. This is my fourth year with the Hogs and I came here from Sydney with Tonga Lea’aetoa. I came up with him, just looking for something different. We had a look at a few clubs and I was going to go to Surfers (Paradise) with him before I decided on Helensvale. It was actually my kids that pushed me to go there because I went to a training session with them and they enjoyed it.

Helensvale Hogs assistant coach and former Tonga international Pierre Hola. Picture: Jerad Williams

Q. How special would it be to be part of the club’s first A grade premiership?

A. I think the boys all know it’s a big thing. The club has never won first grade before so they’d potentially go down in history with their names, each and every one of them, if we take this out. They know that and how enormous it is, and I know they’re looking forward to it. Discipline (will be key). It’s simple for us. It’s been a problem of ours for a while, for the last few years actually. If we can get on top of that and give away less penalties than we have been we’ll be in good stead to go forward with the game. That’s been a big issue of ours.

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Q. Does it put any extra pressure on the players to break that drought?

A. Not really, I don’t think it does. I think for us it’s a free shot. Colleges are the team (that’s lost once this season), they’ve won everything this year, they’ve beaten us three times this year so for us we’ve got nothing to lose really. The pressure is more on them I think.

Hola’s former Tongan teammate and 2018 Helensvale player-coach Tonga Lea'aetoa. Picture: Richard Gosling

Q. How much time have you put into looking at Colleges and how to attack them?

A. This year in particular we’ve really just been looking at ourselves and what we can improve on. Everyone knows Colleges is a very strong team and what they bring but the focus this year was on us, getting ourselves ready. Getting ourselves fit was a big part of our plan thing this year. The boys are really fit. The team has always had skill but this year it’s been really good fitness-wise. We’re finishing games a lot better and I think the last two semi final games have proved that. The last two years we probably wouldn’t have finished those games (like we did) in the last five minutes. I’d say this year probably will be (my last as a player) but I’ve been saying that for the last five years. Obviously you’re always a lot more sore (as you get older) but it’s not too bad for me because I’m not playing enough minutes. With coaching, for me, it’s teaching my experiences, mainly to kids, and passing on what I know. It gives me satisfaction.

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Q. What’s one thing that’s really stood out to you about the Gold Coast competition?

A. The talent here. There’s a few really good players and they choose to stay here and not go and play in the Brisbane comp where they can further themselves. There’s a few good examples of that in our team with the brothers, the Finigan boys (Sean, Steven and Jack). The Finigan boys could probably be playing higher competitions but they love the place so they choose to stay. The youngest one, Jack, went away to Portugal last year and played a season over there. He enjoyed it so he’s looking to go again.

Q. There’s a few ex-internationals involved here too. That must be good for young players?

A. I think it is. What they bring with their experiences, it definitely helps. You’ve got players like Richard Kingi, who is probably still in his prime. The Colleges coach, Johnny (Ngauamo), I played with him for Tonga and he was one of the guys I looked up to as a young kid coming through the ranks.

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Q. Is there anything you would change about the local competition if you could?

A. It’s little things that I hear off other people, things like fees. Realistically, $300 is a lot for a lot of people and you could spend that in a lot of other ways. If players want to play, they should be able to but that’s always been an issue here and it’s just getting worse now that the prices keep going up for clubs. I don’t know how they fix grassroots rugby here. Do they get more Reds players going out to the Gold Coast because that doesn’t happen much. It happens a lot in their own area in Brisbane but they find it hard to come down this way. I don’t really see many of the games here but I know the top three teams are always going to be strong, the established clubs. I’d like to see teams like Tweed and the Alleygators come back up through the ranks but I’m not too sure how they fix that.

Hola in action for the Hogs earlier this year. Picture: Richard Gosling

Q. Who have been some of your favourite teammates over the years?

A. One that sticks out is Ron Cribb, who I played with in Japan. We still keep in touch. We played together over there for seven or eight years and he still comes and visits here now and then on the Gold Coast. And probably guys that I played with for Tonga like Tonga Lea’aetoa. Myself and Tonga came through the whole system, pretty much the same time and same length. There was a young kid who’s not so young now who was our centre, Suka Hufanga, and I thought he was probably the best centre in the world at the time. The way he played for us, I think if he was playing for the All Blacks or the Wallabies he’d definitely be the best in the world.

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Q. On the flip side, what about players that you enjoyed coming up against?

A. Probably my good mate, Tonga Lea’aetoa. The first time we played each other the first year we were here, playing against him at Surfers, was quite cool. He was the head coach last year for us at Helensvale but he’s gotten busier this year with his own kids. They do a lot of travelling so he really hasn’t had time.

Hola playing for Tonga against Italy at the 2003 World Cup. Picture: AFP PHOTO/Peter Parks

Q. It must’ve been special to play for your country. How do you look back on your Tonga career?

A. Definitely. It’s always good to play for your country. For me, it was the travelling and getting my family around the world. That’s what rugby did for me. Just seeing things I probably never would have seen if I wasn’t playing rugby. World Cup rugby is obviously the pinnacle for us. It’s just a whole different feeling, you don’t get that kind of feeling playing club rugby. That kind of buzz. A bit of that buzz will be out this weekend for sure. (Highlights) were playing teams like England, the All Blacks, Australia, all the big teams. That’s the biggest thing. Winning games in the World cup was big. And just the friends you make, not just from your own country but other countries. You keep in touch with them on Facebook or whatever and you know if you go over there to wherever they are, you’ll go see them, which is quite cool.

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Q. What does the future of Test rugby look like for Tonga? Can they become a powerhouse?

A. They’re always going to have good players but whether they get the best team when they need them is another thing, especially with the European teams blocking their players (from international games). A lot of the players in European teams get blocked by their clubs from playing. I know a lot of the Samoan boys this year have pulled out of the Samoan team. With the boys from the islands, it’s not just themselves they’re looking after (financially), it’s their families. It’s mum and dad, aunties, uncles, everyone, so that’s quite hard.

Q. Is that something you think will ever be fixed with the game in Tonga?

A. They’ve got a players’ association, the RPA, which is run by Aayden Clark from New Zealand and (Seilala) Mapusua, who played for Samoa. They go around and look after players from the islands who are in situations like that. They’ve just started the last couple of years and they’re getting stronger and stronger. They’re starting to look after players from the islands so that’s pretty cool.

APPROACH, NOT RESULTS, IMPRESSING COACH

PIERRE HOLA FACT FILE

AGE: 41

POSITION: flyhalf, centre, fullback, wing

CLUB: Helensvale Hogs

CAREER NOTES:

■ 39 Test appearances for Tonga, including 2003 and 2007 World Cups

■ Test debut against Samoa in 1998

■ Played in Italy and Japan, where he was a teammate of former All Black Ron Cribb at Kobelco Steelers

■ Now a player and assistant coach at Helensvale Hogs, who he joined in 2016 following stint in Sydney