Tonga at the Rugby League World Cup

About Tonga in rugby league

Mate Ma'a Tonga ("Do or die for Tonga") announced themselves as a genuine force at the 2017 World Cup, when established NRL stars Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita chose to represent Tonga over New Zealand and Australia respectively, and the team beat New Zealand 28-22 in the group stage — the first time a tier-two nation had beaten a tier-one nation under the sport's tiered-nations system. Tonga entered that tournament ranked 11th in the world and left it ranked 4th; the country declared a public holiday to celebrate the squad. Tonga has since become one of the sport's most fervently supported international sides, regularly drawing crowds that rival or exceed those for Australia and New Zealand fixtures whenever they play in Auckland or Sydney, cities with large Tongan diaspora communities. The rise has continued since 2017: in October 2019 Tonga beat a touring Great Britain side 14-6 at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, in Great Britain's first Test back after a twelve-year hiatus, and by late 2025 Tonga had climbed to 4th in the official IRL Men's World Rankings — up from 11th entering the 2017 tournament — putting them ahead of Great Britain, France and most of the sport's traditional second tier heading into the 2026 World Cup. The team's name translates roughly as 'do or die for Tonga,' and the phrase is now printed on merchandise and chanted by fans well beyond Tonga itself, reflecting how large the diaspora-driven supporter base has grown across Australia and New Zealand since the 2017 breakthrough.

Sources

• Tonga national rugby league team — Wikipedia
• The journey of the Mate Ma'a — rugby-league.com