Rugby World Cup 2019: Why victory will mean more to ‘the Kingdom of Tonga’ than England

The Tongan side will represent the ‘undefeated men of war’ against England in Sapporo on Sunday

England Rugby have been warned not to underestimate a Tongan side that will represent the ‘undefeated men of war’ in what could prove 80 painful minutes in Sapporo on Sunday.

The former world champions being their Rugby World Cup 2019 campaign against Tonga, the weakest side in Pool C according to the current rankings system.

But attack coach Scott Wisemantel believes that a potentially life-changing day for those representing the Pacific Islanders will be able to challenge everything that Tonga stands for, which includes a proud record of historically having never been conquered.

“They’re powerful, and they’re built for rugby,” Wisemantel said. “Historically it’s called the Kingdom of Tonga for a reason – they’ve never been defeated in war. So they’ve gone to other islands and smashed them up, but they’ve never been smashed up and they’re very proud of it.

“You speak to a Tongan and you talk about the country and you say ‘so you’re from Tonga’ and then occasionally they’ll say ‘I’m from the Kingdom of Tonga’ and there’s a reason for it. They’re quite fierce in that regard.”

Wisemantel expects Tonga to live up to their brutal reputation and “hurt” England in what for the Pacific Islanders could be a career-defining 80 minutes. While England’s campaign is aimed at lifting the Webb Ellis trophy on 2 November, a number of Tongan players will be looking to put in a performance that could land them a professional contract around the world.

The squad, coached by Tongan-born former Wallabies forward Toutai Kefu, features 30 players who play their trade in 10 different countries across the planet, amateur and professional, with one of them currently unattached in the form of ex-Northampton centre Nafi Tuitavake.

Wisemantel fears that because of this do-or-die attitude, they will come out all guns blazing against one of the tournament front-runners in the hope of securing an incredible upset that would put them on the radar of clubs worldwide.

“It doesn’t matter where you get hit by a Tongan, it’s going to hurt,” Wisemantel said. “I’ve no doubt that Kefu’s done some work on the tackle, but they’re powerful men. For us it’s about how we avoid the contact and how we can move them around.

“They’ll be tough and physical. It’s what they are. If you watch the Pacific Nations, that’s how they play in that tournament. They won’t be any different here.”

Having learned what it means to represent one of the three main rugby-playing nations in the Pacific Islands through his work with the World Rugby Combine, Wisemantel knows just how much Sunday’s encounter will mean not just to the Tongan players, but to those watching back home.

“It gives you an appreciation of why they play and what they play for,” he added. “The biggest honour for any player is to play for your country.

“But the second one is family and looking after the family is extremely important. On a stage like the World Cup, for teams like Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, it’s really important that players play well.

“They want to play well for themselves and the team because it puts them on the stage to get a contract.

“Once they get that contract, they can financially look after their families. It’s not just the immediate family, it could be the extended family and the village.”