Mate Ma‘a Tonga on track for Rugby League World Cup [1]
Monday, April 22, 2013 - 19:24. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
By Finau Fonua
The Mate Ma’a Tonga has undoubtedly achieved one of its best victories to date after scolding fierce rivals Toa Samoa 36 – 4.
The “Die for Tonga” ran in seven tries against the “Brave Samoans” in a bruising encounter at Penrith, Australia, on Saturday night, April 20.
The Samoans scored their only try in the first half and despite its desperate efforts, failed to get any further as the Tongans continued to compile tries.
Try scorers for Tonga included winger Mahe Fonua, five-eigth Samsoni Langi and centre Siuatonga Likiliki who all scored two tries each. Another winger Etuate Uaisele scored the final try of the match.
Apart from the one-sided score line, the game met all the expectations of a passionate and viciously competitive Samoan–Tongan clash. Both teams were studded with NRL star players.
The performance displayed by both teams has been widely praised by sports media and rugby league enthusiasts, and there are already demands for an annual Tonga- Samoa clash to be organised by the NRL.
The match, however, is an appetiser for more exciting international clashes to come in the Rugby League World Cup this October.
Fourteen teams will gather in the United Kingdom to compete in four designated pools. Tonga has an “easier” pool of teams compared to its Pacific neighbours Fiji, PNG and Samoa.
Tonga’s fixtures include Italy, Scotland and a “C/D Group” match against the Cook Islands; while Fiji, PNG and Samoa have a more challenging workout with the likes of England, Australia, France and World Cup Holders New Zealand.
The World Cup opener between Australia and England will kick off on October 26.
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
Australia | New Zealand | Tonga | Wales |
England | Papua New Guinea | Scotland | Cook Islands |
Fiji | France | Italy | USA |
Ireland | Samoa |