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Home / Sport / Rugby / Rugby World Cup

Red wave swamps Auckland as Tonga's fans ready for World Cup win (+video, photos)

By Cleo Fraser
27 Sep, 2007 05:00 PM3 mins to read

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Dr Fotu Fisi'iahi joins the throngs wanting to buy the shirts. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Dr Fotu Fisi'iahi joins the throngs wanting to buy the shirts. Photo / Paul Estcourt

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KEY POINTS:

What are you doing at 7am tomorrow? Ask Tongans in New Zealand and you'll get the same answer: Watching Tonga defeat England at the rugby World Cup.

The Tongan community have been gearing up for their team's big game against the cup holders since their unexpected win against
Samoa last week.

If Tonga (population 117,000) beat England (50 million) they'll be on their way to the quarter-finals.

And even if they lose, they'll still be heroes to the 50,841-strong New Zealand Tongan community.

Just ask the Tongan fans who queued for hours at a South Auckland car yard yesterday to buy a replica red shirts to back their team.

"We've already sold 300," said Lafitani Pouanga, who heads the Tongan Rugby Union in Auckland and owns Lafi Motors in Papatoetoe.

After the first batch sold out about noon, Mr Pouanga rushed to get more printed, while his staff wrote down pages of orders from the constant flow of people wanting to buy them.

"I've been here for about four hours," fan Melenau Fonokalafi said.

When the Mangere resident arrived about 9am a long line of people was already spilling out of the office.

"I want to represent and support my culture. If they win I'll eat a pig."

Mr Pouanga expected to sell about 1000 shirts yesterday.

"We want to get all the Tongan people to support the team," he said.

He has also organised a venue with a "really big TV" for an expected 200 supporters to watch the game.

Mr Pouanga's idea to paint New Zealand red has been a constant theme among Pacific Island groups in the buildup to the game.

"We've had a Wear Red campaign going since they beat Samoa," said Radio 531 PI news editor Lito Vilisoni.

"Tongans worldwide will be wearing red to support their team."

Since Samoa's loss to South Africa last week, supporters at the rugby World Cup in France had turned their attention to the Tongans, Vilisoni said.

"Our Tongan correspondent said locals were all decked out in red."

And throughout New Zealand followers will be glued to their televisions - in bars, at home, in church halls and some with their kava groups.

Glen Innes Methodist minister Pita Fonua founded of one of the first traditional kava circles when he came to New Zealand more than 30 years ago.

Now Auckland has about 50, each with a membership of around 20 to 50 people - most of who will be discussing the up-and-coming game.

"Some kava groups will have a big screen and others may go home to watch it with their families."

But wherever they were, they were sure to watch the game, he said.

"The Tongan rugby team has inspired the Tongan community."

At the home of captain Nili Latu about 10 family and friends will be yelling at the television set.

"We'll put up banners around the house where the grandparents, parents and children are gathering," said Latu's wife, Lavinia.

The team had been training hard, she said, and were now psyching themselves up for the game.

In Tonga people are going rugby mad in the lead-up to the game.

"Many people are wearing red and there are banners on some streets," Matagi Online editor Pesi Fonua said from Nuku'alofa. "Everybody is looking forward to watching the game."

Most fans were expected to gather at kava groups of between 50 and 150 people.

"There aren't too many people who have televisions in Tonga, but the kava circles have Sky TV."

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