Ireland vs Tonga - The Six Former All Blacks and Wallabies set to take on Andy Farrell's side

Ireland got off to the best possible start in last weekend's win over Romania, as Andy Farrell's side established a new winning record for Ireland at the Rugby World Cup. An astonishing 82-8 landslide saw Ireland score more than one point per minute against the Eastern Europeans, for a comfortable win in Bordeaux.

However, Tonga look like a side that will present more of a fight to the World Number Ones. Following World Rugby's recent law changes regarding international eligibility, Tonga have been able to recruit some former All Blacks and Wallabies stars into their ranks for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. All of these players have undergone a three-year stand down period from international test rugby, and qualify to represent Tonga on ancestorial or residency grounds.

Here are Tonga's six newest recruits, for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Fans of the Premiership will be more than familiar with Malakai Fekitoa, as the centre used to make starring performances for Wasps. After completing his residency period in New Zealand as part of the Highlanders, Fekitoa made his All Blacks debut in the 2014 Summer Series against England. A formidable stepper with explosive pace, Fekitoa combines his physical strengths with an astute knowledge of attacking structure, and orchestrating plays to break the gain-line.

Fekitoa won the 2015 Super Rugby Final with the Dunedin side, and was apart of the All Blacks squad that won the Rugby World Cup that same year. However, shortly after Fekitoa helped New Zealand win their second consecutive Web Ellis Trophy, he began to drift to the fringes of the squad. The centre made his 25th and final test match appearance for the All Blacks against the 2017 British and Irish Lions, as he came off the bench in the famous third test, which ended in a 15-15 draw at Eden Park.

Club rugby then took Fekitoa away from New Zealand, with his move to Toulon ending his hopes for additional All Blacks appearances. After a fourth placed finish in Fekitoa's one and only Top 14 season, he made his jump to the Premiership ahead of the 2019/20 campaign. Fekitoa's talents fitted in well amongst the Wasps side that boasted fellow former All Blacks Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen and Lima Sopoaga. Fekitoa scored seven tries in his 49 appearances for Wasps, before the playmaking midfielder departed for Munster at the end of the 2021/22 season.

Fekitoa's Tongan journey began soon after World Rugby altered the eligibility laws in 2021. The former All Black made his debut for the Sea Eagles in the 2022 Pacific Nations Cup, running out for 65 minutes in a defeat to Fiji. The Munster man has since ran out for eight Tongan test matches, and is still searching for his first try for his homeland nation. After winning the United Rugby Championship with Munster last season, he will face off against his teammates Peter O'Mahony and Jack Crowley this weekend.

Another well known name to recent fans of the English top flight, former Bristol Bears playmaker Charles Piutau began his All Blacks journey in a similar style to Fekitoa. After starring for the Auckland Blues in Super Rugby, Piutau was awarded his first run out in the black jersey, in a 2013 Autumn Internationals clash against Australia. Piutau played the full 80 minutes on his debut, as the All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup over their Trans-Tasman rivals.

Piutau scored his first tries for New Zealand the following month. He started on the right wing and grabbed a brace, as the All Blacks hammered Japan 54-6 in Tokyo. However, Piutau was extremely unlucky to miss out on the 2015 Rugby World Cup squad, and promptly left New Zealand after agreeing a move to Wasps for the 2015/16 Premiership season. Piutau took to northern hemisphere rugby with no hesitation, as he ran in 10 tries for his sole season in Coventry.

The versatile midfielder then enjoyed a two-year long stint with Ulster, before returning to the Premiership for his well-remembered run at Ashton Gate. Piutau was an integral part of Pat Lam's Bristol Bears side, that lit up the Premiership with a Southern Hemisphere influence. The likes of Semi Radradra, Alapati Leiua, Steven Luatua and even Charles' older brother Siale Piutau formed a Pacific Island foundation, which took the Bears to the top of the Gallagher Premiership in the 2020/21 season.

Piutau made his Tonga debut alongside Fekitoa, in the 2022 Pacific Nations Cup defeat to Fiji, yet has been able to find his first points for his new side. Piutau scored in Tonga's 27-21 victory over Australia 'A', in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match this past Summer. A magical talent that can step an opponent in a phone box, Tonga fans will be excited to see Piutau unleashed against Ireland this Saturday in Nantes.

George Moala's rugby career starts similar to the stories of Fekitoa and Piutau, yet a key difference to note is Moala's longevity in Super Rugby. The veteran centre is a former teammate of Piutau, yet began his seven year tenure with the Blues two years prior in the 2011. A graduate of the Auckland provincial side, Moala soon progressed into the Blues set-up, and caught the eye of the All Blacks selectors.

Moala made his New Zealand debut in a one-off test match against Samoa, and had the added accolade of scoring the All Blacks' only try in the 25-16 win. However, despite this impressive debut, like Piutau, Moala was soon cast aside by the All Blacks when it came to whittling down the side for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Moala made just two more appearances for New Zealand after their title-winning tournament, before the Blues man took the headlines for all the wrong reasons, after his involvement in an Auckland bar brawl.

Moala stayed with the Blues for an additional two seasons, before looking for pastures new in a move to France. Since 2018, Moala has resided with Clermont Auvergne, in a versatile midfield role that seems him play across the inside and outside centres. The former All Black scored 10 tries in his first season, as Clermont claimed the 2019 European Challenge Cup. Moala's side finished runners-up of the Top 14 that same year, in what's been his most successful run since moving to the Northern Hemisphere.

Moala's Tonga debut came later than Fekitoa and Piutau's, with the centre making his first run out for the Pacific Islanders in the 2022 Autumn Internationals. Moala played the entire match as Tonga demolished Spain 40-6 in Malaga. The centre then went on to feature in Tonga's following victories against Uruguay and Rugby World Cup debutants Chile, before wrapping up his World Cup preparations with fixtures against Samoa and Canada this past Summer.

Hoping to make his debut for Tonga this Saturday, lock Adam Coleman is the one exception on this list that has not been capped by the All Blacks. Instead, the former London Irish man has previously made 36 appearances for the Wallabies, in an international tenure that stretched from 2016 to 2019. Tongan rugby is within Coleman's heritage, as his father is the former Tonga captain Pau'u Lolohea-Afeaki.

Coleman's further family ties include his cousin, who is also another former captain of Tonga. Ex-Hurricane Inoke Afeaki captained the Sea Eagles throughout the late '90s and into the new millennium, before hanging up his boots in 2007. Another one of Coleman's cousins, Ben Afeaki, made just one appearance for the All Blacks in 2013. However, Ben Afeaki played in an era before the new eligibility laws, which stopped him from running out for Tonga like his brother Inoke and uncle Pau'u did.

Thankfully, Coleman does not have this problem in the modern rugby landscape. After completing a three year stand-down period from the Wallabies, he is eligible to run out for Tonga thanks to his heritage. Coleman played his last match for Australia in the Quarter-Finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, as the Wallabies were defeated by Eddie Jones' England 40-16. Coleman ended his six year run in Australia's Super Rugby clubs after the trip to Japan, having previously represented the New South Wales Waratahs, Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels.

Coleman swapped Australia for life in the Premiership, and found his new home in Brentford with London Irish. The lock helped the Exiles reach back-to-back Premiership Rugby Cup Finals, yet on each occasion Irish were defeated after extra time, first to Worcester Warriors and then to Exeter Chiefs. Following the financial collapse of the Exiles at the end of the 2022/23 Premiership season, the lock found a new home with Bordeax-Begles, and made his debut against Racing 92, in an early trip to France ahead of the World Cup.

Versatile forward Vaea Fifita played eleven times for the All Blacks, after breaking onto the New Zealand rugby scene with provincial side Wellington. Fifita quickly progressed into the Hurricanes' Super Rugby set-up, and was apart of the squad that claimed the 2016 Super Rugby title. The hard-hitting Tongan is well versed to play across the back-row, starring at blindside flanker and number eight. His adaptability also enables him to slot in at lock, and pack down the scrum in the second row.

Fifita marked his All Blacks debut with a try, as he crossed over to score in a Summer test match against Samoa back in 2017. He followed this up with his first New Zealand test match start, as the All Blacks defeated France in that year's Autumn Internationals. Fifita's final run out in the black jersey came in the 2019 Rugby Championship draw against South Africa, as he failed to progress into the squad that later travelled to Japan for the Rugby World Cup.

Fifita persevered for a return to the All Blacks fold, and remained in the New Zealand capital for two more Super Rugby seasons. However, Fifita soon followed in the footsteps of his former Hurricanes teammate Malakai Fekitoa, and moved on to Wasps for the 2021/22 Premiership season. Fifita predominantly ran out at lock in Coventry, yet also made three appearances on the blindside flank for Lee Blackett's side. After Wasps' collapse in October 2022, Fifita quickly found a new home in South Wales with the Scarlets.

The 31-year-old scored a try in only his second match in the United Rugby Championship, as he crossed over against Ulster to start his Llanelli points tally. Fifita's Tonga debut came just two months after his first run out for the Scarlets, as he started at lock in the aforementioned away demolition of Spain. His inaugural season with the Scarlets saw them reach the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-finals, before they were eliminated by eventual runners-up Glasgow Warriors. Fifita has since made nine test caps for Tonga, and hopes to hit double figures against Andy Farrell's Ireland.

Electric scrum half Augustine Pulu is the classic example as to why World Rugby introduced the eligibility law changes. Pulu made just two All Blacks caps back in 2014, accruing a total of just 22 minutes in that year's Autumn Internationals. Pulu came off the bench against the United States and Scotland, with the latter match seeing him clock up just one minute of match action at Murrayfield.

After falling behind a tough pecking order that included Aaron Smith, Tj Perenara and Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Pulu was left out of Steve Hansen's squad, that went on to win the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Tongan-born scrum half fell out of the All Blacks XV's fold, and instead worked his way into the New Zealand Sevens squad. Pulu took home a bronze medal from the 2015/16 World Rugby Sevens Series, however, this was as far as Pulu got in the black jersey.

Pulu remained in New Zealand for three more seasons, ambitious for a return to the All Blacks squad. He worked his way into becoming the first choice scrum-half for the Blues, yet could not bring home the Super Rugby title in an era dominated by the Crusaders. Pulu then departed for pastures new, with a move to Japan solidifying in 2019. The scrum half joined up with the Hino Red Dolphins, who had only been promoted into the Top League two years prior.

Pulu still currently resides in the Tokyo Metropolis, and alongside Vaea Fifita made his Tonga debut in the 40-6 landslide win over Spain. Pulu followed this debut up with back-to-back tries in his next two matches for the Sea Eagles, as he crossed over to score against Chile and Uruguay in last Autumn's Internationals. Pulu is a thrilling talent to watch, and deservedly has another opportunity to showcase his skills on the international stage. Ireland will have their hands full with Pulu, who will want to upset the favourites on Saturday.