Tonga women's national rugby league team

Tonga
Team information
Nickname	Mate Ma'a Tonga
Region	Asia-Pacific
Head coach	Milton Dymock
Home stadium	Teufaiva
IRL ranking	14th
Uniforms
	First colours
	First colours
Team results
	First international
	4 — 44 Samoa ; North Harbour Stadium, Albany, NZ ; 30 September 2003
	Biggest win
	66 — 8 Niue ; Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, NZ ; 7 November 2020
	Biggest defeat
	0 — 54 Great Britain ; North Harbour Stadium, Albany, NZ ; 2 October 2003
	World Cup
Appearances	2 (first time in 2003)

The Tonga women's national rugby league team (Tongan: timi līki ʻakapulu fakafonua fefine ʻa Tonga), is under the former governing body TNRL. The first Tonga women's team was in 2003 and known as the Mate Ma'a Tonga women's team administered by the Tonga National Rugby League (TNRL) body. The newly formed Tonga women's national rugby league incorporated is under the Tongan Government with the national men's team. TNRL are no longer the national administrating body for Tonga Rugby League.

Head to head record

Opponent	FM	MR	M	W	D	L	Win%	PF	PA	Share
Samoa	2003	2008	2	0	0	2	0.00%	4	84	5.55%
Great Britain	2003	2003	1	0	0	1	0.00%	0	54	0.00%
Tokelau	2003	2003	2	0	0	2	0.00%	16	54	22.86%
Niue	2003	2020	2	1	1	0	75.00%	80	22	78.43%
New Zealand	2008	2023	3	0	0	3	0.00%	26	120	17.81%
Pacific Islands	2008	2008	1	0	0	1	0.00%	14	44	24.14%
Russia	2008	2008	1	0	0	1	0.00%	12	24	33.33%
France	2008	2008	1	0	0	1	0.00%	4	34	10.53%
Totals	2003	2022	13	1	1	11	11.54%	156	436	26.35%

Notes:

Table last updated 10 October 2023.
Share is the portion of "For" points compared to the sum of "For" and "Against" points.

Coaches

The current Mate Ma'a Tonga head coach is Kelvin Wright.

Name	Tests						Nines						Ref.
Name	Span	M	W	D	L	W%	Span	M	W	D	L	W%	Ref.
Unknown	2003	5	4	1	0	10%	N/A
Tara Naite	2008	5	0	0	0	0%	N/A						^[1]
Andrew Emelio	N/A						2018	4	2	0	2	50%	^[2]
Dion Briggs	2020	1	1	0	0	100%	N/A						^[3]
Milton Dymock	2022	1	0	0	1	0%	N/A						^[4]
Kelvin Wright	2023	1	0	0	1	0%	N/A

Players

The Mate Ma'a Tonga squad for the 2023 Pacific Championships was announced on 3 October 2023.^[5]
Jersey numbers and statistics reflect the 21 October 2023 match against New Zealand.

J#	Player	Age	Position(s)	Mate Ma’a Tonga						Club	NRLW						Other Reps
J#	Player	Age	Position(s)	Dbt	M	T	G	F	Pts	Club	CM	TM	T	G	F	Pts	Other Reps
1	Lanulangi Veainu	29	Fullback	2023	1	0	0	0	0	—	0	3	0	0	0	0	3
2	Lavinia Tauhalaliku	—	Wing	2022	2	0	0	0	0	Auckland City	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
3	China Polata	21	Centre	2022	2	1	0	0	4	Cowboys	8	9	1	0	0	4	1 1
4	Litia Fusi	18	Centre	2023	1	0	0	0	0	Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
5	Haylee Hifo	—	Wing	2022	2	1	2	0	8	Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
6	Cassey Tohi-Hiku	19	Five-eighth	2023	1	0	1	0	2	Eels	13	13	2	0	0	8	1 1
7	Tiana Penitani	27	Halfback	2023	1	2	0	0	8	Sharks	9	25	9	0	0	36	5 4 1
8	Folau Vaki	20	Prop	2023	1	0	0	0	0	Tigers	3	3	0	0	0	0	—
14	Jade Fonua	—	Hooker	2023	1	0	0	0	0	Eels	5	5	0	0	0	0	—
10	Tegan Dymock	21	Prop	2022	2	0	0	0	0	Sharks	8	14	1	0	0	4	—
11	Amelia Mafi	28	Second-row	2022	2	0	0	0	0	Eels	9	10	1	0	0	4	—
12	Vanessa Foliaki	30	Second-row	2023	1	0	0	0	0	Sharks	9	27	2	0	0	8	6 1 1 1 6
13	Dannii Perese	—	Lock	2023	1	0	0	0	0	Titans	7	7	1	0	0	4	1
9	Seli Mailangi	26	Hooker	2022	2	0	0	0	0	Bears	0	12	1	0	0	4	—
15	Natasha Penitani	—	Prop	2022	2	0	0	0	0	Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
16	Ilaisaane Taufa	—	Prop	2023	1	0	0	0	0	Lions	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
17	Shannon Muru	—	Second-row	2022	2	0	0	0	0	Eels	4	4	0	0	0	0	—
18	Fatafehi Hanisi	20	Prop	—	0	0	0	0	0	Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
19	Monica Samita	—	Hooker	2022	1	0	0	0	0	—	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
20	Sarah Filimoeatu	—	Wing	—	0	0	0	0	0	Auckland City	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
–	Kalosipani Hopoate	19	Prop	2022	1	0	0	0	0	Roosters	13	13	2	0	0	8	1

Results

Full internationals

Date	Opponent	Score	Tournament	Venue	Video	Report(s)
30 Sep 2003	Samoa	4–44	2003 WRLWC	North Harbour Stadium	—	^[6]
2 Oct 2003	Great Britain	0–54			—	^[7]
4 Oct 2003	Tokelau	4–28			—	^[8]
8 Oct 2003	Niue	14–14			—	^[9]
12 Oct 2003	Tokelau	12–26			—	^[10]
6 Nov 2008	Samoa	0–40	2008 WRLWC	Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast	—
8 Nov 2008	New Zealand	4–42			^[11]
10 Nov 2008	Pacific Islands	14–44			—	^[12]
12 Nov 2008	Russia	12–24			—	^[13]
14 Nov 2008	France	4–34			—	^[14]
7 Nov 2020	Niue	66–8	Test Match	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	^[15]	^[16]
25 Jun 2022	New Zealand	12–50	Test Match	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland	^[17]^[18]	^[19]^[20]
21 Oct 2023	New Zealand	10–28	2023 Pacific Champs	Eden Park, Auckland	^[21]	^[22]

Upcoming fixtures

2024 Pacific Championships
- Samoa in Fiji on Saturday, 19 October 2024.^[23]
  - The venue within Fiji is yet to be released by the International Rugby League or NRL.
- Potential Pacific Bowl Final at Go Media Stadium, Auckland on Saturday, 2 November 2024.
- This knock-out tournament will serve as a qualifier for the 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup.
  - Tonga (ranked 14th) play Samoa (ranked 24th) and Cook Islands (ranked 6th) play Fiji (ranked 26th). The winners meet in the Pacific Bowl Final.
  - The winner of the Pacific Bowl Final winner will become the 7th team to qualify for the World Cup.
  - The runner-up will enter a 2025 World Series tournament, also of four teams, to determine the 8th and final spot. This is to be with:
    - The winner of a European play-off between Greece and Ireland
    - The winner of the Americas qualifiers (Canada, USA, or Jamaica)
    - The winner of a two-match African play-off between Kenya and Nigeria.

Nines

Date	Opponent	Score	Tournament	Venue	Video	Report(s)
23 Feb 2018	Canada	8–4	2018 Commonwealth Championship	Dolphin Stadium, Brisbane	^[24]	^[25]
23 Feb 2018	Cook Islands	12–4			—	^[26]
24 Feb 2018	Samoa	0–20			—	^[27]
24 Feb 2018	Cook Islands	0–20			—	—

References

^ Women's and Police Rugby League World Cups Official Event Program. Kawana, Queensland: Queensland Police Service Rugby League Association Inc. 3 Nov 2008.
^ "Commonwealth Championship teams named". QRL. Commonwealth Championship Media. 20 Feb 2018. Retrieved 20 Apr 2021.
^ Anderson, Talei (6 Nov 2000). "Clash of the Pacific brings rare rugby league internationals to NZ". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 10 Oct 2023.
^ Newton, Alicia (17 Jun 2022). "NRLW young guns named for Mate Ma'a Tonga". NRL. Retrieved 17 Jun 2022.
^ "Tonga name Penitani, Polata in Pacific Championships squad". NRL. 3 Oct 2023. Retrieved 3 Oct 2023.
^ "SPORT details". Daily Telegraph. 1 Oct 2003. p. 82.
^ Gillan, Gordon (2 Oct 2003). "Kiwi Ferns face onslaught". New Zealand Herald. p. 15.
^ Birchall, Steven (4 Oct 2003) [2003]. "Womens [sic] World Cup : Round Three Results". womens.rleague.com. Australian Womens [sic] Rugby League. Archived from the original on 2004-11-29. Retrieved 30 Oct 2020.
^ "SPORT details". Daily Telegraph. 9 Oct 2003. p. 57.
^ "Women's Rugby League". Rugby League Review. 1 Nov 2003. p. 8.
^ "Kiwi Ferns v Tonga". YouTube. NZ Rugby League. 4 Aug 2017 [2008]. Retrieved 30 Sep 2020.
^ Gardiner, Peter (11 Nov 2008). "Poms Put In Place". Sunshine Coast Daily. p. 40.
^ Tuxworth, Jon (13 Nov 2008). "Sister Act". Sunshine Coast Daily. p. 48.
^ "English pride comes to the fore". Sunshine Coast Daily. 15 Nov 2008. p. 106.
^ "Niue Women vs Tonga Women 2020 Full". NZRugbyVidz. 7 Nov 2020. Retrieved 9 Nov 2020.
^ "Tonga Too Classy With A 66-8 Victory Over Niue". New Zealand Rugby League. 7 Nov 2020. Retrieved 20 Apr 2021.
^ "2022 Women's Test Match Highlights: New Zealand v Tonga - NRL on Nine". YouTube. NRL on Nine. 25 Jun 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2022.
^ "Kiwi Ferns v Mate Ma'a Tonga - Full Match Replay - Women's Pacific Test, 2022 - Internationals". YouTube. NRL - National Rugby League. 26 Jun 2022. Retrieved 27 Jun 2022.
^ "Kiwi Ferns Show Their Class to Beat Brave Tonga". NZRL. 25 Jun 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2022.
^ "Womenʼs Internationals - Kiwi Ferns 50 v 12 Mate Ma'a Tonga". NRL. 25 Jun 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2022.
^ "Women's Pacific Championships Highlights: New Zealand v Tonga - NRL on Nine". YouTube. NRL on Nine. 21 Oct 2023. Retrieved 22 Oct 2023.
^ Rosser, Corey (21 Oct 2023). "Roache bags three as Kiwi Ferns down Tonga". NRL. Retrieved 21 Oct 2023.
^ "2024 Pacific Championships Draw Announced". NRL. NRL Media Release. 30 Aug 2024. Retrieved 30 Aug 2024.
^ "2018 Commonwealth Championships: Canada Ravens vs. Tonga". YouTube. Canada Rugby League. 25 Feb 2018. Retrieved 18 Apr 2021.
^ Clarkstone, Julian (23 Feb 2018). "Commonwealth Championships: Day One Wrap-Up". Canada Rugby League. Retrieved 19 Apr 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^ "Commonwealth Championship: Day 1 Results". QRL. Commonwealth Championship Media. 23 Feb 2018. Retrieved 1 Apr 2021.
^ "Commonwealth Championships Results - Day Two". Love Rugby League. 24 Feb 2018. Retrieved 1 Apr 2021.