SITA Akauola will be one of few in Warrington supporting Tonga when the tournament dark horses face England in Saturday’s Rugby League World Cup semi final.

The Wire’s new prop forward could easily have been preparing to play in the Auckland showdown himself but missed out on squad selection at the last minute when Andrew Fifita became the third big name to switch allegiances to represent Tonga through heritage instead of the country of birth.

Some would perhaps think Akauola has every right to feel bitter, but he does not think like that and laughed when it was suggested he should be supporting England now that he is living and working over here after arriving from NRL club Penrith Panthers for pre-season training.

“I guess I’d better watch that game by myself, I don’t want to get bashed,” he joked, looking ahead to his nation’s first appearance in the semi finals.

“It’s good either way, Tonga’s come this far so either way I’m proud and happy.

“It’s not really a surprise for Tonga to be in the semi finals when you see the team they have, with those big names coming back like Jason Taumalolo, Andrew Fifita and Michael Jennings.

“It just boosted their team morale and everyone just wants to play for each other.

“As a small nation, it’s something Tonga always wanted – the players all playing for each other, whatever it takes.”

Tonga’s success at the tournament, which included a group-stage win against New Zealand and a quarter-final success against Lebanon, has been like a breath of fresh air for the sport.

And the proud nation has been fanatical behind its team, turning stadia into a sea of red for each game and it will be the same in Auckland on Saturday.

“Coming from Tonga and experiencing all of that, it’s a proud little nation and to see Tonga do well in the World Cup words cannot express how happy families, friends and everyone back in Tonga really feel,” said Akauola, who felt Fiji had been flying under the radar and is not surprised they will make a third successive appearance in World Cup semi finals against Australia on Friday.

“Myself, my family are cheering. It’s special for us.

“It’s really good for the game. Every year seeing the big three of Australia, New Zealand and England, it’s good to have one of the teams come through and shake up the World Cup.

“For the future, Taulamono and Fifita coming back to Tonga opens the door for the rest of the Tongan people and Pacific island players to come back.

“You don’t know what capabilities the national teams would have if all (eligible players) come back and combine together. So that’s pretty interesting going forward.”

Another new Wolves signing Ben Murdoch-Masila, a former teammate of Akauola at Wests Tigers, has been a key performer for Tonga off the bench in all of their four games so far.

H e will be a man-mountain for the likes of Warrington’s England forwards Chris Hill and Ben Currie to handle.

“Ben’s the quiet type but he’s a different story on the field,” said Akauola.

“I guess he’s just one of those players who lets his actions do all the talking.

“It’s really exciting to see the Tonga boys go well in the World Cup, Benny going really well too.

“That’s something the Warrington fans can look forward to from what they’ve seen of him at the World Cup so far.”

Akauola is pleased to have seen Murdoch-Masila making his mark in Super League with Salford Red Devils in the past two years, earning a place in the Super League Dream Team at the end of the 2017 domestic campaign.

He wants to take a lead from that in his own new adventure.

“It was good to see him reach his potential,” he said.

“I guess back home it was a bit like myself, didn’t really touch on our potential, but to see him do that it was a really great achievement and I was happy for him.”