CARL Manu plans to make the Newcastle Pasifika charity challenge a permanent fixture on the Hunter rugby calendar after the inaugural event exceeded expectations.
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The Hunter Wildfires beat Newcastle Pasifika 28-17 in a entertaining affair at St Johns Oval on Saturday featuring big hits and spectacular tries.
As well as the game, the day was a celebration of Pacific nation cultures and a fundraiser for the Tongan tsunami relief.
"The day more than lived up to expectations," said Manu, who played and was the driving force behind the event. "It was more everything else. The game took care of itself.
"It gave us Pasifika boys a chance to come together and represent where we are from.
"We struggled with the fitness side of it but we probably played a bit more aggressive than them. We won a couple of tight heads and upset them at the ruck. We had some big boys so we said lets go through the middle of the ruck.
"To play against the Wildfires, who are pretty much a professional outfit, and to give them a good run was awesome.
"We didn't have much time to plan the game and to pull it off, we were really happy.
"Now that the Wildfires see that we can compete with them, we could do it every year and make it a fundraiser. Turn it into a celebration where people mark it in the calendar."
The highlight was a spine-tingling haka which was choreographed by the Pasifika players and performed before kick-off.
"The feedback has been great," Manu said. "The haka all came from the boys. The Maori boys did a haka from home and then we incorporated war dances from the Samoans, Fijians and the Tongans."
The event raised thousands of dollars for Sione's Foundation which is sending two 40-foot containers of supplies to Tonga.
Many of the Wildfires, who fielded their strongest outfit for the opening 20-minute quarter, could have played for Newcastle Pasifika.
Next for them is a trial against Manly at Maitland on Saturday.
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James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
