Tonga dye for the cause with green hair against England

Tonga may already be the surprise package at the 2007 World Cup but tomorrow night against England in Paris they are guaranteeing at least one more shock, even if they do not put the world champions out of the tournament.

In their team hotel at Clapier in the hills above Montpellier last night an Irish hairdresser, Dermot Hickie, was dyeing the entire matchday 22 bright green before their TGV journey north to Paris today. Each player has gone for his own style and there will be varying shades of green.

"They [the authorities] will go mad about this," said Epeli Taione, the former Sale and Newcastle centre who hit upon the idea after raising the money to help pay Tonga's way to France. The team are cash-strapped and before Taione's fund-raising they had intended to stay at home until the last minute. Thanks to a sponsor, however, they were able to afford training camps in New Zealand and England before moving into the slightly unkempt £48-a-night apartment-hotel they have occupied for the past three weeks.

It's not a patch on England's headquarters in Versailles, where a double can cost £400-plus, but it has given them a base from which they launched wins over the USA and Samoa before giving the second favourites, South Africa, a huge fright last Saturday. The 28-year-old Taione, who now plays in Japan, initially thanked the sponsor by changing his name by deed poll, but when the International Rugby Board refused to amend his entry in the tournament guide to "Paddy Power" he asked what else the team could do. The Irish bookmaker, which had made a five-figure donation, replied by sending Hickie and its representative, Adam Perrin.

"It's just a laugh and we hope people don't take it too seriously. It's just a luck-of-the-Irish thing," said Perrin. "The IRB won't reinstate him with his changed name but this is only a bit of fun and, while we do understand the IRB have their rules, this is the team's way of thanking us."