Vatuvei, who will wear the No.31 jersey for Salford for the remainder of the season after securing a release from the Warriors, made his first appearance for Tonga in May’s Pacific Test win over Fiji and he is looking forward to representing the Mate Ma’a again.

 

“I was born and raised in New Zealand but I still learned everything about Tonga, and to finally get the chance to play for Tonga was really emotional for myself, just to finally put the jersey on and to represent my heritage.”

However, the Pacific Test was at Campbelltown, whereas Tonga play two matches in Hamilton against New Zealand and Samoa during the World Cup and one in Cairns against Scotland.

“It would be awesome to come back to New Zealand to play here in front of my family again,” he said. “They have always supported me and it would mean a lot to them.

“It would be a great feeling for myself to come back, I am already thinking about it as something to work for and to work hard for. That is part of my goals, to come back and play in the World Cup and do well in front of my family again.

“I am really excited and I have now just got to concentrate on my footy and getting my body right and making sure I perform well for the new team I am going to play for. Hopefully I can do that and get picked.”

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said Vatuvei only had to be fit at the end of the Super League to guarantee his place in the squad for the World Cup and considers the 31-year-old as one of his leaders after just one Test in the red jersey.

Before then, Vatuvei had played 29 Tests for the Kiwis and been more synonymous with the Warriors than any other player of the past decade after playing 228 NRL matches for the Auckland-based club.

“I only dealt with him that one time and he really impressed me,” Woolf said. “He walked in with a good presence and he lifted the mood of the group, which was really good anyway but you could just see that everyone was happy to have him there and he was really happy to be there as well.

“He certainly rubbed off on the other players in a positive way and one thing I did learn about him when he came into camp in May is that he is extremely passionate about his Tongan heritage and wanting to play for Tonga.

“It meant a hell of a lot to him to play for Tonga in that Test and I know that in the World Cup it is going to mean a lot to him as well.”

The respect that his Warriors team-mates had for the giant winger was evident before last Friday night’s match against Penrith when they performed a haka to him, and Woolf said that the Mate Ma’a players felt the same way.

“He has played almost 230 NRL games, and been a really top NRL performer for a long time as well so a lot of the younger guys would have grown up watching Manu and wanting to emulate what he has done as a player,” Woolf said.

“The Test in May was the first time he had played for Tonga so I hadn’t had much to do with him before that but he was absolutely outstanding in the way that he came into camp late but he came in with a real big smile on his face and he lifted the mood of the group. Everyone was really happy to have him there and he played that way too.”

 

Brad Walter - RLWC2017.com
@BradWalterSport