Tonga national rugby sevens team
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| Union | Tonga Rugby Football Union | ||
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| Nickname(s) | 'Ikale Tahi | ||
| Coach(es) | Andy Katoa | ||
| Captain(s) | Fautasi Mau | ||
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| World Cup Sevens | |||
| Appearances | 5 (First in 1993) | ||
| Best result | 7th (1993) | ||
The Tonga national rugby sevens team competes in the IRB World Sevens Series. Tonga has participated in five Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Contents
History
Rugby Sevens World Cup
1993
Their first appearance was at the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Scotland. They finished at the top of their pool and progressed to the finals with four wins and a loss to the hosts.[1] The quarter finals were another round robin with teams split into two pools. Tonga lost all their games and finished in seventh place overall.
1997
The 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in the mecca of sevens rugby Hong Kong. The tournament was played over three days. Day 1 and 2 had a total of eight pools with three teams per pool. Teams were seeded at the end of Day 1 and assigned to their various pools for Day 2. Tonga had a win against Japan and a loss to New Zealand.[2]
Tonga's pool on Day 2 was a repeat of Day 1 with Japan and New Zealand being pooled together with them. Day 2 yielded the same results as the previous day. They were placed in the Plate quarter-finals and recorded wins against Wales, the Cook Islands and the hosts, Hong Kong to win the Plate and finish in ninth place.
2001
The 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in Argentina. Tonga did not qualify.
2005
Hong Kong hosted the Sevens World Cup for a second time. Tonga finished at the bottom of their pool[3] and ended up in the Bowl quarter-finals where they defeated Chinese Taipei 28 - 19. They lost to Canada in the semi-finals 7 - 0 and finished in their lowest rankings at a World Cup in 19th place.
2009
Tonga qualified for the 2009 World Cup in the Oceania region. The United Arab Emirates were the hosts for the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. They were in Pool A and played against Arabian Gulf, Italy and New Zealand. Tonga were second in their pool with two wins and a loss.[4] They made it to the Plate quarter-finals and beat Tunisia 24 - 7. However, they lost to Australia in the semis 22 - 19. They finished in eleventh place overall.
Pool A
-
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- P 
New Zealand3 3 0 0 107 12 95 9 
Tonga3 2 0 1 57 34 23 7 
Italy3 1 0 2 29 90 -61 5 
Arabian Gulf3 0 0 3 22 79 -57 3
Plate
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| Tonga |
24 | |||||||||
 Tunisia |
7 | |||||||||
| Tonga |
19 | |||||||||
 Australia |
22 | |||||||||
 United States |
14 | |||||||||
| Australia |
24 | |||||||||
| Australia |
17 | |||||||||
 Scotland |
21 | |||||||||
 France |
19 | |||||||||
| Scotland |
21 | |||||||||
| Scotland |
29 | |||||||||
 Portugal |
7 | |||||||||
| Portugal |
12 | |||||||||
 Canada |
5 | |||||||||
2013
Russia were the hosts for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Tonga won over Uruguay and advanced to the Plate quarter-finals from their pool.[5] They lost to Canada 26 - 0 and finished in 13th place.
Sevens World Series
2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series
Tonga have only participated in one round of the current IRB Sevens Series so far. They managed the bowl final in their first round of this series in Wellington, they won 24-56 over Cook Islands.
2009 Wellington Sevens
Tonga were in pool "A" along with Scotland, South Africa and Kenya for the Wellington round of the IRB World Sevens Series.
| Stages | Team | Pts | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kenya |
21-35 | Tonga |
| 2 |  South Africa |
22-65 | Tonga |
| 3 | Scotland |
15-21 | Tonga |
| 1/4 final bowl |  Niue |
0-21 | Tonga |
| Semi-final bowl | France |
5-28 | Tonga |
| Final bowl |  Cook Islands |
24-56 | Tonga |
2015 Hong Kong Sevens
Tonga played in the World Series Qualifier in the 2015 Hong Kong Sevens. They only managed one win against Guyana.[6]
Current squad
Squad at 2016 Hong Kong Sevens:[7]
- Misitana AFEAKI
- Atelea Fonohema MOA
- Joseph TONGIA
- Sione Tuitavake FUSIMALOHI
- Sosaia TOKAI
- Samisoni ASI
- Viliami SIALE
- Unaloto KALONI
- Semisi Sitanilei TEI
- Taliauli SIKUEA
- Tuikakavalu IKA
- Sione VEA
Previous Squads
| 2015 Hong Kong Sevens World Series Qualifier Squad[8] |
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| Squad to 2015 Pacific Games:[9] |
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References
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- ↑ http://www.worldrugby.org/sevens-series/stage/1663/teams/2421
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