Tonga National Tag Team

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Tonga's National Tag Rugby Team, also known as Laione Hau, is the first official Tonga national tag team. The lion on their emblem represents loyalty and the strength of Tongan kings and warriors. The governing body for tag rugby in Tonga is Tonga Tag (the Tonga National Tag Association).

Tag rugby, sometimes called flag football in the United States and Canada, is growing worldwide. Countries playing include Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, the USA, France, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue, Fiji and Tonga.

Tag rugby is based on the sport of rugby league. In Tongatapu, the sport is new but now played around the world. It was introduced to Tonga around 2007, but participation declined due to limited development. In October 2011, tag rugby was reintroduced in Tonga with a new plan to build international competitiveness. In January 2012, Tonga entered its first official tag team in the Tag Pacific Cup in Auckland, New Zealand, with an open men’s team.

Since then, Tonga Tag has entered several teams. In February 2012, two teams (Under-20s and Open Men’s) reached the quarterfinals. In March 2013, four teams competed (U20s, Open Men’s, Open Women’s, and Open Mixed) and all reached the semifinals. On 22 February 2014, Tonga entered the first Junior Pacific Cup (ages 5–16) with U8s, U12s, and U14s; the U8s won their grade, while U12s and U14s reached the semifinals, with overall third place. On 8–9 February 2014, in the Senior Pacific Cup, Tonga’s Under-16 team did not participate in the Junior Cup but played in the Senior Cup, beating New Zealand in the semifinals and losing to the New Zealand Barbarians in the final, finishing as runners-up.

The national team’s coat of arms features two golden lions facing each other for loyalty, a shield with the Tongan flag and a watermarked rugby ball, and a royal crown above the shield. The sport is associated with the idea “Otua mo Tonga” (God and Tonga).

Many players of Tongan descent also compete for other countries, helping Tonga stay active on the international tag rugby scene.