By Billie Eder
It’s 1.20pm on Tuesday in Arndell Park where Tonga XIII will spend the week training ahead of the Pacific Championships final against the Kangaroos on Sunday.
The players aren’t due to practise for another two hours, but already fans dressed in red and white are lining the fence of the fields and crowding into the grandstand of the Blacktown Workers Rugby League Club – DJ decks, speakers and flags in tow.
For many in Sydney’s Tongan community, two of the most important things in life are religion and rugby league and when their national team runs on to the field at 3.30pm, those two pillars collide as hundreds of people break out in song.
They’re singing Eiki Koe ‘Ofa ’A’au, otherwise known as Himi 114 – a hymn that Tongan community leader Koniseti Liutai says is about love for God being deeper than the ocean.
“It’s a common hymn that many people sing. Every one of us comes through Sunday school, [and we] would memorise that song forever,” Liutai says.
“It talks about how the love of god is everything we need... God and Tonga are our inheritance, so anything to do with us has to be with religion as well and our faith. Our faith is very important. Every one of these guys [players] have strong faith, and a lot of us have that commonality.”
When Tongan halfback Isaiya Katoa kicked the match-winning field goal against New Zealand last Saturday in Auckland, the crowd erupted into song. With just under five minutes to go, they were trying to lift their team.
“What we try to do is send them a message,” Liutai says. “You’re not on your own, you’re not an individual, you’re a team and also there are thousands of us, and the thing we are trying to do is give them our power, our support, whatever happens, happens, but give it your best, don’t think you’re on your own.
“Whoever has a choice of hymn will put it up, or a song will put it up, and everybody follows. Most of us are using songs or hymns that we use every day.”
For Siliva Havili, who led the team’s Sipi Tau (traditional war dance) against New Zealand, hearing the crowd sing is emotional.
“You always hear it on the field. For myself, I get goosebumps,” Havili says. “It just gives you a little bit of extra motivation, especially during the tough times of the game.
“When your fatigue levels are quite intense, and you hear the singing, and you look besides you alongside your teammates and this is what you want to be playing for... Singing a hymn together, it’s heartwarming. There are no words to describe that feeling.
“It’s spine-tingling. Some of the boys, it’s the first time experiencing that stuff. It’s just crazy to be a part of, and it makes you proud to be a Tongan.”
Pacific Championships is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now.