A pair of football fans are lucky not to be seriously injured after being hit by a ute outside Bunnings ahead of Sunday’s Pacific Championship final at CommBank Stadium.
In a video clip circulating on social media, two men can be seen standing in front of a van in a Bunnings car park, with the man in front appearing to play “chicken” while the other holds a Tongan flag.
The ute, which had passengers also holding Tongan flags while on the tray, is seen lurching forward before braking. The two men on the road stand their ground, refusing to move.
The vehicle then moves forward again and only brakes at the last moment, throwing both men to the ground.
Fortunately, neither of them appeared to be seriously injured in the incident, as both were seen standing up afterwards.
Social media users were left baffled by the video clip and wondered why anyone would try to ride a ute.
‘Was he trying to do a burnout?’ commented a user X.
—Why did you try to jump off a truck? posted another.
Two Tongan football fans are pictured standing in the path of a van in a Bunnings car park before refusing to move out of the way as it headed straight towards them.
Thousands of Tona-supporting football fans attended Sunday’s Pacific Championship final at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium (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 achieve the biggest Test crowd in Australia in 50 years.
Sunday’s Pacific Championship final at nearby CommBank Stadium attracted a crowd of 28,728, with Australia’s 20-14 victory 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 is expected to embark on an Ashes tour of the UK.
New Zealand will host both of their matches against the Pacific heavyweights, while Tonga and Samoa are likely to meet at CommBank Stadium.
But there is an argument that officials should aim for something bigger.
The NRL had been worried about ticket sales for Sunday’s final before Tonga qualified to face Australia, such is the drawing power of their team.
Australia claimed a 20-14 victory in front of passionate pro-Tonga fans who easily outnumbered their Kangaroos-supporting counterparts.
Samoa is equally popular, with a large population base also in western Sydney.
The two teams have not met in Australia since 2018, but in that time Samoa reached a World Cup final and now boasts some of the best players in the NRL.
There is a legitimate belief that together the two sides could attract a crowd of over 50,000 people, if both fan bases and neutral followers are combined.
“We would like to play it in Samoa and bring the game to the people there,” Samoa coach Ben Gardiner said.
“But if it wasn’t there, I’d like to give it the best chance possible so there’s as big a crowd as possible.”
“In a perfect world, 50,000 would definitely be feasible, I think.
“It’s something that would stick in people’s memories, because of the type of crowd that would attend and the noise and atmosphere it would create.”
Only one Test match has attracted more than 50,000 spectators in Australia since the late 1970s, with 50,509 fans attending the 2008 World Cup final in Brisbane.
The huge crowd at CommBank Stadium on Sunday has raised expectations for Tonga’s clash against Samoa next year.
If the Tonga-Samoa match were to be held at Accor Stadium, it would have to be early in the Pacific Championship before Oasis play there on November 7.
There are other options, with strong expat communities from both Pacific nations residing in Auckland.
That momentum is backed by Tonga captain Jason Taumalolo behind the scenes at Mt Smart Stadium following his country’s victory over the Kiwis.
Suncorp Stadium could hold 52,000 people, with a strong Polynesian presence in Brisbane and 33,196 attending the Kangaroos-Tonga match there last month.