Mate Ma'a Tonga will play England in the semi-final of the Rugby League World Cup at 6:00pm Saturday 25 November at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

The game will decide who will play in the grand final of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) the following weekend. England are favoured by CrownBet (official bookmakers for the World Cup) to edge Mate Ma’a Tonga - although few doubt that Tonga are the fan favourites.

Mate Ma’a Tonga have already accomplished new heights for Tongan Rugby League by reaching the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup for the first time in its history. Mate Ma’a Tonga star centre Konrad Hurrell described Tonga’s success in a RLWC statement today: “It was our first quarter-final last week and this is our first semi-final as well. Imagine if we make the final, it would be crazy.”

The English Rugby League team appear to be level-headed before tomorrow’s game. English veteran prop James Graham stated, “It takes 80 minutes, sometimes 90 minutes to win a game of rugby league but only a moment to lose it.”

“I am expecting the best Tonga team possible, for them to play their best rugby league, better than the performance you saw against the Kiwis."

Fifth Harmony singer Dinah Jane is scheduled to sing the Tongan National Anthem prior to kick-off. The stadium is expected to be a full house and to include the attendance of HM King Tupou VI.

The official kick-off time for the game is 6:00pm on Saturday 25 November at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.