Tonga are one of four national teams trying to secure their Rugby World Cup 2027 qualification during the Pacific Nations Cup 2025 campaign, and they enter the tournament as the only competing side who are yet to play a Test match in 2025.
Japan and Fiji have already qualified for the next edition of the expanded Men’s Rugby World Cup, which will see 24 teams compete for the Webb-Ellis trophy. The USA, Canada, Samoa, and Tonga are all hunting qualification, with the top three of those four teams at the end of the PNC securing their spots, while the bottom-placed side will enter the more complicated pathway to qualification.
The sixth-placed PNC team will face the second-best side from the Sudamérica Rugby qualification process, with the winner securing direct entry to Australia 2027. The loser will move on to the Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai from 1-18 November, where the 24th and final team for RWC 2027 will be confirmed. Belgium and Namibia are already confirmed as two of the four teams for that tournament in the UAE.
Tonga’s only preparation match before they start their PNC campaign against Samoa will be a one-off game against an out-of-season Australian Queensland Reds team at Te'ufaiva Park on Friday, 15 August. They will then face Samoa, who have only played one Test themselves thus far in 2025, a 12-41 loss to Scotland. The Samoans beat Tonga in the PNC last year, but their final confirmed for this year's tournament left out several players who featured in that loss in July, including Jacob Umaga, who made his debut.
The 'Ikale Tahi, as the Tongans are known, and the Tonga Rugby Union (TRU) know how critical the PNC tournament and preparation are. TRU chief executive Aisea Aholelei is appreciative of the Reds' visit, which follows on from them touring Tonga in 2024 following the signing of an agreement between the two parties.
The Reds played their first game in Tonga in 29 years last year, and beat the hosts 41-14 after trailing 14-12 in the first half. The Reds will be without their Wallabies, who are in South Africa for the Rugby Championship. Fullback Jock Campbell will captain the sid,e which includes as many as eight potential debutants for the Reds but also 14 players with Super Rugby Pacific experience.
A certain debutant is former Australian under-18 captain Tom Robinson, the son of former Wallaby Brett Robinson, who is the current Chair of World Rugby. Junior Wallabies halfback Martens, who is the son of former Sharks and Springboks No.9 Hentie Martens, is also in the squad.
The other potential debuts are Theo Fourie, Ollie Harris, Trevor King, Charlie Brosnan, Xavier Rubens and Will McCulloch.
Tonga Set Sights on RWC 2027, But Reds Tour is Vital
The Tongan national side desperately needs game-time before they compete in the PNC, but even this one game will surely leave them undercooked before they take on Pacific rivals Samoa and Fiji, and depart for the United States to conclude the PNC.
The TRU CEO said, "The visit from the Reds is not only keeping historical ties close between the two organisations, but also it has come at a very critical time in supporting the preparation of the 'Ikale Tahi team in their campaign to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027, which starts with the game against Manu Samoa the week following the Reds game in Nuku'alofa.
The tours are supported by the Australian government, Rugby Australia, and the Reds through the PacificAus Sports-funded Australia-Pacific Rugby Union Partnership (APRUP), and Tongans who have played for the Reds in the past include current Wallaby Taniela Tupou, brothers Toutai and Steve Kefu, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Feao Fotuaika and George Smith.
Current Reds Head Coach and future Wallaby Head Coach Les Kiss has said that Tonga will be a tough team on the field, "Playing against Tonga is a wonderful opportunity both for our seasoned players and for our young players earning their first cap. We know what the Tongans will bring in terms of power and intent because they’ve chosen the Reds as final preparation for their World Cup qualifiers.
We brought 26 players in our travelling squad, and everyone has been involved in preparing this team.”
Reds winger Tim Ryan, who also played in Tonga last year, said, “Playing in Tonga last year was a great experience and will be again. Obviously, we are up against big boys and a national tea,m which is a good step up for guys in the Reds squad like me.
I've been lucky to have experienced international games against Wales, Tonga, Bristol, Ulster and the Lions over the past year or so. Some kick a bit more, others like the Tongans, will back their power and run more. It's a real positive to play against different styles and feel prepared.”
In last year’s Super Rugby Pacific, the first match was played in Tonga, between the Highlanders and the Moana Pasifika, which featured players of Tongan heritage.
The 'Ikale Tahi are currently the second-lowest ranked team by World Rugby in 19th and finished the PNC above only Canada in 2024.
The Tongan national side has been in camp in Auckland and flew back home to prepare for the Reds and Manu Samoa matches, with the hosts taking on Samoa on Saturday, 23 August at Teufaiva Sport Stadium in round 1 before travelling to HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, to face PNC defending champions Fiji for their second Test.
