There will be no love lost when the Ma’afu brothers face each other in the Vodafone Flying Fijians clash against Tonga in the Pacific Nations Cup opener on Saturday.
Fiji Sun reports the last time the Ma’afu brothers came at loggerheads was in 2010 when Campese took on his older brother Salesi during a Test match between Australia and Fiji.
Tongan head coach Toutai Kefu said it would be an interesting show between the brothers at the ANZ Stadium in Suva.
“I’ll tell Apakuki to try and beat his brother up,” the former Wallaby great jokingly said.
“After all they will be enemy on the field but will remain brothers off the field.”
The brothers mum hail from Tavuki in Kadavu while their dad is from Tonga.
Kefu also said having the services of skipper Nili Latu in the team is a big boost to the Tongan campaign.
“Nili had been a standout player for the Ikale Tahi side for number of years and this is the first time for me to be involved as head coach and him as a captain, he’s a very good leader.
“I last came to Fiji in 2011 during the PNC where we beat Fiji. I used to love playing and it’s a privilege and honour to be head coach and to be involved with my country. It’s indeed a huge honour for me,” Kefu added.
The PNC opener is also the first qualifying round for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The top two teams qualify for the RWC while the bottom placed team will go through the repechage.
Following their disappointing performance in last year’s World Cup, Kefu says, this Saturday’s battle will be a tough encounter.
“From the 2011 World Cup we automatically qualified for 2015 but last year was disappointing for Tonga and now we have to finish in the top two spot to qualify for 2019 World Cup.
“It’s going to be tough and hard as we have Fiji and Samoa all trying to book their spot,” he added.