A confident Ikale Tahi Tongan outfit is looking to create history on Fijian soil today when they take on the FIJI Water Flying Fijians in round two of the Pacific Nations Cup.
Having set a solid foundation after defeating Toa Samoa 30-16 in round one, the Tongans are high in morale as they brace for their clash against the Fijians.
Experienced captain Ben Tameifuna who plays for Top14 club Bordeaux-Begles said compared to previous years, the team had a lot of time together to bond and work on their combinations.
This was defining factor in their round one victory which Tameifuna said was a sign that the team is headed in the right direction and a win against Fiji is very much possible.
“We feel like we have a great opportunity to make history for Tonga and what better place to do that then here in Suva. It’s going to be a lot of battles, not just against the team but, against the conditions, the crowd and the style of rugby that Fiji likes to play and us players we just have to control what we can control,” he said.
Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne stated earlier this week how the Tongan forwards made the difference against Samoa and that’s a trump factor the visitors are banking on.
“Personally I think the threats is having that loose ball, a lot of them having that 7s background, finding a bit of space, throwing the ball around, their offload game is a big threat to any team and for us we’ll just try to contain that kind of style and try to score as many points as we can upfront with our forwards.
“We have some special backs with Patrick Pellegrini and Charles Piutau who can make something out of nothing but if our forwards can go forward, we can unleash our backs,” the former Chiefs and Racing 92 player stated.
There’s a broader goal that Tonga is striving to achieve that aligned with the values and standards set by their new coaching team.
Tameifuna said every game is a stepping stone towards achieving their target of being ranked in the top 10 and the onus is on each individual players to play their roles right.
Tonga, currently leading Pool A, will take on Fiji at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva today at 3pm.