Mate Ma’a Tonga’s 40-year legacy lives on through generations

Four decades after Mate Ma’a Tonga first took the field, former players and supporters have gathered in West Auckland to honour the people who built a rugby league legacy that continues to connect Tongans across generations and borders.

The 40th-anniversary celebrations on Saturday and Sunday brought together the Mate Ma’a Tonga Old Boys Association, with a programme of All Stars matches and a gala dinner recognising pioneers from the team’s foundation years between 1986 and 1994.

Held at The Trusts Arena (Waitakere Stadium) in West Auckland, the event looked back at the early years while celebrating the pride, unity and connection to Tonga that the team has carried through generations.

Speakers at the event said Mate Ma’a Tonga was never meant to be just about the players on the field.

They said MMT's founders saw rugby league as a way to strengthen Tongan identity and help younger generations growing up in Aotearoa stay connected to their language, customs and traditions.

“When I look back where we start to where we're at now, it was common for our elders at the time, our Tongan leaders, to gather around at Māngere and Raglan Street and would sit in the garage, but, you know, as younger kids, we'd more listen than be part of the conversation,” one speaker said.

Watch former MMT players and their families and friends celebrate the team's 40th anniversary in Auckland last weekend.

“It wasn't just about rugby league,” he said, adding that the early leaders wanted to use sport to keep Tongan identity strong as the community grew in New Zealand.

“They were talking about how can we use the vehicle of rugby league and sport to keep and retain our strength and our Tongan identity for a while.”

Another speaker said the movement belonged to the wider community, not just the players who represented Tonga. “It was never about a small, you know, a team. It was always bigger. It's about a country.”

George William Mann was honoured with the Godfather of Mate Ma’a Tonga Rugby League Award during the team’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, recognising his contribution to the movement and its legacy in Tongan rugby league. Photo/PMN

Association leader and pioneer Willie Wolfgramm helped lead the commemoration, which also received congratulations from Tonga’s King Tupou VI.

In a statement, the association thanked the King for acknowledging the milestone and reflecting on the values that have sustained the movement.

“With humble hearts, we would like to publicly express our gratitude to His Majesty, King Tupou VI, for congratulating the Mate Ma’a Tonga Old Boys Association on its 40th Anniversary milestone.

“Forty years later, we received this heartfelt letter from His Majesty King Tupou VI, reminding us that, with God at the centre of all we do, hard work and unity give us the power to inspire generations to come.

“We thank everyone who participated in and contributed to this year’s celebrations, and we wish our current Tongan rugby league team the very best at the upcoming Rugby League World Cup,” the association stated.

The King also paid tribute to the players who first represented Tonga in 1986 and the generations who have followed them.

“40 years ago, the first Mate Ma’a Tonga Rugby team took to the field, representing Tonga with an unwavering level of passion, resilience and dedication.

“Such performance has continued to inspire many of the young generation throughout the past 4 decades,” the King said in a statement.

The celebrations also come just days before the 2026 Rugby League World Cup kicks off on Thursday, 15 October with matches being played across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Tonga’s men are in Pool C alongside Papua New Guinea and France, and begin their campaign against England at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday, 17 October. They will also face Lebanon before meeting Pacific rivals Samoa in their final pool-stage match on 1 November.

The Tonga rugby league team will represent the Kingdom at the 2026 RLWC this Thursday. Photo/NRL/file

For many supporters, the team means more than what happens on the field. One fan told PMN News their red and white colours represent a shared identity while the players’ national jerseys offer a visible connection to their homeland for families growing up far from Tonga.

The weekend’s gathering honoured those who helped establish that and the generations who have kept it alive, from former players to young fans looking towards the next chapter.

Forty years on, the message from the Old Boys Association and the King was clear: the legacy built by the pioneers belongs to the generations still to come.

Elton Lonaratha Jnr, a journalism student at Wintec, is currently completing a six-week internship at PMN News.

Watch Willie Wolfgramm's full interview on PMN Tonga ahead of the celebrations.