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PARIS - Tonga skipper Nili Latu has pleaded with rugby chiefs to give his side a helping hand as they look to build on their impressive World Cup performance.
The Pacific Islanders' hopes of a quarter-final place ended when they lost their final Pool A match 20-36 against England, the World Cup holders instead advancing to a last eight clash with Australia in Marseille on October 7.
But Tonga, a country with a population of just over 100,000, gave the champions plenty to think about when leading 10-3 early in the first-half.
It wasn't until the final quarter at the Parc des Princes that England's lead became insurmountable against a team they had defeated 101-10 in their only previous Test encounter eight years ago.
Tonga, who upset the odds to beat Pacific rivals Samoa 19-15, only lost by five points to South Africa last weekend.
Taken together with the England result, these were all impressive results. But Latu, in an echo of comments from many so-called lesser sides at previous World Cups, begged the rugby world not to forget about Tonga until the next edition in New Zealand in 2011.
"We need help in the Islands, we need all the help we can get. The only time we get to play these guys (the major teams) is the World Cup," flanker Latu told reporters after Saturday's gallant defeat.
"We haven't had any budget to get here. There is no money in Tongan rugby. The facilities everybody is getting here we just don't have."
He added: "The IRB (International Rugby Board) is putting funds in for academies which is great but the only time we get to play these guys (top tier teams) is at the World Cup, we usually only play Samoa and Fiji.
"We don't get the main ideas of the game because it has moved on and we need to keep up," added Latu, some of whose team-mates dyed their hair green in the lead-up to Saturday's match in recognition of sponsor Paddy Power, an Irish betting firm.
Tonga, in common with Fiji and Samoa, always runs the risk of losing its best players to financially more lucrative opportunities with the Australian and New Zealand national sides.
Ideally, they would like to play in an expanded Super 14 competition so as to have greater top-level rugby between World Cups. "Super 14, we'd love to get a team in but it seems like it's not going our way," Latu said.
There is also a suggestion that by the time 2011 arrives the IRB will have cut the number of teams competing at a World Cup from 20 to at least 16.
"After the tournament the IRB will assess this, I'm not in a position to comment," said Tonga coach Quddus Fielea whose team, under the rules as they stand at the moment, has qualified for the next World Cup.
"It's definitely a very big step forward for Tongan rugby. What we've achieved is a milestone for us."
- AFP
