Amidst the excitement of the World Cup, I sat down with Tonga Rugby’s Steve Mafi to talk about how preparations are going for the game’s biggest international tournament. We also spoke about what it is like being back in England and what he misses about playing in the Aviva Premiership for Leicester Tigers.
“There’s been a few complaints about the weather and the cold!”
How is training going at the moment?
Training’s going really well. Preparation for the World Cup and obviously with the warm up matches means the boys want to try some skills out and see how it works. These warm up games will be good for us and the other teams at the same time.
You must be used to life in England after spending a few years at Leicester Tigers but how are the other guys finding it?
Yeah there’s been a few complaints about the weather and the cold! A few of the boys have played here before, they’ve experienced it. But there’s a couple of guys from around the world who’ve never been so it takes a bit of getting used to. It was good to be one of the first teams here and get settled for the first couple of weeks at Cranleigh College and experience that first up ahead of the World Cup.
Opeti Fonua has joined Tigers, have you given him any tips for life at Leicester?
He’s asked me a few questions but he’s pretty much on top of everything. He’s been at the club for a few weeks and he knows a lot now. It’s a great environment there with the coaches and everyone – they’ll work pretty well with him.
How does playing with the Western Force differ from playing in the Premiership?
Well the first thing I noticed is that there’s a lot more running – it’s a lot faster than the Premiership but I’m definitely enjoying it and the sun’s out more. Less rain, more sun. You spend a lot more time outside the house than inside.
How about the pre-season training as well?
The only time I made it back for pre-season with Tigers was for a couple of weeks before the trial match. Usually I’m with Tonga and then on my break straight after that, so by the time I got back it was the trial matches. From the experience at the Western Force there’s too much running for me anyway!
Do you miss anything about Leicester and the Premiership?
Yeah, the Premiership is a great tournament and it was good to me the four years that I was there for Leicester. The environment around Leicester and the boys – that’s what I really miss. The drinks after the game and the jokes that we shared, the friendship and the brotherhood that we had at Tigers. They were some really good times and I have some great memories.
Back to the World Cup, what has the team been practicing and what strategies have been put in place?
Well at Tonga the boys are pretty big so we based our play on the forwards game, but at the same time use our backs along their line, so it’s all about getting the balance between the two packs. A lot of the time it’s looked at as a great forwards team and nation but we want to use our speed to mix up our game a bit.
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