Back in The Kingdom

I have been back in Tonga now for a little over a week and I have just realised how much I love island life. While it also appears the TFA are getting their house in order now - we had three staff meetings in as many days - unheard of for this organisation - and they have even started forward planning to the South Pacific Games in August of this year.

As part of that planning, I have been made the Head Coach of the National Men's Team. For me, it is the greatest honour I have achieved so far in coaching, and, if I am to be honest, I doubt that I will ever have this sort of opportunity again. The reason being is that the South Pacific Games doubles up as the first leg of the 2014 World Cup Qualification campaign for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). At this stage it hasn't really sunk in that I will be coaching in a FIFA World Cup match, but it's a great honour and I want to make sure that we give it our best shot to get some decent results there.

As it stands, no-one here at the TFA is expecting much from the team. However, I believe that if we get the players fit, keep the system uncomplicated and the players are enjoying themselves then we may be able to affect a couple of upsets at the tournament. The one thing I am sure of is there is no way our results will mirror the Under 17 results!

Queenstown - from my four week trip to NZ in Jan

So why did I get the job? Well, if I am being honest it was by default really. The TFA cannot afford to recruit another overseas coach and the only Tongan here capable of leading the team (my boss Kilifi) has been promoted to the OFC Technical Study Group and therefore unable to coach a national team at any OFC event. For those of you not too familiar with football, the Technical Study Group's job is to observe all matches at a FIFA event and compile a report on the technical and tactical quality of play at that event. For Kilifi, and Tongan football in general, it is a massive achievement and one of the highest positions a coach can hold. So after ruling out Kilifi and an overseas coach, the Executive Committee (clearly impressed by the U17's defensive record) decided that I was to be the coach.

As I said before, it is an honour to be in this position and one day I'll be able to look back and say that as a 25 year old coach I was able to be involved in a FIFA World Cup match, which for me, is pretty special.

Other than that it is pretty much business as usual back in The Kingdom. The lovely Tonia has moved into The Lodge which means the days of The Lodge being a bachelor pad are over. However, Tonia is easy to live with and not a bad cook either which is always a plus! The Lodge is also currently having a few water issues which has meant that all three of us have been 'showering' from a bucket in our backyard. I'm not sure whether our conservative Tongan neighbours have appreciated seeing two blokes in jocks and a girl in a bikini throwing buckets of water over each other every morning but I am fast enjoying the bucket-shower and actually prefer it to the dribble of cold water our showers offer!

I have also had first hand experience of a robbery here in Tonga, although I was passed out (from a few too many beers) at the time of the robbery! Last Saturday we went to a party hosted by the Pilots here in Tonga. They live in a protected compound in what you would call Nuku 'Alofa 'suburbia'. However, despite the premises being surrounded by a tall barb-wire fence it appears a few locals have become adept at breaking in, and also quite brazen in their attempts to steal from the compound.

I had my phone stolen, along with Duane's laptop and another phone from a house in the compound that night. What made the robbery quite astounding was that there were five people asleep/passed out in the house at the time (including me on the couch - approximately 3m away from the laptop) and Tom on the floor of the living room. So essentially what the thief had to do was watch the house until it became apparent that everyone was asleep and then open one of the doors, tip-toe over the semi-naked Tom sprawled on the floor, disconnect the laptop from the power without waking anyone and then climb the barb wire fence and make off with their loot.

The robbery was quite an accomplishment in cat-burglary really but what is very apparent is that we all clearly had way too much to drink that night to not even stir as a stranger walked through the house stealing electronics left, right and centre! As usual the police did nothing on Sunday morning apart from ask if they could take some breadfruit from the tree that is just outside the house so we may well be going to see the Tongan witch doctor who Helen and Josie visited after their house was broken into!

A day at the races in Wellington

N.B - I'll stick up a few more shots from NZ when I get the chance too!