Tonga is celebrating 100 years of rugby in the kingdom with a special centenary tournament kicking off at Teufaiva Stadium in Nuku'alofa today.
TRU board members Aisea Aholelei, Malu'afisi Falekaono and CEO Peter Harding gear up for centenary celebrations of rugby in the Kingdom of Tonga. Photo: © Matangitonga.to
It will feature eight 15-a-side men's teams and eight seven-a-side women's teams, and will be played over four weeks.
Tonga Rugby Union board member and tournament director, 'Aisea Aholelei, said the tournament would act as a stepping stone for national selection.
"We see it as an actual development tool for our players to aspire to, a level above club rugby," he said.
"It'll be like our local Super Rugby competition where the players get experience before playing against the best from the other islands, and at the same time they get some monetary compensation."
Aholelei is optimistic the competition will see future talent turn out for the new Super Rugby Pacific team, Moana Pasifika, and the 'Ikale Tahi.
Photo: Oceania Rugby
"We're using this tournament to find the best of the best players. So while it's not a new competition, it's a new concept of having that kind of semi-professional format," he said.
"From there, they get selected to the Moana Pasifika Super Rugby team and that's the other pathway that keeps going until they reach the national team."
The Centenary Tournament is funded by World Rugby in conjunction with the Tonga government and Tonga Rugby Union, with prize money also up for grabs.
"We are really thankful because the union has minimal funds to create competitions, especially at this level.
"[The prize money] isn't much really when you divide it between the players, but it's something we can give or reward them with for competing and winning," he said.
"We've been in hibernation for the last year or so because of Covid-19. Now we can look at running more tournaments, developing the game for all ages and hopefully create a buzz about rugby here."
Tonga rugby "starting from scratch"
With Peter Harding stepping in as the new CEO earlier this year, the TRU has been on a mission to restore confidence in the country's national sport again.
Aholelei said while there's still lots of work to be done, things are off to a good start.
"Things have simmered down since the court case, being locked out of AGM meetings and having all those legal issues," he said.
"We're still not finished but we've made progress, we've got to this point and we're making sure that everything is above board, accountable and transparent for everybody."
He said the union was "starting from scratch" and development was key to rebuilding the sport.
TRU board member Aisea Aholelei says development is key to rebuilding the sport in Tonga. Photo: Tongatapu Rugby Union
"There's a lot of areas of rugby here in Tonga that needs to be taken care of and invested in," he said.
"We're starting from scratch and to actually see what needs to be done, it's a lot. That's an understatement really, because we've neglected our grassroots through to our officials/ We've been left out and there's no investment there."
Aholelei said while progress was moving slowly, he was optimistic about the future and the one-off tournament was a step in the right direction.
"The concept of having that kind of semi-professional format is new and people are still asking a lot of questions about obviously money, who gets to play for what team, where they go after that, but there is a buzz being created here.
"So there's a lot of work to do, but I think we've got some good people around us at the moment and we're hoping we can get to where we want to together sooner rather than later."