TONGA

A HUMAN OBSTACLE course awaits Rugby World as we arrive at the Tonga team hotel in Sakai, a city around 20 minutes from Osaka. The forwards are going through their early-morning ‘activations’ – a series of stretches – so we have to step over and around various huge limbs to reach the team room.

Thankfully we make it to the destination without any embarrassing trips. Inside there are backs dotted around various tables having breakfast, while coaches go through notes and footage on their laptops. Telusa Veainu is strumming a ukulele that has been left in the room. A table on one side has packs of laundry stacked up, all labelled with the relevant person’s squad number. Laptops on the opposite side of the room are ready for players to use for analysis. A note on the whiteboard indicates that a barber visited the previous night, so there are a few fresh fades walking in and out.

Then there are Tongan touches dotted around: the Tonga flag, traditional fabrics hanging up and mats placed on the floor, wooden carvings, motivational posters in Tongan.

Despite this being the team hub, there is no sense that we’re intruding. Players come up to shake hands and say hello. Hooker Paula Ngauamo greets us with a warm smile and jokes “you made me famous” after