WORLD RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP; ITALY, WHAT A TONGA!
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"Pacific" is only the name of the ocean that surrounds them. And as from this week, the Italian rugby team, too, has discovered the strong nature of these lonely warriors who live thousands kilometres far from modern civilization. The Polynesian Archipelago is about 5 hours' flight from Sydney, which is itself to the ends of the earth. It is right there that an island measuring about 700 sq km with less inhabitants than Pavia cultivates its glory and its dreams of world victory. Last week, on the occasion of the world rugby championship, Italy learned the hard way how sport can be as fascinating as unpredictable. This case cannot certainly be compared to the surprisingly defeat the Italian football team suffered against Korea during 1966 world championship, But the debacle of the rugby team against the Tonga team demonstrates, alas, that money and modern training methods are not always sufficient to win over the forces of nature. It may seem a bit exaggerated to compare the athletes from the tiny isle of the Pacific to the wild strength of nature. But how would you define a team of giants weighing more than 110 kg who run like hundred-metre runners and absolutely have no fear of physical contact? In their debut match they even managed to keep in check the strongest rugby team in the world, i.e. the All Blacks from New Zealand. Starting from the war dance before the match, the Ikale Tahi, which Tonga players opposed with ear-splitting shouts to the already notorious Haka dance performed by the New Zealand team. The Italian team, which was placed in a group of strongs teams together with New Zealand and England, counted upon the match against Tonga to manage to reach the quarterfinals as the best third club. Yet, the rival team won by a narrow margin but rightly the match against Italy, which then suffered the second defeat of this championship and therefore arrived last in its group.
A great satisfaction for the Tonga team and its South African trainer Dave Waterson who, at the eve of the world championship, had declared his primary target was to beat Italy. And also a great satisfaction for those some 100 supporters with white and red scarves (the national colours of Tonga) who travelled a good 32 hours' flight to support their team in the heart of England.
But the physical strength of Tonga players is not only and essentially a natural gift. Indeed, 2,500 out of 100,000 inhabitants, i.e. nearly 5% of the Tonga population, make sport as agonists. 62 clubs have organized the most important sport of the isle in a championship. A sport which is no other than the prosecution of their war of independence, even though Polynesians declare themselves absolutely peaceful people.
A doubt had crossed the mind of the Italian team-leader Dominguez and his team already before coming into action when looking at the face of these warriors in red shirts and their aggressive rite to psychologically get ready for the match. Unfortunately, these doubts turned into reality when the Tonga players clashed with the Italian players, making them retreat a few metres, as it had already happened to the New Zealand team in the debut match.
Thus, while the Italian team comes back home, a small isle of the Pacific makes its entry among the strongest rugby teams in the world. However, Tonga will probably pay for its sudden renown with another "pillage" of players on behalf of the strongest rugby teams like South Africa, New Zealand and Japan. It has already happened in the past and now it may happen again. On the other hand, if it is true that the forces of nature cannot be grown or replanted, it is also true that they can often be channelled and exploited; yet, at an agonistic level, it may not seem good to speak in those terms.
 

 

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