Thu, Nov 01, 2007 - Page 19 News List

Tonga looking to ride the wave of World Cup success

AFP , NUKU'ALOFA

But Fielea said Tonga needs more top-level games and better access to its best players, who are often unavailable because of European club commitments.

"We are playing against Australia A or the Junior All Blacks, why not the All Blacks or the Wallabies? If we have all our best players available, why not the big guys?" Fielea said.

Tongans also complain that players who have qualified for overseas Test teams should later be able to rejoin their island teams if they are dropped.

Under current IRB rules, a player cannot move from the country he first represents at Test rugby.

"The losers with those eligibility rules are the smaller nations, in particular the Pacific islands," Tongan Prime Minister Feleti Sevele has said.

Fielea cited the case of Saimone Taumoepeau, a Tongan who played three Tests as a prop for the All Blacks in 2004 and 2005 before dropping off the selectors' radar.

"When we were in Auckland and we had training I walked back to the changing rooms and saw Saimone sitting on a bench and I could see the disappointment on his face," Fielea said. "He should have been playing for Tonga rather than sitting on the bench watching training."

But he agrees it is also up to Tonga to ensure their success isn't a flash in the pan.

"It's like surfing, we're on a wave and we just need to keep going with the momentum," he said. "All we need now is support, from the government, from the local people and the IRB."

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