Toutai Kefu was forced to field 13 debutants in last night’s Test against the All Blacks, with his best players unable to make the journey to New Zealand. Ben Tameifuna will be expected to pay up to half of his quarantine costs as he prepares to join Tonga ahead of the test against Samoa in Auckland this weekend. Following the loss to the All Blacks in Auckland, deflated Tonga coach Toutai Kefu said the players arriving from the northern hemisphere had to contribute to their own quarantine costs. To minimise quarantine and insurance costs, the Tonga Rugby Union said that if players returned to New Zealand for personal reasons they would be considered for selection for the test against the All Blacks and the two World Cup qualifiers against Samoa. Hannah Peters/Getty Images Tonga players look dejected after the 102-0 loss to the All Blacks.

Source: Stuff July 05, 2021 06:02 UTC