Tongans highlight money woes by dying hair green

PARIS (Reuters) - Tonga's senior players will take the field against England on Friday with their hair dyed green to highlight the money problems the island nation had in making it to the World Cup, centre Epeli Taione said on Thursday.

The colour choice is a show of thanks to an Irish bookmaker which is among sponsors Tongan players sought help from to be able to take part in the tournament in which their brilliance has earned them a Pool A second-place decider against England.

"I've had my hair dyed, some of us have... We've had a constant struggle just to get here, to train, to cover our basic needs day by day, accommodation and food," Taione told Reuters over the telephone.

"That's what makes this campaign very special and emotional," he said of the support Tonga have earned from French crowds with their exciting rugby in wins over the U.S. and Samoa and narrow loss to South Africa.

"We've had 40,000 pounds. We're playing England on Friday and I don't know what other teams are on," the Japan-based former Newcastle player said, implying there are differences in the finance available to teams in the 20-nation tournament.

Tui Uata, vice-president of the Tongan union, told Reuters: "I understand from our high performance officer that we have not had 110,000 pounds of the 150,000 we are due (from the International Rugby Board)."