Tonga Bowl Champions at Borneo Women's Sevens [1]
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - 09:57. Updated on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - 09:54.
Tonga claimed the Bowl in a one-sided final against Malaysia, which finished 42-0 on September 24 in the IRB sanctioned HSBC Women's Sevens Asia/Pacific tournament.
Having dropped out of the running for the Cup with a hard fought loss to Hong Kong 17-0, on day two and a controversial loss to Singapore in the Plate semi-final (which saw two Tongan players yellow carded), the team were eager to leave Malaysia with a memento.
Bowl-final
It was an excellent day for running rugby and Tonga didn't disappoint as Losaline Potaufa starred with 17-points, kicking six conversions and scoring a try. Pesalini Lave finished off an impressive tournament with a brace while Sela Vaenuku and Fakaola Malungahu picking up two more tries. The game also saw 19 year-old Prop Mele Aluesi make her debut for the national side.
A shoulder injury to competitive winger Mele Manu'a and a yellow-card to Vaenuku, were the only blemishes of an otherwise excellent game. "I was happy that we could finish the tournament on a high, we lost the Bowl final last year so we aimed to go one better and achieved that," said Coach Mark Hojelson. "We have another tournament in November so the girls have a couple of days break now before its back to training."
Gutsy performances against Women's powerhouses China and PNG bode well for the Tonga Women's team. However, like their male counterparts, match fitness and a lop-sided penalty count will be a couple of the things being addressed in the run-up to their next tournament. The team returns to Tonga on Tuesday September 27.