Well, what is there to say about the Kingdom of Tonga?Tonga is a pacific nation of 116,000 people living in what you could only describe as tropical paradise. It's a small place, but has been fiercely independent since the pre-Colonial era. Once upon a time, Tonga was the boundary between Melanesia and Polynesia, with itinerant nations having to migrate through Tonga to get to the wider Pacific. This lead to a legendary martial culture, and a strongly centralised people. When most Polynesian atolls were still a collection of villages, the Tongans had a recognised King.
So how does this translate to Rugby you ask?Good question.
It'll be classic running rugby. 'Ikale Tahi, the Tongan national team, are a big, tough, combative side. We can expect to see lots of movement, though not necessarily close coordination, and lots of big hits on the opposition. Here's the World Cup squad here.
Fast and loose with the ball, 'Ikale Tahi aren't the most sophisticated team in the competition, but are the 14th ranked team in the IRB, which places them above other teams including the USA and former giant-killers Romania. They'll certainly have to be approached with some respect, especially if you're wanting to make it to the semi-finals with few injuries.
'Ikale Tahi are in Pool A, which we can expect South Africa and England to emerge from. The September 14 match between these two is probably what most will tell you to watch out for.
But, my pick is September 16, 'Ikale Tahi v. Manu Samoa. Here's how it'll likely start.
'Ikale Tahi have four fixtures this World Cup.
September 12 vs. The USA.
September 16 vs. Manu Samoa.
September 22 vs. South Africa (ouch).
And, September 28 vs. England (hopefully a spoiler...).
Then they'll go home.
So, in a final word, what to look out for? Great big guys running real fast, directly at the opposition.
No comments:
Post a Comment