The Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington is about as far from the Pacific Islands as a place can be, but it will soon feel like the centre of the Polynesian universe.
Because they are coming. From the west of Sydney and the south of Auckland, from Brisbane and Melbourne, from Apia and Nuku’alofa, from the islands of Hawai’i and the mountains of Utah, they are all coming.
On Monday at 12:30am (AEST), Tonga will play Samoa for a shot at the World Cup semi-finals and in doing so reignite the most exhilarating rivalry in international rugby league.
Every time Samoa and Tonga play against each other, the rivalry is fierce but respectful.(Getty Images: Brendon Thorne)
And so the fans will come from all the corners of the Earth as the Polynesian diaspora finds a new home for 80 minutes, and they’ll sing like angels and howl like wolves and the flags will fly through the crisp English air as a rivalry that’s been going on for thousands of years half a world away begins its next chapter.
“People don’t care where the game is, where they’re playing, they’re just proud – proud of the players who have been picked to play for their country, proud of all the big name players who came back to play for their families,” former international John Asiata said.
“You look back home right now, there’s parades everywhere, it’s gone wild. No matter where they are, they’ll be tuning in.
“There’ll be some noise. I know a lot of people flew here for the games, Tonga had a big reception when they landed in London.
“I’m not expecting anything different, the English love their footy and this is one they’re not going to miss.”
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.ListenDuration: 5 minutes 28 seconds5m Could it be three Pacific teams in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals?
Asiata knows both sides of the Tonga-Samoa divide well. Along with Jorge Taufua, he’s the only man to have pulled on both jerseys and understand what exists between the two communities.
Sometimes, things have gotten out of hand. There is a history between these two nations that is older than rugby league, as old as the mists of time itself, and those things run deep.
There was violence between rival fans in the lead-up to their meeting at the 2017 World Cup and when Asiata switched from Samoa to Tonga he copped plenty of grief.
There’s the potential for the rivalry to turn sour and sow hatred, but players from both sides have worked hard to make sure that isn’t the case. As explosive as the action on the field might be, that’s where the drama begins and ends.
“When I switched over to Tonga I got a lot of hate for it. When it comes to rugby league, Tonga and Samoa clash but it’s a little bit different these days,” he said.
“There are friendships between the boys, so many of them play together, and the history of the battles between the two can be tough.
“It’s brought people together. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you do, the battle is on the footy field but off the field Samoans and Tongans are starting to come together as a community.
“It’s not about we’re better than you or you’re better than us anymore, it’s about the Pacific people being able to represent who they are and where they’re from.”
Nowhere is that spirit of competition and unity personified better than the pre-match cultural challenges.
Roughly translated, Samoa’s Sivi Tau proclaims that their strength is at its peak and the opponent must make way and stand aside, while Tonga declares they will stamp the ground with a thunderous noise.
They’re the kind of things that cannot really be described. They have to be seen and heard to be understood.
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Before they meet in Warrington, Tonga and Samoa will once again do their challenges together, as they have before their last two matches, in a show of unity even as the two sides try to end one another’s World Cup campaigns.
“That’s the battle between both countries, that’s their cry to war, that’s what they do before something big, before they want to compete,” Asiata said.
“When they do it together it’s a call for their country, that this is their battle and they’re going to win this.
“You see now a lot of Polynesians come together after the game and pray. The battle is on the field and after that it’s peace and harmony.
“It’s saying that God is going to be with us when we go to this war, we’re not alone and we have people around us who can help us.
“There is nothing like it. It’s nerve-wracking, but you’re pumped. Sometimes when I’m on my knees doing it I get the shakes, but once you’re doing it? It’s the best thing ever.”
For all their differences, the two nations are inextricably linked. Samoa has enjoyed a host of players switching allegiances from Australia and New Zealand to their country of heritage, due in no small part to a desire to replicate Tonga’s experience from the 2017 World Cup.
“We come from two little islands in the Pacific and we’re close as countries. There’s always been rivalries between Tonga and Samoa, for many years. And it’ll be no different,” Tongan five-eighth Tui Lolohea said.
“[But] it’s not just Tonga and Samoa, it’s Fiji and Papua New Guinea, most of the Pacific teams are in the quarter-finals which shows you how big the Polynesians are in the NRL and Super League.
“We’re making steps forward and making big movements.”
Picking a winner between the two is no simple task. Samoa was embarrassed in the tournament opener against England but has improved since, while Tonga has also steadily upped its game while remaining unbeaten.
With both sides boasting the kind of forward packs that could scare a starving dog off a meat truck, it will fall to the playmakers to dictate the outcome.
Samoa’s Jarome Luai is coming off back-to-back man-of-the-match awards and is one of the classiest five-eighths in the NRL, but Tonga’s Lolohea has a history of rising to the occasion when he’s in the red jersey.
Regardless of the result, it’s hard to see any way this isn’t one to remember. Both sides might be thousands of miles from their heartlands, but the stakes have never been higher.
Pride and honour are always on the line, but with a World Cup semi-final at stake that means there’s some glory to be had as well.
So make way and move aside, because their strength is at its peak and they will stamp the ground with a thunderous noise because Tonga against Samoa is rugby league dynamite and it’s about to explode.
Source:: ABC News
