The\u00a0Queensland Reds will play against Tonga\u2019s national side in Nuku\u2019alofa\u00a0on Friday, August 15\u00a0to build on Australia\u2019s growing rugby bonds in the Pacific.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s announcement is a strong follow-up to last year\u2019s historic match between the sides when they met for the first time in 29 years.<\/p>\n
The match at Teufaiva Sports Stadium is part of the ongoing support of Tongan rugby by the Australian Government, Rugby Australia, and the Reds through the PacificAus Sports-funded Australia-Pacific Rugby Union Partnership (APRUP). The partnership helps bring the nations closer together through a shared love of rugby union.<\/p>\n
The match again emphasises the Reds heightened connections in the Pacific following visits to Apia to play Moana Pasifika (2023) in Samoa and Suva to play the Fijian Drua (2023, 2024 and 2025) in Fiji in Super Rugby Pacific.<\/p>\n
The August visit will include community activities in Tonga.<\/p>\n
“We are again extremely grateful to PacificAus Sports for creating this opportunity to play in Tonga,” Reds Head Coach Les Kiss said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the size and explosiveness of the Tongan side and the importance of the game as their final hitout before Rugby World Cup qualifiers in the Pacific Nations Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat offers a great challenge for the Reds to test ourselves against a different game style and develop our squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis continued international exposure is part of our strategy to take charge of developing our players and staff which can only be a plus.\u201d<\/p>\n
This match against the Ikale Tahi adds to a blockbuster series of matches against international and elite club opposition in the post-Super Rugby period.<\/p>\n
Following the Reds\u2019 recent match against the British and Irish Lions, they now have confirmed cap games against Tonga and Japan’s Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights, who will play at Ballymore\u00a0on October 25.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying in Tonga last year was a great experience and will be again. Obviously, we are up against big boys and a national team which is a good step up for guys in the Reds squad like me,\u201d Reds winger Tim Ryan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been lucky to have experienced international games against Wales, Tonga, Bristol, Ulster and the Lions over the past year or so. Some kick a bit more, others like the Tongans will back their power and running more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real positive to play against different styles and feel prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reds won last year\u2019s match against Tonga 41-14 after trailing 14-12 in the first half.<\/p>\n
Australian High Commissioner to Tonga His Excellency Brek Batley said that the match is part of Australia\u2019s commitment to sport in Tonga.<\/p>\n
“Tonga and Australia’s shared love of sport is a powerful connection between our two countries, and our friendly rivalry inspires kids to reach for their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Australian Government provides Tonga\u2019s impressive athletes, as well as its coaches, officials and administrators, with access to international sporting opportunities through PacificAus Sports and strengthens Tongan communities through our Team Up sport for development program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re proud to be Tonga’s largest sporting partner and support grassroots opportunities for boys and girls all the way through to elite pathways. Bring on the Reds!”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tonga Rugby Union Chief Executive Aisea Aholelei expressed his gratitude for the continued support of Tongan rugby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The visit\u00a0from the Reds is not only keeping historical ties close between\u00a0the two organisations\u00a0but also it has come at a very critical\u00a0time in supporting the preparation of the Ikale Tahi team in their campaign to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027 which starts with the game against Manu Samoa the week following the Reds game in Nuku’alofa,” Aholelei said.<\/p>\n
Queensland Rugby Union Chief Executive David Hanham said regular interactions with the Pacific\u2019s rugby nations were of mutual benefit.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeepening the ties with our friends in Tonga is important on and off the field,\u201d Hanham said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of the Reds tour last year, there was a wonderful moment when Wallaby great George Smith returned to his old school at Tupou College for a rugby clinic. You could see what it meant to the kids and to George.<\/p>\n
“Playing Tonga is an important part of the International Program we are building at the Reds and we would like to thank everyone, including our Queensland Premier Rugby clubs, who have contributed to the staging of this game.”<\/p>\n
About PacificAus Sports<\/p>\n
PacificAus Sports is an Australian Government sports diplomacy initiative creating opportunities for Pacific athletes, coaches, officials and administrators to access high performance training and elite competition. <\/p>\n
The program partners with Australian national sports organisations to support a range of sports, including rugby league, rugby union, netball, football, AFL, cricket, tennis, basketball, and Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth sports. <\/p>\n
PacificAus Sports also partners with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) to promote Pacific sport through ABC Television\u2019s \u2018That Pacific Sports Show\u2019 and ABC Radio\u2019s \u2018Fresh Off the Field\u2019. <\/p>\n
The high performance outcomes of PacificAus Sports are complemented by the Australian Government\u2019s Team Up program, which focuses on sport for development in the Pacific. For more information about PacificAus Sports and its activities, visit www.pacificaussports.gov.au<\/a> and follow PacificAus Sports on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The\u00a0Queensland Reds will play against Tonga\u2019s national side in Nuku\u2019alofa\u00a0on Friday, August 15\u00a0to build on Australia\u2019s growing rugby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,13506,760,85],"class_list":["post-33487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-reds","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}