Roosters winger Daniel Tupou is a player who delievers when needed.
The Sydney Roosters NRL star, who played his 300th game in the competition last weekend, also doubles as a winger for the Tonga Rugby League XIII, formerly kown as Mate Ma’a Tonga.
Tonga rugby League president Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua, who is also Tonga’s Prime Minister, told RNZ Pacific that Tupou, who switched allegiance to Tonga in 2017, is a player any team can count on to deliever when he is on the field.
“On behalf of the government and the people of Tonga, I extend our heartfelt congratulations to Daniel on this outstanding achievement,” Lord Fakafanua said.
“Reaching 300 NRL games is an amazing achievement deserves our highest recognition. As a proud representative of Tonga Rugby League, he has inspired generations of young Tongans through his quiet humility off the field and performance excellence on the field”
Tonga Rugby League president and country’s Prime Minister Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua presents Roosters star Daniel Tupou with a gift at the player’s 300th game last weekend.
Supplied / Tonga PMO
Lord Fakafanua and the daughter of King Tupou VI, Princess Angelika Tuku’aho, attended the Sydney Roosters’ game against the Parramatta Eels, where Tupou topped off his 300th NRL match with a hat-trick of tries.
“We join his family, friends, teammates, supporters, and the wider rugby league community in recognising one of the greatest milestones in the game.”
Tupou joined fellow Tonga ruby league rep, North Queensland Cowboys hitman Jason Taumalolo, as Pasifika pioneers in the game, by reaching 300 games in their careers.
The two Tongan duo join three other players of Pasifika heritage, Fijian Petero Civoniceva who played 309 games, Tongan/Fijian heritage player Michael Jennings, who had 307 games and Toa Samoa rep Josh Papali’i, who has played 334 matches so far.
Fakafanua paid tribute to Taumalolo, Tupou and others Tongan players for their role in starting the momentum that is now building for the game across the Pacific and will be showcased at Rugby League World Cup 2026.
“Congratulations to Jason Taumalolo and also to Daniel Tupou, who have managed to achieve 300 games for their respective club,” he said.
“That is something we want to celebrate with them together. It is so inspiring and that is evident in the Red Sea – the supporters who turn up for Tonga, (with) the red flags and the red jerseys.
“Everyone is just so proud of them, from their families to their villages, the whole country is and the government is behind them.
“I’m so happy that we have talented boys and people like Jason Taumalolo and Daniel Tupou reach a milestone in their career. Not many players make it to 100 games or 200 games, and definitely less make it to 300 matches.”
Fakafanua said Tupou and Taumalolo, plus others like Andrew Fifita, were instrumental in pivoting Tonga rugby league’s rise on the international scene when they opted to play for the island kingdom in 2017.
Now others like Addin-Fonua Blake have joined the bandwagon, as Tonga prepares for the Rugby League World Cup in October.
Taumalolo, Tupou and Fonua-Blake are set to line up together when Tonga open their campaign against England in Perth on 17 October, before taking on Lebanon on 23 October and Samoa on 1 November.
Meanwhile, Fakafanua said the new rugby league funding from Australia will help the sport grow both locally and internationally.
He said the abundance of local talent and those in the diaspora in Australia and New Zealand gives promise for the game.
“Rugby League can be a religion in Tonga, we definitely have the funding and the ambition and the will,” he said.
“The talent is there and what I am so proud of is the fact that the family of the Pacific has come together in a sport that is unifying people.
“This is the start of something great, this is something wonderful. The change and the difference that this is going to make to both boys and girls across the Pacific, particularly in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, cannot be understated.”
Fakafanua said there is also now a possibility that Tonga will be able to host some international rugby league matches at Te’ufaiva Stadium in Nuku’alofa.
Plans are in the pipeline to renovate the stadium.
