Tonga

NRL.com reporter Zac Bailey joined Hurrell as he surprised loved ones in the country’s cyclone-ravaged capital Nuku’alofa.

Hurrell was granted leave from pre-season training by Titans coach Garth Brennan, a decision that gave the Tongan international the chance to lend a hand following the Category 4 cyclone.

Houses were flattened and lives lost in the natural disaster that has crippled the nation.

Competing in only his sixth major race, the 34 year-old completed his run in 56 minutes and 41 seconds.

Pita Taufatofua, who took up cross-country skiing just over a year ago, finished ahead of four other competitors in South Korea, and more than 23 minutes behind the gold medallist, Dario Cologna from Switzerland.

Head of Sport for the Royal Tonga Ski Federation, Steve Grundmann, said it was a fantastic race by the double Olympian.

He said Pita Taufatofua paced his way perfectly around a difficult course and even had a smile on his face.

Two years ago, he was marching into the Rio summer Games carrying the Tongan flag shirtless and sporting an oily torso - last week, at sub zero temperatures, he did the same in South Korea at the Winter Olympics.

His taekwondo dream ended in a 19-1 opening-round defeat in Brazil and having turned to the snow Taufatofua's ambitions are to "finish before they turn the lights off" and "don't ski into a tree".

Fiji's MetService said the category four storm was very close to being upgraded to the highest category, five.

It had already washed out building and equipment of Tonga's met office, and Fiji weather forecasters took over issuing warnings for the region from shortly before midnight.

The storm was expected to be upgraded to a category five in the early hours of the morning.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre earlier said it was hitting maximum sustained winds estimated at 233km/h.

Pita Taufatofua emerged from the tunnel covered in his trademark body oil and wearing a grass skirt, sandals and a huge smile as he led the Tongan delegation around the arena.

"I won't freeze. I am from Tonga. We sailed across the Pacific. This is nothing," Taufatofua said.

The Oceania gold medallist in taekwondo made global headlines in 2016 with a shirtless entrance as the country's flagbearer at the Rio Olympics.

The good news for his admirers is that he returned for the Winter Olympics, having switched to cross country ski-ing.

The airline's owner Tevita Palu said it will fly its SAAB 340 which seats thirty passengers from Tongatapu to Faleolo Airport outside Apia, via Vavau, in Tonga's northern island group.

Real Tonga Airlines has signed a codeshare agreement with Samoa Airways so the two airlines can share the same flight.

Tevita Palu said he was looking forward to working hand in hand with Samoa Airways, to develop direct air transportation between the two nations and to support tourism growth in the region.

Tahiti is suspended after they boycotted the Vanuatu Mini Games over disagreements on who should represent them in boxing.

Pacific Games Council CEO Andrew Minogue say both decisions reflect the council's mandate for autonomy in sports without political interference.

"We'll go through a process with them in the early part of next year hopefully, to try and reach some agreements around the respective independence and autonomy of the sporting body.

Samoa now has the hosting rights for the 2019 Pacific Games.

The Samoan delegation was led by Attorney General, Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff.

"Samoa has the smallest Exclusive Economic Zone in the Pacific region. As members of the Cabinet appointed National Maritime Boundaries Committee for Samoa, we have an extremely important task with plenty of work ahead. This gathering was a positive step forward," said Lemalu. 

The showpiece of the night was a tough match between front-runners Vanuatu and Fiji that ended 0-0.

Vanuatu had been looking to build on their 5-0 opening win over Solomon Islands, while Fiji had recorded the same score over Tonga in their opener.

However this match proved a far closer contest. Both teams were very strong and had several chances.

The crowd cheered wildly with Fiji, as well as the home side, drawing strong support.

In the earlier match, Tonga defeated Solomon Islands 3-1 to the delight of Tonga’s excitable fans.

The 26-year-old earned 17 test caps for New Zealand between 2013 and 2015, but was overlooked for the last World Cup squad after signing for Ulster.

He is set to become world rugby's highest-paid player when he switches to English club Bristol next season, where older brother and 'Ikale Tahi captain Siale Piutau is already on the books.

Tonga coach Toutai Kefu said the former Tonga Under 20s representative was keen and would add real quality.