Tonga U-19 strong play in Durban [1]
Monday, April 11, 2005 - 09:45. Updated on Friday, May 9, 2014 - 09:26.
The Tongan Under-19 national team is now ranked No. 2 in Division B of the Under-19 Rugby World Cup that is currently being held in Durban, South Africa.
The top four teams in Division B are Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay and Italy. On Saturday April 9, Samoa demolished Russia 27-0 to maintain its place at No. 1. Tonga took out the USA 39-10 to remain at second place. Uruguay blew away Chile 44-0 to hold on to the No. 3 position, and Italy battled and overcame Namibia 27-17 to claim the No. 4 position.
In the semi final games on April 13, Samoa will play Italy, and Tonga will play Uruguay. There is the possibility that it will be a Pacific Islands Final in Division B between Tonga and Samoa.
A report of the Tonga USA game showed that the Tonga Under-19 team is ready to take on the No. 1 team, Samoa in the Division B.
The Tonga USA game was predicted to be a tough game, but a report from Durban showed that Tonga was no match to the USA.
Tonga's forwards proved too strong for the USA and their backs chipped in with some scintillating running to emerge deserved 39-10 winners at Durban High School.
The game got off to a ferocious start, both teams showing they were not afraid to spread the ball and make some big tackles. The Tongan forwards proved their dominance right from the opening set pieces of the game, winning a lineout against the throw followed by a steal in the scrum from a USA put-in.
Some great stepping from the Tongan fly half and quick ball retention allowed full back Mafile‘o Piéi to break through the USA defence for the opening score of the game.
The Tongans were full of running and continued to dominate the set pieces, and rucks and mauls. The USA defence was solid and their first time tackling was generally good, but the support play from the Tongans created a number of openings for their outside backs to exploit. They ran in two more first-half tries, one of which was converted, and went into the break leading 17-0.
The game slowed down slightly at the start of the second half with some steady play from both teams. The USA defence was wearing down though, and the speedy Tongan backs exploited the openings, running in two tries in quick succession midway through the second half.
The USA came back strongly and were rewarded thanks to some good ball retention and discipline, which allowed lock Eric Fry to force his way over the line for a converted try, their first score of the match. Their joy was short-lived however, as Tonga bounced right back with vengeance. Some extremely powerful running led to two more tries in quick succession, effectively ending the game as a contest.
The USA never gave up and dominated much of the remaining time in the game. It was, however, too little too late and a solitary penalty was the only points they managed to score for the remainder of the game.
USA: (10)
Tries: Eric Fry
Conversions: Christopher Sardon
Penalties: Christopher Sardon
Tonga: (39)
Tries: Mafileó Piéi (3), Fine Lemoto, Maamaloa Kuluka, Jonothan Sefania, Paula Havea.
Conversions: Jonothan Sefania, Siliveinusi Naulangi.
Quotes:
Captain USA Nichols Grala: We gave away too many penalties and struggled to compete with their forwards at the rucks and mauls.
Coach USA Salty Thompson: The Tongan forwards dominated right from the outset. We lost too many lineouts, which made it difficult for us to create scoring opportunities.
Captain Tonga Jonathan Sefanaia: We cut down on the mistakes we made in previous games. Our forwards dominated and our backs ran well.
Coach Tonga Tu'ivaitav: Our backs linked up nicely and we cut down on our mistakes. I...m happy with the way our guys played.