Tonga have beaten England for the first time, stunning Brian McDermott’s side 30-12 in front of a sellout crowd of 18,302 at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday night to leave England’s Rugby League World Cup semi-final hopes hanging by a thread.
Haumole Olakau’atu scored two tries and halfback Isaiya Katoa kicked seven goals from nine attempts as Kristian Woolf’s side won the try count four to two, according to the official IRL match centre.
International Rugby League described the result as the Pacific nation’s first win over England, avenging a two-point loss in the 2017 World Cup semi-final. Tonga’s only previous international win against English opposition came against Great Britain in 2019, AAP reported.
“I just thought the longer the game went, the better we got,” Woolf said, according to AAP. “We got more and more confident. And what I liked the most was the way we defended.”
Tonga’s defence holds firm
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England had the better of much of the first half, but Tonga struck first when prop Stefano Utoikamanu found a hole in the England defence and strolled over untouched, AAP reported. Two Katoa penalty goals gave Tonga a 10-0 lead at half-time.
The turning point came on 22 minutes, BBC Sport reported, when England lock Victor Radley knocked on a few metres out after a huge hit from Tonga captain Jason Taumalolo. Tonga scored two minutes later.
England hit back early in the second half when centre Hugo Savala linked with fullback AJ Brimson for a try. But a penalty for a high shot on Tongan winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak swung the momentum, according to the IRL, and Olakau’atu and Tolu Koula crossed in successive sets to make it 22-6.
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Dom Young scored in the corner to give England hope, before Olakau’atu pounced on a Katoa grubber late in the game to seal the win.
“It was a really good contest, and when it wasn’t a contest, that was probably more to do with us in the errors that we made,” McDermott said, according to AAP. “They’re a big team, strong team, and they’ve got some tremendous players in there.”
The one worry for Tonga was five-eighth Latu Fainu, who left the field after 17 minutes with a pectoral strain. The IRL said early reports suggest medical staff are optimistic the injury is not serious.
What it means for the semi-finals
Only two teams from across Pools B and C will reach the semi-finals, AAP reported. Head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker, so England must beat France and Papua New Guinea and hope Tonga beat Samoa when the two Pacific nations meet at a sold-out CommBank Stadium on 1 November, according to the IRL.
If England finish level on wins with Samoa, points difference would decide it, AAP reported, and Samoa have already banked a 78-4 win over France. Tonga’s remaining pool games are against Lebanon and Samoa.
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