Popularity
Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga and as in the rest of Polynesia is a way of life. Though Tongans are passionate rugby followers, the small population base means that internationally, Tongan rugby continually struggles.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) estimates that Tonga has a total of 800 registered senior players and twice as many juniors.
Rugby is popular in the nation's schools and students from schools such as Tonga College and Tupou College, are regularly offered scholarships from New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Jonah Lomu, Viliami (William) 'Ofahengaue, Toutai Kefu, Finau Maka, Charles Riechelmann and Pita Alatini and George Smith are all of Tongan descent.
The money coming back from Tongan players playing rugby abroad is Tonga's second biggest export after sugar.
Read more about this topic: Rugby Union In Tonga
Famous quotes containing the word popularity:
“There are few cases in which mere popularity should be considered a proper test of merit; but the case of song-writing is, I think, one of the few.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1845)
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—Stanley I. Greenspan (20th century)
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—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)