Leeds Carnegie hooker Vili Ma'asi has been rewarded for an impressive debut season at Headingley Carnegie by a call up to the Tonga squad for the forthcoming IRB Pacific Nations Cup.
The IRB Pacific Nations Cup returns in June with the inclusion of a new team and heightened interest generated by the impressive performance of the Pacific Island Unions and Japan at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
The Leeds hooker started 15 of the his side's 22 games in the Guinness Premiership and made another four appearances off the bench. He was a mainstay of the Leeds pack and will be an integral part of the promotion chasing side next season.
Ma'asi made his Test debut for Tonga against Wales in 1997 and went onto win 25 caps for his country, which included four appearances in the 2003 World Cup.  However, until his recall this summer he had thought his international career had come to an end after turning down a call for last year's World Cup in favour of concentrating on his new career at Leeds Carnegie. "I watched Tonga on television at the World Cup and was cheering them on, it is good to see them doing so well.  I did get a call from the Tongan team before it began to ask if I would play in this year's World Cup, but I said no."
Tonga certainly made an impact on the World Cup, defeating USA as well as coming near to inflicting an upset against South Africa, after they pushed the Springboks all the way in their Pool A clash.  The most memorable result came against fellow Pacific Islanders, Samoa, as they recorded a long awaited victory over their neighbours, and Ma'asi admits the outcome of that match was particularly satisfying, "It has been quite a while since the last time we beat Samoa so it was great to get the win against them as we are always seen as the underdogs." 
In fact the last time Tonga were the victors in this Pacific battle was back in 2000, when Vili was part of the Tongan team who defeated Samoa 16-13 in the Pacific Nations Cup.  They have had to wait seven years for the next win, which came at a crucial time with the win putting Tonga in a good position to progress to the next round. 
The two teams will meet again in the Pacific Nations Cup on 28th June in Round Four of the competition when Ma'asi will come up against team mate Andy Tuilagi in the Samoan side.
Growing up in Tonga, Vili had little choice in what sport he would choose to play, "I started playing rugby when I was at primary school and I actually started out playing in the back row.  It is a massive sport back home and everyone wants to play rugby.  I am one of the lucky ones who got the chance to play professionally."
Vili began his rugby career with his home side club Fasi Ma'ufanga before he was spotted by English side Cornish Pirates when he travelled to the UK with Tonga.  At the Pirates, he became a massive hit with the fans, helping the team go from the Regional Divisions to one of the strongest sides in National One.  After five seasons at the club he ended his time with the Pirates on a high by scoring the only try in the sides EDF Energy Cup final match at Twickenham, where he played alongside fellow Leeds Carnegie player Alberto Di Bernardo.
The New Zealand Maori will join Australia A, Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga in a tournament which features fifteen matches played in six countries over five weeks.
"The 2007 Tournament, won by the Junior All Blacks, was the most competitive to date, generating high-quality Rugby and providing an expanded Test schedule for the Pacific Island Unions," said IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset.
"It also captured the imagination of the Rugby community, with well-attended matches and strong broadcast coverage.
"The IRB Pacific Nations Cup has grown in two years to become a key event on the global rugby calendar and plays a significant development role for each of the participating unions, as highlighted by the number of players who graduated through the tournament to represent their country at the Rugby World Cup.
"Rugby World Cup 2007 was undoubtedly the most competitive World Cup to date and importantly revealed that our investment in new tournaments, player and coaching high performance programmes and union infrastructure programmes are already reaping rewards.
"The performance of some of the so called smaller unions at the tournament in France was undoubtedly a highlight and can be directly attributed to the expanded Test calendar, defined development pathway and high level of competition that is created by the hugely successful IRB Pacific Nations Cup," added Lapasset.
The 2008 tournament will be the first to feature the famous New Zealand Maori, who replace two-time champions the Junior All Blacks as New Zealand's representatives in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.
The move comes as a result of a thorough strategic review by the New Zealand Rugby Union.
The Tournament kicks off with three mouth-watering fixtures as Fiji host Samoa in Lautoka and New Zealand Maori make their IRB Pacific Nations Cup debut against Tonga in Albany on Saturday, June 7.
The following day, 2007 runners-up Australia A are hosted by Japan in Fukuoka.
Round One
(All times are local)
Saturday, 7 June
Fiji v Samoa Churchill Park, Lautoka (14:05)
NZ Maori v Tonga North Harbour Stadium, Albany (16:35)
Sunday, 8 June
Japan v Australia A Hakata No Mori, Fukuoka (14:05)

Round Two
Saturday, 14 June
Fiji v NZ Maori Post Fiji Stadium, Suva (15:05)
Samoa v Australia A Apia Park, Apia (15:05)
Sunday, 15 June
Japan v Tonga Sendai Yurtec Stadium, Sendai (14:05)

Round Three
Saturday, 21 June
NZ Maori v Samoa Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (16:35)
Sunday, 22 June
Japan v Fiji National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (14:05)
Australia A v Tonga North Sydney Oval, Sydney (14:05)

Round Four
Saturday, 28 June
Tonga v Samoa Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'alofa (13:35)
NZ Maori v Japan McLean Park, Napier (14:35)
Sunday, 29 June
Australia A v Fiji Ballymore, Brisbane (14:05)

Round Five
Saturday, 5 July
Tonga v Fiji Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'alofa (15:05)
Samoa v Japan Apia Park, Apia (15:05)
Sunday, 6 July
Australia A v NZ Maori Sydney Football Stadium (tbc)