Tonga's 1973 Test hero dies

[travelling_gerry]

Peter Kogoy From: The Australian December 16, 2010 12:00AM


FORMER Wallabies number eight Mark Loane still has nightmares about his Test debut at Ballymore, when Tonga won 16-11 in a boilover.

In one of the biggest upsets in history, Tonga, captained by Sione Mafi, turned a first-Test hiding around to beat the Wallabies and square the 1973 series.

Mafi, who scored two tries that day, died on Monday of a suspected heart attack in Brisbane, where he settled in the late 1970s.

"I can still see the smiling face of Sione Mafi as he gets up from scoring two blindside tries," Loane recalled last night.

Mafi, who was capped 14 times for Tonga, played for Brisbane Souths between 1977 and 1985, captaining first grade to the 1980 grand final. His age was unknown.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225971760627

[zimeric]

relation to Alfi?