Jojo Fifita had three nations to choose from. On Saturday night, he showed why Tonga was the right call.
The Titans winger made his Rugby League World Cup debut as Tonga stunned England 30-12 at HBF Park in Perth, a result that puts them in the box seat for a semi-final spot.
Tonga held out an early England onslaught to lead 10-0 at half-time, before a Haumole Olakau’atu double and tries to Stefano Utoikamanu and Tolu Koula sealed a famous win.
Fifita was strong on the wing, making key defensive decisions as he has done all season for the Titans.
He was busy with the ball too, running 157 metres from 14 carries, including 64 post-contact metres, with a line break and an offload.
Defence was the big thing Tonga and Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf took from the night.
“What I liked the most was the way we defended, we put ourselves under pressure a couple of times, but our defence was outstanding,” Woolf said.
“You could see how much the game meant to us, and we showed that in our effort, and it’s something that will carry us through the tournament.”
For Fifita, choosing the red jersey over New Zealand and Australia was not easy.
Speaking in Tonga’s camp before his debut, he said Woolf had called him early in the process and given him time to weigh up his options.
“It was a tough decision,” Fifita said.
“I got a call pretty early on from the coach and he gave me a bit of time to think.
“I spoke to my partner and my family, just tried to come up with the best option.”
In the end, family made the decision for him, and his father, a proud Tongan who played for the nation in rugby union, played a big part.
“Having the opportunity to run out for Tonga, I grew up watching Tonga,” he said.
“My dad played for Tonga in the Rugby Union World Cup and being able to do that with the league team is something that drives me to play for Tonga.”
The camp has also been a crash course in his heritage.
“A lot of it has been about learning where my dad is from,” he said.
“I didn’t grow up learning about it, and I think this is the most Tongan stuff I have learnt in the last 23 years of my life in not even a week.
“It’s been a great learning experience.”
His sister has also represented Tonga in rugby league, and her growing connection to their culture has inspired him to learn more about his own.
“He’s (Dad) the Tongan in the family,” he said.
“He hasn’t taught us much about the Tongan side, so learning about the culture, my sister’s in the girls’ Tongan side and she was in the same boat as me.
“But she comes back and she’s singing Tongan songs at home.”
Saturday’s debut meant even more after Fifita was named in Tonga’s squad for last year’s Pacific Championships but missed the final cut.
“I was in the Tongan squad last year but didn’t make the cut, and I remember seeing how much it made my family proud,” he said.
“They were really happy that I was even just considered in the squad.”
The World Cup debut tops off a breakout year for the 23-year-old, who also made his State of Origin debut and scored two tries for the Maroons.
“It’s been a long year, but I’m grateful for every part of it and hopefully for many more years to come it will be the same,” he said.
“It gives me a lot of opportunities to learn and reflect on myself, and playing with other experienced players helps me grow and get better.”
Tonga play Lebanon at CommBank Stadium in Sydney on Friday, before closing out the group stage against Samoa on Sunday 1 November.
