The builder who became a test-capped Super Rugby rookie in under a year
It was difficult to pick out many positive storylines when the All Blacks trounced Tonga 102-0 in their season-opening thrashing at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland last July.
Against a vastly understrength ‘Ikale Tahi outfit, who were bereft of many of their professional players due to Covid-enforced travel restrictions and European club rugby commitments, the Kiwis ran in 17 tries in a mismatch of the highest degree.
The rout instigated discussions about World Rugby’s eligibility laws, which were changed later that year, and underlined the numerous difficulties Pacific Island nations face while trying to remain competitive on the international rugby scene.
Nevertheless, in spite of the hiding they endured in trying circumstances, the pride the Tongan players had for representing their nation – 13 of whom were doing so for the first time – was one of the few positives to come out of the fixture.
Among those who donned the ‘Ikale Tahi jersey for the first time that night was hooker Sam Moli, who credits his time in the Tongan national squad as the spark that ignited his professional rugby career.
Prior to his international call-up, Moli was working as a builder and playing club rugby at grassroots level as he awaited the NPC season to kick-off with Tasman.
Since his NPC debut in 2017, the 23-year-old had played a bit-part role for the Mako, making just seven appearances over a span of four seasons.
At that point in time, his playing career was limited to semi-professionalism as he held down his role as a tradesman over the provincial off-season.
That changed last year, though, when a fateful phone call from Tonga head coach and former Wallabies No 8 Toutai Kefu during a work shift kickstarted Moli’s rise from a tradie to a full-time Super Rugby player.
“That experience, it came out of the blue,” Moli, the younger brother of All Blacks prop Atu, told RugbyPass of his shock call-up to the ‘Ikale Tahi, which was unlikely to have happened had Tonga not been forced to dig so deep into their scarce pool of players.
“I was just on the tools, playing club rugby, waiting for the NPC to start, then this Australian number called me, and I was like, ‘Who’s this?’
“He was like, ‘It’s Kefu’, and I said, ‘Eh?’ It was the coach for Tonga, so I said, ‘Jeepers’, but it was quite funny how it all happened.”
As things transpired, Moli made his test debut for Tonga in their thumping at the hands of a full-strength All Blacks side in what was a harsh introduction to international rugby.
Of the nine debutants in Tonga’s starting lineup, Moli was one of the six newbies in the forward pack that featured players who had gone years without playing first-class playing rugby in New Zealand.
Loosehead prop Duke Nginingini, for instance, played the last of his four NPC matches for Waikato in 2017 when he was named to start against the All Blacks.
Likewise, lock Don Lolo’s only experience in first-class rugby came in the Heartland Championship, the amateur second-tier of New Zealand provincial rugby that he played three seasons of between 2014 and 2017.
Against an All Blacks side filled with stars from Super Rugby and Japanese club rugby, it’s little wonder that Tonga struggled to stop the floodgates from opening.
However, Moli acquitted himself well enough to earn a further two starts against Samoa and the Cook Islands in Tonga’s World Cup qualifiers in the weeks following the All Blacks test.
While Tonga only managed one win from their four tests throughout last July, Moli told RugbyPass that he “loved every part” of the test window as he “got to meet new people and learned heaps and got a taste of what international rugby was all about”.
He also attributes his time in the ‘Ikale Tahi camp as a life-changing experience that gave him the exposure required to earn his first-ever Super Rugby Pacific contract with Moana Pasifika.
Moli isn’t the only member of last July’s Tonga squad who is part of the expansion franchise, as he is joined at Moana Pasifika by Lolo, loose forward Solomone Funaki, utility forward Sione Tuipulotu and midfielder Fine Inisi.
As a full-time professional rugby player, Moli is relishing his new lifestyle after having swapped the worksite for the footy field, where he gets to train and play for a living.
“I think going through that pathway [with Tonga], I think that’s what opened doors to Moana, and I’m really grateful for that experience for Tonga, and I think that’s really helped me get me to where I am today,” he said.
“Personally, for me, I think you kind of wake up grateful. It’s not having to wake up at 5am, make a coffee and go to work.
“You’re actually grateful that you get to come to work and you get to do something you love, rather than just being in a high-vis in the sun.”
Now in the midst of his first pre-season with Moana Pasifika, Moli is hopeful that his new role in a fully professional environment helps propel him towards further honours for Tonga, possibly alongside his older brother.
“I’ll definitely train real hard in this period of Super Rugby. I do have a goal. I still do want keep playing tests for Tonga, and the main goal is to try and make the World Cup in 2023,” he said.
Before then, though, Moli is determined to continue his rapid progression by engrossing himself in the Moana Pasifika set-up throughout the course of the upcoming season, which kicks-off for his side against the Blues on February 18.
“Probably getting myself to my best, and being able to perform at training, on the field, when the opportunity comes,” he said of what a successful debut Super Rugby Pacific season looks like for him.
“Just to be better, better myself around my knowledge of the game and hope to take that through to the NPC and just shoot off from there. At the moment, just try to soak up all the experience and knowledge.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
1 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to comments