Largest Pacific rugby league tournament in Australasia welcomes hundreds of teams

​Hundreds of teams representing Pacific nations will gather at Avondale Racecourse at the weekend, for Australasia's largest rugby league tournament.

Players representing Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and New Zealand Maori aged six to twelve will take part at this weekend's Pacific rugby league carnival.

Hakula Tonga Aotearoa Rugby League representative Hengi Fusitu'a says the size of the tournament is a reflection of the growth in the sport.

“It’s apparently the biggest tournament in Australasia in terms of team numbers because we have over around 144 teams all together,” he says.

“Representing Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and New Zealand Maori - it’s good to see the growth from when we started back in 2016 and it keeps on growing!”

Avondale Racecourse will house hundreds of youngsters aged 6 - 12 years old in a day packed full of rugby league. Fusitu’a says the racecourse is one of the largest venues in the country with 14 fields across the park.

“It’s exciting times, we’re at capacity now. Avondale Racecourse is the biggest field in New Zealand with 14 fields.”

Hakula Tonga Aotearoa Rugby League are taking 44 teams to the tournament and Fusitu’a says the other nations involved are also experiencing high volume with the teams participating.

He says the interest in the tournament reflects highly on the growth of the game.

“The number one aim for us is to get our kids involved in our cultural upbringing, because being a New Zealand born - there is no direct platform they can get involved with.

“Our aim next year is to scale this platform up nationally, and bring our people together with sport. We want to take this to Wellignton, Christchurch, Waikato.”

He mentions the particular growth in numbers at Hakula Tonga Rugby League has been a reflection of the 2017 Mate Ma’a Tonga movement at the Rugby League World Cup.

“I think the success we have at Hakula with the team numbers is a direct result of the success of MMT. With the Warriors too, we officially aligned with the Warriors this year for pathways to the NRL.

“We believe the best way for New Zealand is to retain our talent here. It’s awesome to see a lot of Tongan kids coming through the Warriors system.”