Mate Ma'a Tonga Rugby Leauge (MMT)

Rugby League first gained attention in Tonga when Tonga played its first Rugby League International at the 1986 Pacific cup which was held in the Cook Island that year, it was also the same year that the GOD FATHER OF TONGA RUGBY

LEAGUE GEORGE MANN SNR

approached the King of Tonga with the name Mate Ma'a Tonga (MMT) and was given the blessing from the King to go forward with the name of the sport of Rugby League.After this initial exposure to the Tongan people several clubs began to form or switch from Rugby union to Rugby League and by 1988 the nation had enough depth in their player pool to begin playing national fixtures and entered the 1988 Pacific Cup Competition held in Apia, Samoa. During that pacific Cup the Tongans played in three fixtures winning a sole match while losing the other two, with their first international victory coming against the American Samoa side a match that ended 38-14.

Over the next two years the national side sporadicaliy played internnational fixtures but it was not until the 1992 Pacific Cup when they again began playing with some regularity . At the 1992 Cup competition the side showed significant improvement on their previous inaugural cup effort with victories over,Cook Islands,Fiji and the New Zealand Maori. Against all odds,the Tongan Team made it into the grand finals and played a Western Samoan team only to be beaten after 2 periods of extra time - a game that went for almost 120 minutes - no golden point in those days by four points 18-14.The following tournament two year later saw the Tongan side show further improvement with several comfortable victories again earning them a spot in the final of the Pacific Cup this time against the Fijians Who had never defeated the Tongans at that time. The final was a tough affair but the Mate Ma'a were again victorous over Fiji 34-11 and claimed their maiden Pacific Cup title.