FORMER Saints boss Kristian Woolf will be back on familiar territory tonight when he brings his Tongan team to the TWS for the nation’s World Cup opener against Papua New Guinea.
If group results go to plan, Tonga seem destined to meet England in the semi-finals at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in a repeat of that nerve-jangling 2017 encounter.
But Woolf is not looking too far ahead – with eyes only on the dynamic and aggressive Kumuls side for the time being.
Having been in camp for two weeks Woolf explained that the players simply want to play a game now as the excitement has continued to build.
Speaking at pitch-side during yesterday’s captain’s run, Woolf said: “We know PNG are going to be an incredibly tough opposition who have gone well in every World Cup – the last time we played them they beat us.
“They are a very proud rugby league nation and a very proud nation overall – and I had the privilege of knowing a lot of people from PNG where I grew up.
“They are going to be tough and physical with the way they play and we are going to have to be at our best.”
After doing plenty of community activity, including 27 school visits and a host of community clubs, Woolf hopes his – and now the team’s – adopted town will get behind them for their two group games at TWS.
“This is a game that St Helens people will have a connection with – two tough, humble working class nations and there are a lot connections between Tonga and the town, so I hope more people come down and support what will be a great game,” Woolf said.
Tonga were considered something of a surprise package when they knocked out New Zealand and then ran England close in the 2017 World Cup.
They later went on to defeat Great Britain and Australia in 2019 – so the NRL-packed Tonga side are no longer considered an underdog.
Woolf said: “Those results mean that we are not going to be underestimated in the approach from other teams but it doesn’t change anything from us.
“We have gone a little bit under the radar this time to be honest and a lot more talk about other nations and we are comfortable with that.
“We are also quite comfortable with the expectation and have a group of players who deal with that every week with their NRL clubs and since 2017 have learned to deal with that performance with Tonga as well and have handled that exceptionally well.
“There’s no dramas here, we are very confident in ourselves and we are happy with whatever expectation comes externally, whether that is positive or negative. We know what we can do internally.”
However, despite the talent packed within 17 red jerseys tonight, Woolf still stressed the need for the group to work as hard as previous Tonga teams if they are to scale even greater heights.
“We can do whatever we want to do in the comp and we have a high class quality group that we have put together and I am extremely confident in what we have there.
“There is some real experience and some exciting youth and the enthusiasm that comes with that youth coming through.
“Talent-wise it has the potential to be the best Tonga team, but what it has to do is come together like other groups have and have that real commitment to work hard and that is what we are aiming to do.”
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