The Tonga women's team arriving at Auckland Airport on Thursday night. Photo: Tonga Rugby Union
The Tonga Women's Rugby team playing in Auckland this weekend hopes such matches will become a permanent fixture to help develop the game.
Tonga A meets Manusina Samoa in Auckland in the curtain raiser before Moana Pasifika's home game against the Melbourne Rebels in the culture-themed round 10 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition at Mt Smart Stadium.
The invitational game will used by both sides for selection of their final teams to play in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship planned for May.
Tonga A women's team manager Ilaisaane Manukalo Vaihu said Saturday's clash should become a permanent fixture between the two sides.
"I think the only way to test the players is if they have the opportunity like this game on Saturday. Having more games at the international level will expose the girls to new environments, and they will learn from the other teams," she said.
"I wish this kind of match-up was compulsory so that annually it involves other Pacific island teams."
With the Fijian Drua already playing in the Super Rugby competition, Vaihu said having a Pasifika team of Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands players would be great for the sport.
But she warned that local competitions must be set up and be sustainable to ensure continuity for the code at home.
"I believe there should be an equal opportunity in providing the pathway for both boys and girls. Having a Pasifika women's team is something that our locals can look up to and dream of. That will motivate them to keep on working hard," she said.
"It will also help the development of women's rugby in the Pacific islands like Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and so forth.
"But in terms of sustainability of women's rugby, I think there's the need for good investment. Without proper investment it might not be sustainable in the long run. We need to build the programmes in the islands, have regular competition, get the player base.
"And funding is not easy. We have to get these right first before we can get into the Super Rugby competition."
Vaihu said the Tongan team has prepared well and looks forward to the clash, which she believed would a physical match.
Excitement mounts
Meanwhile, Moana Pasifika said it was proud to have the two teams play in the curtain raiser to the Super Rugby Pacific tie.
"We're excited to host the Manusina XV and Tonga women's A teams and have an exciting game day planned for fans who head along to the double-header. We can't wait to see these two rival sides take to the field," said Chief executive Pelenato Sakalia.
"Their last encounter in 2022 went down to the wire with Samoa sealing a victory against Tonga 25-17 with a late try," he said.
"The Super Rugby Pacific competition is a great platform that celebrates the diversity and cultures of the Pacific region, and this double-header will be another way to bring together our communities and celebrate our shared passion for both men and women's rugby."
An archive photo of Manusina playing Fiji Photo: Oceania Rugby
Tonga Rugby Union CEO Peter Harding said there's been a massive resurgence of women's rugby in Tonga.
"The majority of players for the Mt Smart game will travel from Tonga and this is a reflection of how popular rugby has become with women. We have more teams than ever before in Tonga and a pipeline of talented players."
The Tonga Rugby Union currently has 24 women's teams.
Lakapi Samoa's General Manager High Performance Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun said the game is important in their build-up to the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship and player selection in May.
"The performance at the Oceania competition will lead to qualification for World WXV - a three-tier annual competition - in October and determine rankings for pool allocation."
The Tonga A and Manusina match will kick off at 2.05pm on Saturday at Mt Smart Stadium.