While the idea of representing your heritage is nearly every rugby league player’s dream today, the pride was not always felt for a lot of stars, with one premiership winner seeing the ugly side of the decision.
Former Cronulla Sharks prop Andrew Fifita has opened up on the backlash and emotional toll of his shock decision to defect from Australia to Tonga ahead of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, a move that forever changed the international game.
Fifita revealed that the moment the decision truly hit him came as he walked into a Chinese restaurant in western Sydney with his family.
“I had made the decision earlier that day,” Fifita told News Corp.
“As we were walking to dinner, we were just getting scrutinised by everyone. People were running out of the pub to spray me.”
Only hours earlier, news had broken that the then-Kangaroos prop had chosen to represent Tonga in a secret pact with Jason Taumalolo, who switched his allegiance from New Zealand.
But at the time, Fifita said the decision came with chaos, fear, and personal cost.
“That was the last straw,” he said of the backlash.
I needed to leave the country because I was getting absolutely hammered.”
“I rang [Tongan officials] and said, ‘Can you fly me out now?’”
Fifita and his wife Nikki weighed up the pros and cons at their dinner table before deciding to honour his family roots over the promise of another green-and-gold jersey.
“Financially it was a big hit, but Nikki said, ‘Nope, do we really need the backlash?’”
The next morning, Fifita called Tonga coach Kristian Woolf at 5am to confirm he was in.
He then drove across Sydney to tell his father Sione face-to-face.
“The way he dropped to his knees and cried, I could tell I made the right decision,” he said.
Eight years on, Fifita says the decision remains one of the proudest of his career.
Fifita makes call on representative future
“We knew we did the right thing, but I didn’t think it was going to be this wave of next generation players now declaring they want to play for Tonga,” Fifita said.
“I’m honoured. To get to play in two World Cups and get to play for both nations, it’s surreal.”
Fifita admitted that the decision was life-altering and will stick with him forever.
“Making the call is up there with the greatest thing I’ve ever achieved. The brotherhood, the culture, the bond, it’s real.”
His decision did prove fruitful, with an entire generation of stars now choosing to represent their heritage on the world stage.
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