Afeaki 'happy' with his team's tour

The Pacific Islanders ended their historic three-match series - against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa - with their third successive defeat, against the Springboks in Gosford on Saturday, but captain Inoke Afeaki was happy with his team's performances.

Speaking after the 38-24 loss to the Boks in Gosford the Tongan lock forward said he was "very happy" with what his team had achieved.

"The boys had three very tough weeks and they stuck in there," he said. "We have only been together for five weeks, but we stuck together and the guys showed great character."

The Islanders captain also praised the Springboks for their efforts, especially in the first half when South Africa completely shut them out, to lead 23-0 at the break.

"They [South Africa] are a great team and have some very good structure to their play," he said about the first half showing.

But the Islanders showed again that when given the ball they can be destructive.

"Our plan was to run them off their feet and when we got our hands on the ball after the break, we certainly did that. We managed some really great tries."