Tonga A defeats Junior Japan 44 – 30 [1]
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - 17:59. Updated on Thursday, April 14, 2016 - 15:12.
Tonga A defeated Junior Japan in its final game of the Pacific Rugby Challenge Tournament on Monday 21 March at Suva's ANZ Stadium.
The win redeems the development side’s earlier loss to Junior Japan two weeks ago. The matchup was a third place decider and consolation match for Tonga and Japan who failed to make it to the tournament final. The unusual fixture also adopted an experimental points system, which awarded 6 points for a try and 2 points for a penalty.
Tonga A led throughout the entire match, scoring 3 tries in first-half and 2 in the second. Japan scored 2 tries in each half but failed to surpass Tonga’s lead. The half time score was 24 – 14. Two additional penalty conversions in the second half by scrumhalf Patelsio One’one helped extend Tonga’s lead to a 44 point victory.
Tonga’s try scorers were winger Atelea Moa, centre prop Sione Lolohea, centre Alfred Hausia, and an impressive fly half Fe’ao Hui who scored two tries.
The win is a positive exit for Tonga A, having suffered heavy defeats in all of its games throughout the 2016 Pacific Challenge Cup tiurnament.
Fiji Warriors
Fiji's development team, the Fiji Warriors added an exclamation mark to their dominance in the 2016 Pacific Challenge Cup after quashing Samoa A 36 - 0 in the tournament final. The Fiji Warriors won all of their games convincingly, including a 56 - 18 win over Tonga last week.