Tonga rugby

Tonga coach Toutai Kefu says family recovering well from attack

The 47 year-old, who played 60 tests for the Wallabies, was rushed to hospital in August with his wife Rachel and two of his children.

He underwent emergency surgery after being stabbed in the attack, while his wife had surgery on a deep cut to her arm.

Kefu said their physical wounds have pretty much healed but his wife's movement was still limited.

"She only just started her therapy on her hand so she can't move her hand at all yet, so we're hoping with some intense therapy over the next 6-12 months she can get close to full movement," he said.

Lopeti Timani among 10 new caps for Tonga's end of year tour

Forty players based in 10 countries have been selected for the upcoming matches against Scotland, England, the French Barbarians and Romania, including 22 based in France, although Tonga Rugby Union CEO Peter Harding says not all players will be available for every game.

The other new faces up front include former Hurricanes prop Loni Uhila, who is now with Hyères-Carqueiranne in the French third tier, former Australian schoolboys hooker Maile Ngauamo, Northland lock Setefano Funaki, and Grenoble utility forward Tanginoa Halaifonua.

'It wasn't the way I wanted to move on but it just had to be...'

Wasps had provided a seriously disappointing medical bulletin on the status of Malakai Fekitoa, the former All Blacks midfielder who was recently able to change his Test XV allegiance to Tonga after representing their 7s side in June in the Olympic qualifier held in Monaco. 

Rather than now giddily going on and playing for the Tongans in the upcoming internationals versus Scotland at Murrayfield and England at Twickenham, a shoulder dislocation has ruled out the 29-year-old who earned the last of his 24 All Blacks caps in 2017. 

Toutai Kefu set to miss Tonga's end of year tour as family heal

The former Wallabies number eight underwent emergency surgery last month after being stabbed in the attack, while his wife also had surgery on a deep cut to her arm.

Tonga Rugby Union CEO Peter Harding said Kefu remained involved in everything they are doing but was likely to remain at home in Brisbane.

"As it stands at the moment he won't be going (to the Northern Hemisphere) because of what happened. Obviously the family have a lot of healing I suppose - they have a lot of things to work through before things are back to normal," he said.

'It is sad' - Hopes Kefu will make Tonga tour as All Black welcomed onboard

Kefu’s wife remains in hospital with a serious wound to her arm but the former Australian World Cup winner has been released along with his son and daughter who were also injured in the machete and knife attack by four teenage robbers who now face various charges, including attempted murder. Kefu has revealed the impact of the horrific incident saying: “You know at times, there’s outbursts of crying. I think the first step for us is just getting back to the house and then we take it day-by-day. The kids seem to be OK, but they still need to be monitored probably moving forward.

Rugby community rallies around Kefu family following home invasion

The former Wallabies No.8 and his family were attacked at 3:30am this morning at their home in Coorparoo, after three men attempted to steal their car.

Kefu, 47, was undergoing surgery at Princess Alexandra Hospital. His wife was also stabbed in the attack while their two children suffered minor injuries.

Toutai Kefu played 60 tests for the Wallabies and over 100 games for the Queensland Reds. His former teams were among those to share their shock at this morning's attack and wish the Kefu family a speedy recovery.

Tonga name six debutants to face Cook Islands

Bay of Plenty wider training squad member Semisi Paea starts at lock while former Tonga Under 20s player Kelemete Finau will debut on the blindside flank.

Grammar TEC back-rower Nela Matakaiongo, former New Zealand Under 20s number eight Tovo Faleafa, Waikato Development centre Paula Mahe and Tonga Sevens co-captain John Tapueluelu are also poised to get their first taste of test match rugby off the bench.

Tonga rugby team welcome reinforcements for Hamilton test

Hawke's Bay loose forward Solomone Funaki is still in camp but won't be considered for this weekend's second test against Samoa in Hamilton after breaking his hand against the All Blacks, while Chiefs flanker Zane Kapeli is expected to be sidelined for nine months after rupturing a patellar tendon against the Manu.

Former Chiefs number eight Maama Vaipulu and Bay of Plenty based lock Semisi Paea have joined the 'Ikale Tahi squad in camp and coach Toutai Kefu is happy to have a few more options up his sleeve.

Tonga rugby grateful for support

TRU is thankful to the government in Tonga for their help in paying the players, especially as the players have had to pay for quarantine costs in New Zealand.

CEO Peter Harding said it was important that Tonga participated in the World Cup qualifiers to ensure they had a chance to compete for a spot in their berth in the 2023 tournament in France.

"We're playing rugby in a pandemic, no one has ever gone through this before, so it's going to be difficult to manage logistics of rugby and so forth.

All Black great believes NRL has the best model for Pasifika talent

Discussing the issue on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown, former All Black great John Kirwan highlighted the central contracting system in New Zealand creates a disincentive for Pacific Island players from representing their home nations.

He compared New Zealand Rugby’s [NZR] contracting system to that of the NRL, which has removed conflict of interest from the equation with a separation of club and national control.

Kirwan suggested that if Super Rugby clubs could fund the majority of a player’s wages, they may be in a position to represent their home nation, such as Tonga.