Piutau: 'Very different experience to any other team I've been part of'

Salesi ‘Charles’ Piutau was beaming on Sunday when he emerged from the Tonga dressing room in Lille. All his years of patience in waiting for a change in the eligibility rules had finally paid off – he was now a Rugby World Cup match-winner with the Pacific Islander country and the night back at the team hotel was set to be a very pleasant occasion before Toutai Kefu’s squad went their separate ways on Monday.

At his debrief Kefu had described Tonga’s results as disappointing, with just one win in four outings being secured in France. However, he added that his boys had enjoyed the time of their lives and this was certainly true of Piutau, whose wife and kids were at the tournament-ending match and their meet-up in the minutes after full-time was immensely special.

Eight years ago, Piutau had lost out in the World Cup selection race with the All Blacks, the Auckland-born full-back playing Rugby Championship for them that season but ultimately missing the cut for England 2015. He thought that was the end of his Test rugby career, as a club switch to Europe soon made him ineligible for New Zealand selection.

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However, an urge to represent Tonga – where his parents hail from – ignited, and with World Rugby altering their eligibility criteria, Piutau debuted last year in the Pacific Nations Cup, teeing himself up perfectly to at last participate in a World Cup.

The weekend win over Romania signed things off nicely just weeks out from his 32nd birthday and the start of a new adventure in Japan. Piutau is joining Shizuoka Blue Revs after five seasons at Bristol following his initial stint in Europe at Wasps and Ulster.

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Before that, there was a fist bump for RugbyPass, a cheerful hello, and then a six-minute hot-step through memories of the epic French adventure that had just concluded. “Before this campaign I never thought I would get to put on this Tongan jersey, knowing the eligibility rules were in place,” he admitted.

“To be here now having played a World Cup with Tonga with the calibre of players in this team, unfortunately we bow out of the pool stages but we gave it a good crack against three top teams that are in the top five in the world (Ireland, South Africa, and Scotland).

“Like any rugby team, it’s about the relationships that you build in this environment and definitely, the atmosphere at the World Cup has been amazing.

“The fans love it whatever city you’re in and this last game, it’s understandable when you have got some of the big teams, South Africa, Ireland, that those were going to be sold out, but to see Tonga-Romania and the crowd that was there, the Viking claps and the Mexican waves, it was just an awesome atmosphere to play in front of.”

Having waited so long to finally play at the finals, did the World Cup get to see the best version of Piutau, the wizard ball handler with a wonderful step whose total of nine offloads was a pool stage category chart-topper? “I think so. I tried to give my best. There is always a bit of me inside that I could be better, I could have done this better by critiquing my own performance.

“But to finish the campaign this way and to get a win, it’s just a massive accomplishment and a pat of the back to the boys for all the hard work they put in leading into this competition and during it.”

What stood out about being involved with Tonga? “Something that is very different to any other rugby team I have been part of was the culture, being able to have we call it lotu but it’s a prayer, singing hymns, someone on the team sharing a passage of the bible or any quotes, this is awesome, the biggest thing I have taken away.

“Every time you get to do the anthem and the sipi tau out there before a game, it’s a great reminder that you are here on the world stage being able to compete with the some of best teams in the world. I can always take that away and see the effort the guys put into these games.

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“My wife and my kids were also there. It was awesome seeing them in the stands and to see them after the game as well.

“One thing coming into this environment was that you could inspire the next generation, other guys to come play for Tonga. Hopefully, there are other guys available after this tournament to play for Tonga.

“Hopefully younger kids coming through the ranks now want to play for Tonga and over the next four-year period we continue to build and a lot more players are available and at their disposal. But at the same time, the management of the team, there are a lot of things that go behind the scenes to get the team performing at their best.

“Moving forward, seeing the gap between the tier two nations and the tier one, seeing what Samoa did on Saturday being so close, it’s awesome seeing Fiji doing well and getting through, hopefully going forward in the future lots of us nations can keep closing the gap between the tier ones.”

That’s an upstairs/downstairs type of situation he can vouch for having played for the All Blacks and now Tonga. “The preparation, the resources, it’s night and day. In a tier-one nation, you have time together, you come into the environment and just focus on playing the game. In the tier two nation you are scrambling to find rugby kit, all these other distractions.

“Sometimes there might not be enough food at a hotel and whatnot, not enough kit, rugby balls. It’s a battle before you even get on the field but for myself, it’s a credit to the guys who have been in the tier two nations for a long time and seeing what they have to go through but the resilience they have just trying to put their best performance out there on the weekend.”

With Piutau’s dream World Cup now over, it’s time to embrace his next challenge. “Off to Japan now starting a new journey there to join the Shizuka Blue Revs and taste the Japanese club scene. For sure, language, culture, food, it will be different but I’m really excited to experience that and get stuck into it.”

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