The International Rugby Board has banned a plan by tournament fairytale team Tonga to dye their players' hair green for tomorrow morning's do-or-die World Cup clash with England.

Tonga grabbed massive headlines yesterday when a London newspaper revealed the team had dyed their hair in a show of support for an Irish bookmaking company.

But IRB officials ordered the players to re-dye their hair, saying they had broken tournament rules prohibiting individual team sponsorships.

The Islanders had planned the eye-catching stunt as a gesture of thanks to the bookmaker for its financial support of the team.

But it unwittingly created a storm as the Tongans arrived in Paris for the winner-take-all pool A match that will decide which side progresses to the quarter finals.

IRB officials played party-poopers when, before they left their southern France base just out of Montpellier to head to Paris, the Tongans were told that dying their hair was not allowed under the rules of the tournament.

Officials claim the move would contravene tournament regulations on sponsorship.

Irish bookmakers Paddy Power has been assisting the cash-strapped Tongan squad since its arrival, beginning with an individual deal to sponsor veteran back Epi Taione.

Taione changed his name by deed poll to Paddy Power for the duration of the tournament but the IRB fun police quashed that, listing him as Epi Taione in all official match programmes.

The match has already captured the public's attention in France, and all around the world, because it's the ultimate battle of rugby's Haves and Have-Nots.

The current world champions England have the largest resources, both financially and in playing numbers, on the planet.

Their players are paid huge salaries, some approaching the $1 million-mark per annum just to lace up their boots, and it's said that they're all pocketing $30,000 per man just to turn up in France.

That figure will grow dramatically the closer they get to defending their title over coming weeks.

Tonga, with a population of just 100,000 people, is a longtime second-class citizen at the IRB table.

Some squad members had to pay their own way to France because there wasn't enough money in the coffers to cover their airfares.

The players are on weekly salaries of just $60 per man while they're at the World Cup and their accommodation in Clapaci's, just out of Montpellier, was so basic it's said England wouldn't even let their media stay there.

Tonga's wins over Samoa and USA and a gallant narrow 25-30 loss to South Africa last weekend have made them the talk of the tournament.

Players and officials say the plan to dye their hair green for tomorrow's massive clash against the world champions was simply a thank you gesture to the bookmaker.

They were stunned to be told it was against tournament rules.

As they arrived for their Captain's Run in Paris, it was clear some players, notably Taione, had already dyed their locks.

Veteran campaigner Inoke Afeaki even had a green goatee.

But most had already bowed to the IRB's decree and returned to their natural colour.

But they were not happy about the IRB's heavy-handedness, even if skipper Nili Latu did declare that the controversy would not deflect his men from the focus they need ahead of the biggest game of their lives the following night.

"I don't even know what to say," said Bay of Plenty standout Latu who has been in brilliant form on the openside flank this campaign.

"Paddy Power was helping us out along the way. I just don't get the ruling," continued the clearly exasperated Tongan skipper.

"I'm sure some of the other guys in other teams are wearing blond hair so why can't the rule go both ways. But it came up as a problem and we changed it.

"I said to the boys 'let's refocus, dye your hair back'. It's not going to get in the way of our preparation. We're keen to go and a little problem like that is not going to stop us tomorrow."

Latu said he told his players before they left the south of France this morning to "go normal or go blond, or even go red if you want" so long as it wasn't the banned green colour.

"As long as we stay tight on what we have to do as a team and focus on the job we have to do, that's the only important thing right now," he added.

Asked if the Tongans were just trying to make a point about the allocation of funds from this World Cup (the world's major unions receive massive payouts, in the millions, while the rest, like Tonga, pick up a pittance), Latu steered clear of controversy.

"It's not about the money," he said.

"We didn't get the budget we wanted to run this World Cup, we don't get the payment that everyone else in this World Cup gets. People then came out to help us and we were so grateful for their help.

"We struggled to get to the World Cup - We couldn't change venues and stuff like that. We're grateful that Paddy Power helped us out along the way, and the green hair was just the boys wanting to show some respect or give something back. I guess the IRB are saying we couldn't [do that].

"They said you can't advertise a company or whatever. We haven't had any problems like that throughout this campaign, so I made it short and sharp to the boys. "I said let's just get back to business and focus. It's not going to get in the way or be a major disappointment to the boys."

Latu also said now was not the time for his players to make political statements over the disbursement of funds.

"It's not about being rich or being poor, tomorrow is about showcasing the talent," he added.

"I think my boys have done that. We have struggled for a long time in rugby, but this is a great time to do it. The thing is to come out now and make our mark on the World Cup."

Latu also showed he had not lost his sense of humour through the whole affair.

"I said to boys 'shave it like mine, then you don't have get up in the morning and comb it'.

I don't really agree with [the ruling], but we have to respect the rule."

Fairfax Media