A 'warm' North-East welcome for Tane

11:16am Saturday 15th November 2008

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A little bit of Tonga comes to Tyneside tomorrow when Tane Tu’ipulotu makes his Newcastle Falcons debut against London Irish. Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson met the centre earlier this week, and discussed his hopes for his time in the North-East.

GIVEN that Tonga is universally known as the “Friendly Islands” because of the welcome that was afforded to Captain Cook, it should not come as too much of a surprise to learn that Tane Tu’ipulotu has not taken too long to slip into life with Newcastle Falcons.

“I like to think I’m a friendly guy,” said the Tongan centre.

“But then you pretty much have to be where I come from.

I’ve been here a fortnight now and I already feel at home.”

At home, but not quite comfortable. “It’s cold,” he added quickly, as he huddled in three layers of clothing despite his seat close to a radiator in Kingston Park’s main stand.

“I’m still getting used to this climate. I’m sure everyone who comes over from Tonga or New Zealand says that, but you really notice the difference. It was red hot when I left home. Let’s just say that it’s not exactly red hot here.”

It’s not exactly Nuku’alofa, the Tongan capital that Tu’ipulotu called home for the first 17 years of his life, either.

Comprising 171 islands, only 48 of which are inhabited, Tonga is about as far removed from Tyneside as it is possible to be.

It has changed little since Captain Cook first visited it in 1773, with subsistence agriculture dominating the economy and manufacturing contributing less than three per cent of the country’s GDP.

Modernisation has been slow and unevenly spread, with rural villages embracing a Tongan culture that predates the European traders and missionaries that poured onto the islands in the mid-tolate 1800s.

A succession of Europeans failed to dismantle the tribalism and traditions that continue to dominate Tongan society, but they brought one thing that would change life in Tonga almost overnight.

It was a rugby ball, and it led to a sporting love affair that currently burns more brightly than ever.

“Unless you’ve been to one of the South Sea Islands, it’s hard to explain what rugby means out there,” said Tu’ipulotu, who left Tonga in 1998 to pursue a professional career in New Zealand.

“In Tonga, it’s pretty much the be all and end all. It sounds like a cliche, but I could honestly pass a rugby ball pretty much as soon as I could walk. I could certainly pass and tackle by the time I could run.

“Rugby’s a massive thing in the islands. People live for their rugby match on a weekend.

“If you go out into the villages in Tonga, only a few of the houses will have a television. Even today. But when you drive past and there’s a big international on, people will be spilling out of those houses into the street.

“It’s pretty much an open house and the whole of the village congregates to watch rugby. It’s one of the main things that continues to hold these traditional communities together.

“New Zealand are obviously the biggest draw, but if England are playing France to decide the Six Nations, you can bet your bottom dollar that half of Tonga will be watching. And most of the people will be crowded on the street and the doorway straining to get a glimpse of the TV. That’s the environment I grew up in.”

Having developed his skills on Tonga’s rudimentary playing fields, Tu’ipulotu’s career was transformed when he left his homeland for the bright lights of Auckland.

He has played for most of the leading sides in New Zealand, representing Waikato’s Chiefs in the Super 14 before helping Wellington to Ranfurly Shield glory and the final of last month’s Air New Zealand Cup.

The next stage of his career will see him strut his stuff in the Premiership, a move that has become increasingly common given the gulf in wages that separates rugby in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, but one that still carries something of a stigma in the heartlands of the Antipodes.

To fans of the Wallabies and the All Blacks, English domestic rugby is a cakewalk, a cumbersome, slow-moving beast that offers fleet-footed attackers a free run to the try line.

To the Antipodean players who have actually played in the Premiership, though, the reality has proved to be somewhat different. Having talked to the likes of Falcon team-mate Joe McDonnell and close friend Seilala Mapasua, a London Irish forward who will miss tomorrow’s Kingston Park clash because of injury, Tu’ipulotu will kick off the English leg of his career with his eyes wide open.

“There’s a certain perception about English rugby that is prevalent in Australia and New Zealand,”

he explained.

“It comes from the lads who haven’t played here, but who watch some of the games on television.

“Because the speed is the same, they assume it’s a much easier type of rugby. There’s definitely a feeling that, if you’re moving over to England, you’re taking a bit of a step down.

“People say things like, ‘Well if you’re going to be playing in England, you’re going to be carving defences up and scoring long-range tries every week’.

“I guess I even thought that way a little bit in the past, but you only have to speak to a few of the guys who have actually played here to realise just how wrong that is.

“It doesn’t take them long to tell you it’s nowhere near as easy as it seems. Then you get on the training ground, and it’s rammed into you even more.

“It’s a different game, with different conditions and different game plans, but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier. A lot of the guys over here are much bigger than the slimmer guys back home.

“If anything, I expect my time in England to be tougher and more competitive than my time in New Zealand.”

Things might have been slightly easier had Tu’ipulotu opted to join one of the higher-ranked sides in the Premiership, but having been offered a contract at a number of the Falcons’ rivals, the 27- year-old opted to join Newcastle instead.

The prospect of linking up with fellow New Zealanders McDonnell and Carl Hayman clearly had an effect, but the presence of a certain Jonny Wilkinson also played a pivotal role in his decision.

“There were other Premiership sides interested,”

said Tu’ipulotu. “But Newcastle was the team that jumped out at me right from the start. It’s a great place to be, and a great team to play for.

“There are a lot of highclass players here. Jonny Wilkinson obviously springs to mind, and over in New Zealand, I would be watching him in action thinking, ‘I’d love to play outside him’.

Unfortunately, he’s injured at the moment, but hopefully it won’t be too long until I get that chance.

“The challenge of playing in the Premiership was a big part of the move as well. I’m grateful that Newcastle Falcons have offered me a chance to experience this competition.”

■ Newcastle have designated tomorrow as a special family fun day. A family of two adults and two children can gain free parking and four standing tickets in the covered South Terrace for £50, or West Stand seats for £75. For ticket information call 0871 2266060 or visit www.newcastlefalcons.

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