By Thomas Airey 

The ‘Ikale Tahi began their journey to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in impressive fashion but head coach Toutai Kefu insists his team are yet to scratch the surface of their potential.

In their first game at home since 2019, Tonga defeated Australia A 27-21 at Teufaiva Stadium in Nuku’alofa last Friday.

Kefu’s side have been in camp in the Kingdom for over a fortnight and he said they always get a sense of connection and belonging when they can start a campaign in Tonga.

“Off the field stuff, the boys have really engaged,” he said, noting a handful of players were visiting their ancestral homeland for the first time.

“I’ve encouraged all of them to get out amongst it, mix with family, go and see where their parents and grandparents were born.”

The centrepiece of their stay was the game against Australia A, marking both 50 years since ‘Ikale Tahi beat the Wallabies in 1973 and the 100 year jubilee of the Tonga Rugby Union.…more

By Thomas Airey 

The three Pasifika players at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand are all set to play on the opening night of the tournament this evening (Thursday 20th July).

Samoan New Zealander Malia Steinmetz will likely be the first of the trio in action having cemented herself in the Football Ferns’ best starting XI.

The 24-year-old has started in seven straight international games dating back to February, most often shielding the backline as the team’s deepest midfielder.

Co-captain Ria Percival’s return from a serious knee injury that had kept her off the pitch for more than a year has not bumped Steinmetz onto the bench.

In warmups against Vietnam (a 2-0 win) and Italy (a 0-1 loss) in the last 10 days Percival has taken up that defensive holding role with Steinmetz’s youth and versatility applied to an all-rounder position slightly higher up the pitch.…more

"This marks an important moment in time for our generation because now we're starting to bring our stories to the forefront and be a bit more brave with our story telling - it's awesome and it's current and all the issues in the screenplay are happening today" - Leki Jackson-Bourke, co-writer of 'Inky Pinky Ponky'

The stars of 'Inky Pinky Ponky' were out at the movies for the cast and crew screening in Newmarket last week.

Know Your Roots champion Joe Fa'agase caught up with some of the crew and cast members of the movie - check out what they had to say in the video above.

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Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ on Air

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Credits:

Director - Shimpal Lelisi 

Editor & Sound Operator - Sefa  Taouma 

Camera Operator - Christo Montes 

Host - Joe Fa'agase 

The full rugby game at Teufaiva Stadium in Tonga between the Ikale Tahi (Tongan international rugby side) and Australia A on Friday the 14th July 2023.

Team lists below - 

GINA COLE

AUTHOR

FIJIAN

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Decorated Fijian Writer and Lawyer Gina Cole will be spending three months at the University of Hawai’i, working on the second book in her 'Turukawa Trilogy', after being awarded the 2023 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer's Residency.

After achieving her Masters in Creative Writing at Auckland University, Cole went on to publish her debut collection Black Ice Matter, which then went on to win the First Best Book Of Fiction at the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, all while being an Honorary Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa.

Cole shares her love for science fiction, the Pasifika Writing Community and the involvement of Pacific queer, transgender and gender non-conforming characters in stories.

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Tell us about yourself

My mother is Fijian from Culanuku, Serua on her mother’s side in the confederacy of Burebasaga, and Lovoni, Ono-i-Lau on her father’s side in the confederacy of Tovata. My father is Pākehā from the Firth of Forth in Edinburgh on his mother’s side and Langollen, Wales on his father’s side.…more

Amanaki Prescott-Faletau plays the main character Lisa in the upcoming CoconetTV original 'Inky Pinky Ponky' film.

Amanaki is an actor, writer, dancer, choreographer, producer and director of Tongan descent, living in New Zealand. As a playwright, she became the first fakaleitī to have her work published in New Zealand with Inky Pinky Ponky.

We caught up with Amanaki ahead of the upcoming release of 'Inky Pinky Ponky' here on the CoconetTV.

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What inspired you to write this story?

At the time we weren’t getting any work. Fresh out of drama school and still trying to find our feet in our industry. So we thought let’s make our own work. It’s what was taught to us at school.

How much is based on your own experiences?

A lot of the events that play out in this film are loosely based on true events of my own and my MVPFAFF sisters and their experiences.…more

Clarence Dass is a cartoonist and author based in Fiji, on social media as @nerdwala. Active in Fiji media since 2002, Dass has worked as a music journalist, radio presenter and television producer.

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I'm a self-taught cartoonist from Fiji. I used to be a musician in a punk band, a radio DJ, a TV host and then a TV producer, a film maker and now I edit videos for The University of the South Pacific. Though I love music and films, I really enjoy making comics, but my passion throughout is story telling.

Where did your passion for story-telling come from? and how did you start off?

I've always been drawing. Even as a kid, I'd make comic books out of A4 paper, folding them and stapling them together. I even had my own characters. So I guess my passion started from comic books and 80s Saturday morning cartoons. The Ninja Turtles were probably my first big craze and old Hana Babera heroes like Space Ghost and Mightor.…more

By Thomas Airey 

Fa’alogo Tana Umaga has already seen the benefits of Moana Pasifika for rugby players representing their national teams and is excited to continue that work as the new head coach.

The first All Blacks captain of Pacific Island descent was announced as Aaron Mauger’s replacement on Sunday night, having signed a three-year contract.

Fa’alogo, who was born in Lower Hutt, Wellington to Samoan immigrant parents, said his bold but realistic goal for that tenure is improving the bottom-placed side in 2023’s Super Rugby Pacific to a perennial quarterfinalist that can challenge for the top four.

With a coaching background stretching back to 2008, Fa’alogo served as head coach of the Blues from 2016 to 2018 before stepping back into an assistant role in charge of defence for three years, the same role he has filled with Manu Samoa since 2021.

He returned to the Blues this year in a player and coaching development role after a break to set up a natural health supplements business with wife Rochelle.…more

NFL legends and founders of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame were back down under with their Goodwill Mission for the first time since Covid closed borders in 2020.

They've partnered with rugby legends in both the Pacific and New Zealand with the aim of uplifting Pasifika communities and bringing young people into opportunities and education using rugby and football to reach kids and people in our community.

Prior to travelling to New Zealand they visited both American Samoa and Samoa donating Microsoft Surface Pro computers and running football camps with youth there.

We caught up with 4x Superbowl Champion, former NFL player and founder of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame - Seiuli Manase Jesse Sapolu, CEO of Coaching Charities - Kevin Kaplan (he helps run the charity foundations of NFL stars like Patrick Mahomes, Tua Tagovailoa and Juju Smith-Schuster) along with All Blacks legend La'auli Sir Michael Jones who they've partnered with here in NZ.…more