News from Nio Halangahu - on tour with Tonga

The latest installment from Nio Halangahu, who will be back in Sydney in a few days' time.

Hello again and welcome back to the camp with the ikale tahi. Today is Tuesday and everyone is still pretty down after our last loss but, with six days till our final game against Italy A, there isn't a lot of time for kicking stones and feeling sorry for ourselves. Today is a long day with two field sessions and a horror video session. The training goes pretty well and we have a very productive scrum session with the Russian team who are training at the same venue. It is interesting mixing with them as they have some abstract views on scrummaging and I can't help but laugh at the accent as it reminds me of every villain in a Bond film. Back to rugby and the video session is some off the hardest viewing we have had to partake in. The pressure the Saxons exerted on us caused far too many mistakes and we have plenty to work on. Everyone is relieved to leave the room in one piece and we are given some good news as the following day is a day off and a chance to head into Cheltenham for an outing.

It is our day off and after an extremely exhausting trip so far both mentally and physically it is nice to head off to do something a little more normal. Obviously the first port of call in town for the boys is finding food. The team splits into three groups and sets off to hunt and gather. After a search my group spots the main bunch of guys invading the local Kentucky Fried Chicken. I can only imagine the damage being caused inside... After lunch it's a chance to walk around the shops and interact a little with the public after lockdown in the hotel but before long it's back to our rooms and the regular prayer session at the end of the day. Our team is named at the end and I have been selected for my first start for the national team something that gives me both great pride and bouts of nerves.

Today is Friday and with only 24 hours till the final game and also the trip home everyone is upbeat and excited; our captains run goes well and after the destruction the Saxons put on our set piece the forwards spend some extra time working on this as we know the Italians will be as strong at the scrum as the English. After training it's back to the hotel and again our physio has come through with the goods and arranged two girls from the Worcester Warriors as masseuses for the afternoon. I am sorry Winks, your work at the wicks is great but I am slightly leaning to the 2 blondes who showed up today.

Game day is here and I have never woken up so nervous about a game of rugby. It is important for us both in terms of this tournament and leading into the World Cup; also in the back of my mind is that a good performance today will help for final World Cup selections. Everything seems like it has gone by in a blur and suddenly it's time to head out onto Sixways Stadium. With the anthem over it is time again for the sipiu tau and after two performances of the war dance and countless practises I have become relatively good. At the conclusion of this everything in my body is tingling and I am ready to go.

Italy A start strongly and after 20 minutes it's 10 -0 and we haven't even begun to play. We finally kick into gear and the match sways back and forth; we get a well earned penalty and the halftime score is 10-3. Things are not going as planned but there are positives the set piece is holding up well and if we can cut out missed tackles then we can get on top.

The second half begins and it is similar to the first with the I-ties gaining the ascendancy and really applying the pressure; they kick a penalty and score a try to really put us on the pump. As in the other two games our spark comes from young winger Villi Iongi who scores his 6th try in three matches from nothing. This young guy is going to be something very special and it must be the flawless genes he possesses being my second cousin..... Back to the game and buoyed along we kick three more points only to give those three back immediately with a mistake from the kick-off. With the game still in the balance an attacking move for us ends in a drop ball and the Italian winger scoops it up and races the 60m to score untouched. The score now gets out to 28-13 and with only six minutes left it is now probably beyond us although we battle along and manage to score right on full time it is another devastating loss and leaves our tournament with a disappointing 1 win 2 loss record.


To wrap up the tournament I think it would be unfair to judge us purely on the stats but I am sure most people will. I feel we were competitive for 40 minutes against clearly the number 1 team (the Saxons went on to win the final 37-6) and we were extremely competitive for long periods against the Italians. Personally I learnt a lot from this trip both on and off the field. I hope this little diary has given you an insight to life on tour with the ikale tahi. For now it is back to Australia for me and hopefully a few games back down at Coogee in the myrtle green. I hope to see you all down there.

Until then,

'Ofa atu

Nio Halangahu

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