Piutau captains Tonga in Nations Cup opener against Georgia

The 32-year-old lines up at inside centre in a side featuring three debutants. And the skipper says the new faces have added energy to the squad.

“Get new players in and it gives them the opportunity tom put their best foot forward,” he said.

“It’s part and parcel of the sport we play, injuries, but I can definitely say that the new boys that have come in, they’ve shown a lot of energy.

“For a lot of us boys that have been around the group for a long time, it just gives us that motivation with these young boys coming through to keep pulling through and hopefully we can give a bit back to them and nurture them.”