A pair of footy fans are lucky they weren’t badly hurt after being struck by a ute outside a Bunnings before Sunday’s Pacific Championships final at CommBank Stadium.
In a video clip that is doing the rounds on social media, two men can be seen standing in front of a ute in a Bunnings carpark, with the man in front appearing to play ‘chicken’ while the other holds up a Tongan flag.
The ute, which had passengers also holding Tongan flags as they stood in the tray, is seen lurching forward before braking. The two men on the road hold their ground, refusing to move.
The vehicle then moves forward again and only brakes at the last moment as it knocks both men to the ground.
Fortunately, neither seemed to be seriously injured in the incident as both were seen getting to their feet afterwards.
Social media users were mystified by the video clip as they wondered why anyone would try to take on a ute.
‘Was he trying to do a burnout?’ commented one X user.
‘Why’d he try and bump off a truck?’ posted another.
Two Tongan footy fans are pictured standing in the path of a ute in a Bunnings car park before refusing to get out of the way as it drove straight at them
Thousands of footy fans supporting Tona attended Sunday’s Pacific Championships finals at CommBank Stadium in Sydney (pictured)
Meanwhile, the Tongan contingent was so large that Rugby league officials must now decide whether to host next year’s Tonga-Samoa blockbuster at Accor Stadium in a bid to push for the biggest Test crowd in Australia in 50 years.
Sunday’s Pacific Championships finals at nearby CommBank Stadium drew a sold-out crowd of 28,728, with Australia’s 20-14 win coming in front of a passionate pro-Tonga crowd.
The results mean Tonga, New Zealand and Samoa will play in next year’s Pacific Cup, while Australia are expected to embark on an Ashes tour of the UK.
New Zealand will host both their matches against the Pacific heavyweights, while Tonga and Samoa are likely to face off at CommBank Stadium.
But there is an argument that officials should aim bigger.
The NRL had held concerns over ticket sales for Sunday’s final before Tonga qualified to face Australia, such is the pulling power of their team.
Australia claimed a 20-14 win in front of passionate pro-Tonga fans who easily outnumbered their Kangaroos-supporting counterparts
Samoa are equally popular, with a heavy population base also around western Sydney.
The two sides have not faced off in Australia since 2018, but in that time Samoa have reached a World Cup final and now boast some of the best players in the NRL.
There is a legitimate belief that together the two sides could draw in a crowd of more than 50,000, when combining both fan bases and neutral followers.
‘We would like to play it in Samoa and take a game back to the people there,’ Samoa coach Ben Gardiner said.
‘But if it wasn’t there I would like to give it the best possible chance to give it the biggest possible crowd.
‘In a perfect world, 50,000 would definitely be do-able, I think.
‘It’s something that would stick in people’s memories, with the kind of crowd that would turn out and the noise and atmosphere it would create.’
Only one Test match has drawn in a crowd of more than 50,000 in Australia since the end of 1970, with 50,509 fans attending the 2008 World Cup final in Brisbane.
The big crowd at CommBank Stadium on Sunday has heightened expectations for Tonga’s clash with Samoa next year
If the Tonga-Samoa match was to be hosted at Accor Stadium, it would need to be early in the Pacific Championships before Oasis plays there on November 7.
There are other options, with strong expat communities of both Pacific nations residing in Auckland.
That push is backed by Tonga captain Jason Taumalolo, after the scenes at Mt Smart Stadium following his country’s win over the Kiwis.
Suncorp Stadium could hold 52,000, with a heavy Polynesian presence in Brisbane and 33,196 turning out for the Kangaroos-Tonga match there last month.
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