Sione Vailanu has promised to raise his performance level by five per cent on Sunday, with Tonga earmarking their World Cup Pool B clash against Scotland in Nice as their best chance of claiming a Tier One scalp at this tournament.
The powerful back-rower was a stand-out performer for Glasgow Warriors last season, after making the move north from Worcester Warriors at the start of the campaign, and his form earned a Tonga recall after over a year in the international wilderness.
He is eternally grateful to Warriors head coach Franco Smith and his club-mates at Scotstoun for helping him kick-start his career but insists that there will be no quarter asked or given on Sunday evening.
“In my whole career, this was the first season I have felt in really good shape and I played a lot,” said the 28-year-old. “Franco influenced me really well and managed to get the best out of me consistently.
“Also, the boys in Glasgow are good people. They managed to understand me and my game, which has made my life easier. I love the club and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s ahead there.
"But I’m playing for Tonga and I’m proud of being Tongan and representing my country, so I have to do my very best, all I can, to win the game for Tonga.
"They know how I play, they know everything about me, so I have to bring an extra five per cent compared to what I have been doing in Glasgow. I really want to play well against them.
“I didn’t get selected for the last World Cup. I was really disappointed, and I knew I had something to work on to get back into the team.
"In 2021, I didn’t play at all, I wasn’t picked, but ever since I signed for Glasgow, things have improved. I have been talking to the [Tonga] coach all season and he said he was impressed by how I performed. He texted me to say: ‘Keep doing what you’re doing’ – and here I am at the World Cup
“This is the stage I have been dreaming about for the last four years. I was sad and crying about how I was going to get back and get another opportunity, but Glasgow have made me who I am now.”
Vailanu, who was a fourth quarter replacement as Tonga lost 59-16 to Ireland in their opening match of the campaign, insists that the Pacific Islanders remain positive about their prospects against Scotland despite that result.
"It was the first game of our World Cup and we were playing Ireland, who had prepared well and are the number one ranked team in the world,” continued Vialanu. “We played pretty well in parts but there were a few opportunities in the game that we missed.
"Scotland want to finish in the top two in the pool, but for us, Scotland is the best opportunity to have a good go. Hopefully we can do well against them.
"Rugby is the number one sport in Tonga. People are always right behind us. We were unlucky against Ireland but this week the boys are doing their recovery well and we will make sure we will prepare well. It’s not going to be easy against Scotland and we have to make sure we do the right things.
“When we played Ireland, it was 8 o’clock in the morning back home and before the game, a few mates sent me pictures of what was happening in Tonga. There were parades, parties, everyone getting right behind us.
"This week, the people will be even more excited. They have faith in us as a team and we all hope we can put a smile on the faces back home.”
Meanwhile, Scotland scrum coach Pieter de Villiers says that the perception of Tonga being dangerous in broken play but vulnerable at set-piece is out-dated.
“They have some established front-rowers, especially the props,” he said. “I worked with Siegfried Fisi’ihoi at Stade Francais and he was our cornerstone scrummager, so he’s a serious client at scrum time, and obviously Ben Tameifuna doesn’t need any introductions scrum-wise – he’s been really good with Racing and Bordeaux as well. “So, the challenge is on us to make sure we impose some longer effort scrums to hopefully create some fatigue on their side, but we know we are up against a solid scrum pack,” added de Villiers, who also reported a clean bill of health in the Scotland squad ahead of Friday’s team announcement.
