'I grew up in a house with no internet. I didn't really know a whole lot about rugby'
The odyssey began many years back, in a house of nine siblings on the Tongan archipelago, and ended this week in a registry office in Carmarthen. Pride swelled in Sione Kalamafoni’s chest and the British national anthem pealed through the room.
After an avalanche of paperwork and form-filling, the Kalamafoni family – the Scarlets number eight, his wife and three young children – were awarded UK citizenship.
A decade since leaving his islands homeland for Nottingham in the English Championship, it was a moment of poignancy, joy and relief.
“Because of Covid-19, it was just me and my family, which made it a little more special,” Kalamafoni told RugbyPass. “We’d rather have had it that way – in and out, just us.
“We went in, said our oath, and repeated after the person conducting the ceremony. They played the national anthem, and then we received our certificates and took a couple of pictures.
“It was something we really wanted when we came here. Not for the first couple of years, because we didn’t really know if we were going to stay, but after that, we decided it might be something we look to get. It’s been a long time coming.
“Most of us Tongans, we try to go overseas for a better life for our families. My parents, most of my family, are in America. It’s not only for us but for our kids, giving them the opportunities and education and healthcare and a brighter future.”
Kalamafoni was raised on the twin pillars of faith and graft. His devout Christian father was a teacher; his mother stayed home and oversaw the terrifying task of feeding, clothing and wrangling her nine children.
“I grew up in a house with no internet,” the 32-year-old continued. “I didn’t really know a whole lot about rugby. I started playing in a team when I was 15, 16 years old. It was a dream for me to be able to play professionally.
“Guys that are playing overseas and coming back to visit the islands are your role models, to be able to go and play and provide for your family. But I didn’t know that I’d be playing professionally for clubs that are up there with the most famous in the world.”
In the beginning, light years from contracts at the storied giants of Gloucester and Leicester, it was church first, rugby second.
At 18, Kalamafoni went to Chicago to work as a missionary. It was a pilgrimage for young men in his congregation, but a mighty jolt from life in Tonga. The two years he spent in America were deeply formative.
“The people of Chicago are very kind,” he said. “Whenever we were around, they’d invite us to have food with them at their barbecues. They would say, ‘Oh, here come the Jesus boys!’”
“We’d wake up in the morning, have a couple of hours of study, then we’d be out the door in twos, and you covered certain areas and just went door to door or talk to people on the street or help the community.
“I was on the West Side of Chicago, part of the city that was rough, and every Tuesday, me and my companion would go and join up with some sisters from the Catholic church at food banks, deliver clothes and food and little things like that.”
It was Glenn Delaney, now in charge at the Scarlets, who first brought Kalamafoni to Britain, where he spent two barnstorming years in the Championship, before being picked up by Gloucester.
A hulking carrier of ball with a heart as big as his biceps, Kalamafoni wowed the Kingsholm Shed, and then Welford Road, the grand old lady of English rugby, when he signed for Tigers.
“Playing in front of the Shed and playing for Leicester Tigers are some of the best memories because of the crowds and atmosphere the fans could provide,” he said.
“The Shed can be really, really loud, to the point that you can’t really hear yourself talking. Playing for those clubs was an honour especially with fans who would follow the teams anywhere.”
'The reason I’m happy to talk about this is because nothing will change if it’s not out there.'
Having battled back from cancer @nasi_manu is now out of contract in a locked-down Italy. But @JLyall93 finds out he has other things are on his mind ??https://t.co/BwJdHY1OmO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 2, 2020
Back home in Tonga, things remain troubled. Kalamafoni won 37 caps and played at three World Cups, and he has seen his team-mates repeatedly fall victim to poverty and corruption.
Nasi Manu, Kalamafoni’s fellow number eight, told RugbyPass in May how the squad veered close to mutiny in the lead-up to Japan 2019 amid worries over kit and logistics, and when measly £300 match fees failed to arrive on time or simply never reached the players at all.
“We need the right people running the sport in Tonga,” Kalamafoni said. “I don’t know how to get money in the rugby system in Tonga, from World Rugby or locally, but it would start with the right person running things back in the islands.
Portrayed by some as the villains of international rugby politics, Scotland in fact have done more than most to help the Pacific islands, says @danleo82
reports @iainhay82 ??? #OceansApartFilm https://t.co/sdzTcNjdXt
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 7, 2020
“The players are out there on the street, pretty much begging for money to help them prepare for tours and World Cups. When people donated money, the players didn’t see it.
“Those are big problems for kids coming up or young players that rely on rugby for providing for their families. For me, there is almost an expectation that when you go into a tour, it’s not going to be perfect. You are expecting to have the money late or not at all.
“Sometimes, the coaches tell the players, ‘We’re going to get nothing; if you choose to come, that’s great’. Pretty much everyone that has been called up will go just because of the morale of the team and the boys but sometimes when it’s bad, it’s because they promise something and we’re not getting anything. But if we have the right person running things back home, then we won’t have those issues.”
In the here and now, Kalamafoni is invigorated in West Wales. He and Delaney are close, and his performances since arriving in the summer have been compelling.
It's going to take a lot more than simply adding another Auckland-based franchise to #SuperRugby to fix the Pacific problem. #MoanaPasifikahttps://t.co/dXSjD5O0Ai
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 24, 2020
It was Kalamafoni who was struck down by Covid-19 after the riveting win over Bath, leading to Toulon’s sensational late withdrawal from their next Champions Cup pool match, but his symptoms were mild, and he recovered to win man of the match against the Dragons last weekend.
He is also keen to impart his wisdom on the young back-rowers of the region, particularly the colossal 18-year-old Tongan-Welshman Carwyn Tuipulotu.
“I would love to say that I help him in some ways, but the truth is that he is a really good rugby player,” Kalamafoni said. “Even before I got here, he was a brilliant player. He is a big boy, carries strong and his work ethic is brilliant.
“He’s not a good person to rehab with. He’s literally done five calf raises the other day and he’s put on 4cm of muscle mass."https://t.co/adO1tpvZiO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 10, 2021
“Because he’s young and a fellow Tongan, there is always a natural connection. We are in the same position at Scarlets, and I’m pretty sure he will be a great asset not only for Scarlets but perhaps for Wales.
“He’s got a really bright future ahead of him and if I can help in some way, in drills or anything rugby-wise, in things that I saw myself struggling with when I was young, then I will.”
A man of God, titan of Tonga and citizen of Great Britain, Kalamafoni is a bristling addition to Scarlet ranks.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
40 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
1 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
5 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
40 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
40 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
4 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
40 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
40 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
2 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
40 Go to comments