Mate Ma'a Tonga

Fifita humbled with respect shown by Kangaroos

Then they burst into song, calling for the Tongan prop to drink it like anyone else who walked into that dressing room.

"To be honest yeah, they did," Fifita said when asked if he was one of the players you could hear the Aussies cheering from the corridors beneath Mt Smart Stadium.

"It's just old rituals. I remember doing the left hand skoll. I don't really drink often now but when the boys ask you it's just mutual respect. It's not me but I do it for the boys because it's just the respect coming out of that game."

Taumalolo eager to inspire next generation in Tonga

Taumalolo was honoured for his role in Tonga's rise at last year's World Cup by the re-naming of the national competition to the Jason Taumalolo Cup, while age competitions have been named after Tui Lolohea, Konrad Hurrell, Solomone Kata and Manu Vatuvei.

Tonga's World Cup success has led to an increase in the number of senior teams from 11 to 38 in one year, while the Test team played Australia for the first time in Auckland on Saturday night and are scheduled to meet New Zealand on June 22 next year.

Mate Ma'a Tonga are ready for Australia

The match was only confirmed last month but all 30,000 tickets were snapped up three days out from kickoff, the first rugby league Test match between the two nations.

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said the team is focused on the match and excited by the challenge in front of them.

"We know we're playing the best team in the world and they've been the best for a long time and they're the best for a reason."

Digicel supports Mate Ma’a Tonga, live game on Digicel Play TV

The test match Saturday will be a key highlight for Tongans living not only in New Zealand and other parts of the world but most importantly here in the Kingdom and in being the Communications and Entertainment provider in the Kingdom, Digicel is bringing the game live on Digicel Play TV.

The Digicel staff draped themselves in red Friday ecstatic to be able to support the country at this time.

Bad luck fears mount amid debates on MPs’ controversial Mate Ma‘a Tonga attendance

Mate Ma’a Tonga will face the Kangaroos at the Mt Smart Stadium.

The concern was based on Tongan cultural belief of faka’ilonga kovi or ill omen.

The caller, who identified himself only as Pakiua, told Radio 531 PI’s talkback show on last night’s Tongan programme the news should not have been made public.

He told the host the Mate Ma’a Tonga fans had been angered by the news and it would bring the team bad luck.

Callers to the programme had mixed views about the proposed visit by MPs. Some said all Parliamentarians should attend the match.

Australian squad named to face New Zealand, Tonga

Rabbitoh's revelation Damian Cook and Roosters phenom Latrell Mitchell have both been rewarded for their sparkling NRL campaigns, as have Panthers half Tyrone Peachey and NSW State of Origin stand-out, James Tedesco.

Kangaroos veteran Greg Inglis has been awarded the captaincy after the representative retirement of incumbent skipper Cameron Smith.

Coach Mal Meninga said the 19-man squad signalled the dawn of a "new era" for the test side and was eager to put them to the test against two formidable opponents.

Mate Ma'a Tonga vs Kangaroos Test a step forward for rugby league - Woolf

The two teams will meet for the first time on October 20, in Auckland.

The Australian players agreed for their $AU20,000 match fee to be slashed to less than $AU5000 for the game to help get the game over the line.

Mate Ma'a Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said the match between the tier one and two nations is a step forward for rugby league.

NZ Māori-Tonga league match called off

The game was to be staged a week before Tonga's historic clash against the Kangaroos in Auckland on 20 October.

However, a spokesman for Walco Events told the Rotorua Daily Post the game had been called off because it did not get support from the NRL.

Tonga were arguably the most popular team at last year's World Cup, selling out matches in Hamilton (twice) and Auckland, on their memorable run to the last four.

Tonga ready to compete with Kangaroos, says David Fusitu'a

A match-up between the world champions and the darlings of last year's World Cup has been muted for some time. Australia coach Mal Meninga is a fan of the idea and negotiations between the respective parties are said to be ongoing.

With Jason Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita and the rest of their World Cup squad sticking with Mate Ma'a Tonga, the Kristian Woolf-coached side showed they are here to stay with a dominant victory over Samoa last month.

The Tongans produced a first-half blitz that several experts believed would have given the Kangaroos a run for their money.

Samoa out to make amends and plan for the future

Despite reaching the quarter finals after salvaging a 14-all draw against Scotland in the group stages of the tournament, the winless Samoan side were embroiled with backlash after a string of disappointing performances and talk their talk of players – including Leilua – returning to their NRL clubs in the pre-season overweight.

One of the more experienced leaders in the line-up, Leilua told NRL.com coach Matt Parish identified the fixture as a chance to build depth for the nation.

"They're the future for our team," Leilua said.