Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Six international rugby teams, including Tonga, are visiting Utah for the Pacific Nations Cup.
- Tongan community members warmly welcomed the team with traditional music and dance.
- Teams explored Utah, visiting cultural sites and engaging with local youth rugby clubs.
SALT LAKE CITY — Tongan rugby captain Ben Tameifuna didn't know what to expect from the Tongan rugby national team's first visit to Utah ahead of Saturday's Pacific Nations Cup finale.
But he learned the strength of Utah's Tongan community pretty quick.
Almost as soon as the squad landed in the Beehive State and headed to the team hotel, a group of Tongan internationals living on the Wasatch Front met the players, coaches and staff to give them a warm greeting.
Many of the same Tongan community members spent Thursday morning at the Salt Lake Regional Athletic Complex, watching the team train for Saturday's Pacific Nations Cup finale and bringing a DJ that played traditional Tongan music while a last-minute Tongan dance troupe performed for the players and spectators alike.
"It goes to show how much they wanted to support us, and wanted to show their appreciation," said Tameifuna, the 326-pound prop who plays for French Top 14 club Union Bordeaux Bègles and has been called the world's heaviest rugby player.
"So far, it's been awesome," he added. "Obviously today, they came here early, set up a DJ for the boys, and so far it's been good."
America First Field will host the final of the 2025 Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday, with three matches that include the final between Fiji and Japan at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
The full schedule is as follows:
- Samoa vs. Chile, 1:35 p.m MDT
- Tonga vs. Canada, 4:35 p.m. MDT
- Fiji vs. Japan, 7:35 p.m. MDT
But in addition to training for Saturday's finals, the six national teams have had a chance to explore Utah and learn from the local community — one that contains pockets of their homeland on foreign soil that is currently home to one of seven professional rugby teams in the United States.
"The Tongan community is unreal; I didn't realize how many Tongans there were over here," said Tonga fly half Patrick Pellegrin. "It's crazy. But having that support means everything — and you see how much it means to them as well."
Players from Japan and Samoa toured the Conference Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday afternoon, a tour that included a special musical recital for the players.
The Fiji and Samoa national teams also spent time visiting the Pacific Heritage Academy charter school in Salt Lake City, and the Samoans joined with staff from World Rugby to tour the Olympic sites in Kearns and Park City.
The teams have also held camps and clinics with youth rugby clubs, such as Canada hosting an event with the Mountain Ridge High School squad on Tuesday designed to grow the game in a country where World Rugby recently pledged at least $250 million ahead of the United States hosting the 2031 World Cup and 2033 Women's World Cup.
Tonga even traveled south on I-15, where the 'Ikale Tahe were special guests of BYU head coach Kalani Sitake — the first Tongan-born head coach in NCAA Division I football history.
The Sea Eagles visited practice, toured the Cougars' facilities, and spent time with Sitake, who was born in Nuku'alofa before moving to Hawaii as a child and spending part of his teen years in Missouri.
"He motivated us to stay strong, stay Tongan, to trust our Lord and believe in what we believe," Tameifuna said of Sitake, whose father Tom played semipro rugby in Tonga and with the Provo Steelers, among other clubs, after emigrating stateside.
"And what facilities; you can see there's big money there," Tameifuna added with a smile. "The boys were pretty wowed, and there may have been some whispers that some of the boys were going to send their kids over here to send them to uni."
Tickets for Saturday's final and all three games are available through USA Rugby.
