Tonga national rugby league team

Tonga
Badge of Tonga team
Team information
NicknameMate Ma'a Tonga
Governing bodyTonga Rugby League XIII
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coachKristian Woolf
CaptainAddin Fonua-Blake &
Jason Taumalolo
Most capsDaniel Tupou (16)
Top try-scorerDaniel Tupou (12)
Top point-scorerSiosiua Taukeiaho (58)
Isaiya Katoa (58)
IRL ranking5th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
 Tonga 34–16[1] Western Samoa 
(Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 29 October 1986)
Biggest win
 Tonga 92-10 Cook Islands 
(Middlesbrough, England; 31 October 2022)
Biggest defeat
 New Zealand 74–0 Tonga 
(Auckland, New Zealand; 23 October 1999)
World Cup
Appearances5 (first time in 1995)
Best resultBronze Semifinals (2017)

The Tonga national rugby league team (Tongan: timi līki ʻakapulu fakafonua ʻa Tonga) represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups, starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were semi-finalists.

Formerly administered by the Tonga National Rugby League, the team is now in a state of limbo with administration. They wear a predominantly red uniform with white sides and are associated with the phrase Mate Ma'a Tonga (English: Die for Tonga). They are coached by Australian Kristian Woolf, and captained by Addin Fonua-Blake.

  1. ^ Coffey, John; Wood, Bernie (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. pp. 138, 245. ISBN 978-1-86969-331-2.