Pacific Championships: Hopoate set to make international debut

This would see him follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother.

WRITER | September 25, 2024 - 1:00pm

2009

Competing in their first Pacific Championships after taking on England last year, Tonga will be looking to make a statement against Australia and New Zealand in a couple of months' time.

As they look to produce upsets against the two top-tier nations, they are set to unveil several debutants and youngsters in the end-of-year Test matches and earn their first title in the tournament.

One of the players that are set to be unveiled is Manly Sea Eagles' young fullback and winger Lehi Hopoate, who made his NRL debut this season and played 14 matches, cementing a spot in the starting back-line.

According to The Herald, Tonga are set to select Hopoate in the squad for the upcoming 2024 Pacific Championships against Australia and New Zealand.

In his first-grade showing this season, he scored nine tries, provided six try assists, made 47 tackle busts and ten line-breaks and averaged 125 running metres per game.

This would see him follow in the footsteps of his father (John Hopoate) and older brother (Will Hopoate), who both represented Tonga during their playing career.

A dual-international, John represented Tonga in 1994 before playing two Test matches for Australia in 1995, while Will appeared 13 times for Tonga between 2017-22 scoring four tries.