Rugby World Cup could reveal these 3 new recruiting pipelines
By John Scimeca
2. Tonga
Tonga is a fragmented archipelago nation in the South Pacific Ocean, a nation of barely 100,000 citizens that resides in 36 inhabitable islands (in addition to more than a hundred additional islands).
The Tonga national rugby team has qualified for seven consecutive Rugby World Cup appearances but has never advanced to the knockout round. Nicknamed the Sea Eagles, the Tongans are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Samoa and Fiji.
Vai Sikahema became the first Tongan-born player to reach the NFL when he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986. As a standout at the college level with BYU, Sikahema left school as the NCAA record holder in career punt returns (153). The Nuku’alofa, Tonga native was a junior on the 1984 Cougars squad that finished 13-0 and claimed the national championship.
A few other Tongans have starred as NCAA college football players, such as Deuce Lutui, a 6-foot-4, 370-pound offensive guard who was named an All-American in 2005.
Two Tongans are actively in the NFL after successful careers in NCAA football: Fresno State’s Netane Muti, an offensive guard who now plays with the Denver Broncos, and defensive lineman Star Lotulelei, a 2012 All-American with Utah who played last season with the Buffalo Bills.
BYU launched a project several years to convert former rugby player Motekiai Langi to American football, but the 6-foot-7, the 400-pound defensive lineman was a part of the team for only two seasons — 2017 and 2018.