Ex-Wales midfielder Willis Halaholo has made his Tonga debut three years after he last played in the Six Nations.
The 35-year-old from Auckland originally qualified for the Welsh under the residency rule. He joined Cardiff in 2016 and was handed a Test debut by Wayne Pivac in 2021, going on to play on nine occasions. Injuries then struck, and he went uncapped during the Warren Gatland era.
After getting released by the cash-strapped Cardiff at the end of the 2023/24 season, Halaholo secured a 2024 NPC contract with Bay of Plenty.
He has since linked up with Tonga in recent weeks after completing the mandatory three-year stand-down period between representing different countries.
“19 years since I last went back…”
Selection in the Pacific Nations Cup squad allowed Halaholo to travel back to Tonga for the first time in nearly two decades, and he has now made his Test debut for the Ikale Tahi, coming off the bench during the second half of Saturday’s 10-32 loss to Fiji in Suva.
In a recent social media post, he said: “It’s been 19 years since I last went back to Tonga. But to go back to the Motherland to represent our Ikale Tahi rugby national team, what a blessing. Thank you, Jesus.”
In a separate post published following last weekend’s 30-16 home win over Samoa, a match that he didn’t make the match day squad for, Halaholo wrote: “Was a blessing to be in the Kingdom seeing my family and being a part of the first block of our mission, protecting our Fonua with my Tonga rugby brothers.”
Tonga took a second-minute lead in Suva on Saturday, but they trailed Fiji 10-17 at the interval and were eventually beaten by 22 points in a match that included a late second-half red card for Siosiua Moala.
The Fijians, who won the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup, will complete Pool A with next weekend’s match against Samoa in Rotorua.
In Pool B, Eddie Jones’ Japan hammered Canada 57-15 in Sendai. They now head to California to play the USA, who were beaten 20-34 in their tournament opener last weekend in Calgary.