Tonga is disappointed the Rugby League World Cup has been postponed but coach Kristian Woolf says it's probably the right decision.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The tournament was due to kick off at the end of October but was thrown into turmoil when Australia and New Zealand announced last month they had pulled out because of "player welfare and safety concerns" related to Covid-19.
Organisers insist they met all requests from international rugby league federations, including rigorous health measures, but the event will now take place in 2022.
Mate Ma'a Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said, even without the Kiwis and Kangaroos, his team was keen for the tournament to go ahead.
Kristian Woolf. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"We certainly made it clear that we were committed to the World Cup and things obviously got a little bit messy when Australia and New Zealand weren't going to be involved," he said.
"Tonga, from our point of view as well but as well as the players point of view, we were committed to if the World Cup went ahead we certainly wanted to be a part of it still and certainly happy to crack on without New Zealand and Australia, if that was their wishes, but unfortunately now it's been called off."
Tonga stunned New Zealand enroute to the World Cup semi-finals in 2017 and toppled both Great Britain and Australia at the end of 2019.
Woolf said none of the players he had spoken to indicated any reluctance to being involved again in October and November.
"All the blokes that we'd spoken to are all very committed," he said.
"They obviously wanted more information - they wanted more information from the World Cup organisers, in terms of exactly what it would look like, and they wanted more information from the NRL as well in terms of what they could do.
"But with the information they were given - and this was before the announcement that it was going to be postponed - our players were all certainly committed."
Tonga celebrate their rugby league win over Australia Photo: Photosport
Organisers had been in discussions about adding Indigenous and Māori teams to the World Cup in the absence of the Kangaroos and Kiwis. There had also been suggestions that Tongan players in the Australia and New Zealand teams could switch their allegiance to the Pacific nation, if the tournament did go ahead.
Woolf said any Tongan player is welcome to put their hand up for selection but they only want players who are committed to the red jersey for the long-term.
"The majority of players that are Tongan eligible are already playing for Tonga and they've been a very committed group of men for a number of years now," he said.
"One thing that our group of players have done is they've committed to Tonga and they've done that long-term. If anyone else is going to come and join our group then we'd certanly want it to be for the long-term and not just because there's an opportunity for a World Cup and then looking to go back to other nations."
Tonga is scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against Papua New Guinea at the home of Super League champions St Helens, where Woolf has been head coach since the start of 2020.
He said there was a real appetite for international rugby league in the northern hemipshere.
"I think regardless of whether Australia and New Zealand were there I think the World Cup would have been really well supported...there's also a lot of interest and excitment about what the Pacific Island teams can do and that would have generated a lot of interest over here still."
However, recent developments suggest that pushing the tournament back until next year made sense, Woolf suggested.
We can announce this morning that the tournament will be postponed until 2022. We have done everything in our power to stage the tournament this year, but it is not to be.
— Rugby League World Cup 2021 (@RLWC2021) August 5, 2021
Remain supportive of the tournament, the teams, the players and most of all our amazing sport. ❤️
"With the way everything's started to evolve I think it's ended up being the right decision, because it certainly appeared like we were heading down a path of not being able to get the strongest teams there, and by that I mean the best players to represent the countries that did want to commit to the World Cup and that's certainly not what a World Cup is about."
With the bulk of the players, coaches and officials based in Australia, the former North Queensland Cowboys, Brisbane Broncos and Newcastle Knights employee said it was important for the World Cup to have the support of the NRL.
"That does matter. At the end of the day the NRL clubs are the ones who employ the players so it certainly matters what their opinion is and I certainly believe that NRL clubs do have their players' best interests at heart," he said.
"It's a bit of a different situation in Australia and New Zealand than what it is over here (in the UK). We're certainly at a point where we're starting to deal with Covid and live with Covid, so to speak, and get out of that scenario where you've got lockdowns all the time."
"...that's a little bit different to what's happening over in Australia and New Zealand at the moment so if I'm sitting in Australia I can certainly understand the different point of view. Living over here and just cracking on, so to speak, we've obviously got a different point of view about what can and can't happen."
But for now the prospect of any international rugby league remains a waiting game.
9420 fans attended the test between the Tonga Invitational XIII and Great Britain. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"We'd love to have a game and we'd love to get together as a group...I'm not too sure whether that's going to be possible with the current circumstances around the world, and with the very short time periods we have from now until October, which is realistically when international footy needs to be played, so that's a little bit of an unknown," Woolf said.
"One thing we haven't lost in terms of the playing group is that closeness and that real bond and that momentum that has been built with the group and that strength of character that's in the group. What the players realistically need to do is be playing real well in the NRL and the Super League and by the time we come around next year be in form, be fit and healthy and be as fresh as possible."
