Thanks for your company on this glorious Sunday for the rugby codes in Australia. The Wallabies beat England at Twickenham this morning and the Kangaroos have done the job on Tonga this arvo in Parramatta. Does that mean footy season is FINALLY OVER?, my daughter asks? Not yet, darlin. The men’s promotion-relegation play-off between New Zealand and the PNG Kumuls is about to kick off. Enjoy!
From all the team here at the Guardian, we wish you a good night and a safe summer. See you next footy season!
Tom Dearden has been named Player of the Match – a worthy winner given how he sliced and diced the Tonga defensive line. With Moses calm beside him, the little Queenslander led Australia to victory with his energy, smart passes, clever darts and excellent support play. Not a bad replacement for the injured Nathan Cleary!
Australia defeat Tonga 20-14 to clinch 2024 Pacific Championship
The Kangaroos have done it! The whistle blows on a mighty victory. They were tested by Tonga and had to dig deep in defence and attack to ward off the challenge. Isaah Yeo was immense for the Australians, laying a game high 45 tackles, with Hudson Young (44) and Harry Grant (40) contributing to incredible Australian defence. That was the difference. Tonga came to play, scored first and hurt Australia physically and on the scoreboard. Australia took their lumps and stayed patient, grabbing their chances when they could, with the class of Tom Trbojevic and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow too much for the Tongan outside men.
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79th minute: Australia 20-14 Tonga. Tom Trbojevic slices through and gets within 10 metres. Now Australia get a sniff of one more try. Carrigan clears to Dearden and he finds Moses and it lands with big Xavier Coates flying on the outside. He soars and scores! But hang on, in the action of flying up and over the touchline, he’s muffed the grounding and it’s slipped free of his fingers at the last instant. Might be too late for Tonga anyway…
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78th minute: Australia 20-14 Tonga. Lindsay Smith is on for Australia and it brings fortune to the Kangaroos immediately as Moses is taken out in the air by Jason Taumalolo. Silly mistake by the veteran. Will it cost his side? No, but Siliva Havili’s forward pass out of dummy half might. It gifts the Kangaroos possession 40 metres out.
TRY! Australia 20-14 Tonga (Katoa, 74”)
Try to Eli Katoa! Tonga are within striking distance and we have a grandstand finish coming! The crowd are on their feet chanting and cheering
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74th minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. Almost a try! Referee Ashley Klein says no but this looks good. And it is good!
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72nd minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. Huge error from Pat Carrigan. The big bearded Bronco had just come back onto the field and he coughed it up in the tackle. Tonga on the attack 20 metres out now. Jason Taumalolo thunders into the line but one of the follow up runs has gone bung as Isaah Yeo forces the ball loose with a crunching captain’s tackle. It earns Yeo an early shower as Matt Burton trots on to close this game out.
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70th minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. Australia get a much-needed breather as Lindsay Lindsay Collins and Angus Crichton reel from a head clash. Friendly fire for the Roosters pair and it’s Collins who came off second best. It gets enough air back in the lungs for the Kangaroos to pull of a ripping tackle and for the Kangaroos to swoop on the crumbs.
68th minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. We have a crowd of 28,728 but they have been of one voice this afternoon. Now the red army have a new reason to cheer. Harry Grant has throw a forward pass on halfway! It sets Tonga for a fresh wave of attack. Haumole Olakau’atu hammers the line followed by Felise Kaufusi as Tonga inch closer and closer.
66th minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. Another set for Tonga. It was a great kick by Isaiya Katoa, angled for the corner and high enough to sow panic in the Australian ranks. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow won the jump but failed to haul it in cleanly, instead chesting it to Angus Crichton who stood a fraction in fron tof him. Here they come again!
64th minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. Tolutau Koula sends Harry Grant flying! After looking a little ragged in the early clinches of this second half, Tonga have found another gear. Now they’ve forced an error from Hudson Young and will attack from 30 metres out. Pressure for the Kangaroos
60th minute: Australia 20-10 Tonga. With the wind in their sails and the choir in their ears, Tonga are making their move. Jason Taumalolo leads their charge after that all-important try. There is plenty of time for the visitors here, a full quarter of the game remaining. Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga detects the danger and brings on fresh horses in debutant Lindsay Smith. He’ll need them! Crichton gets monstered by four Tongans.
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TRY! Australia 20-10 Tonga (Olakau’atu, 58")
Great try to Haumole Olakau’atu! They stretched the Kangaroos backline on the last play and they attacked again, this time with a kick through the line where Olakau’atu timed his run to perfection, stopping on the tryline and waiting for the ball to fall into his hands before dotting down. Tonga roar back and it’s game on in the Pacific Cup final!
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56th minute: Australia 20-4 Tonga. Jason Taumalolo is back on the field and it takes a tenacious Hudson Young to stop him bursting into space. Momentum has swung the way of the visitors now and they have Australia stretched to the left. Lomax has to charge the red line and knock down the ball to stop the overlap.
54th minute: Australia 20-4 Tonga. Tonga are emptying the bench looking for fresh legs and new ideas. They have now used five substitutes whereas Australia have only used two. Tonga look tired and Australia sense it. They go for the jugular, sweeping left where Tom Trbojevic finds Zac Lomax. He kicks infield but it’s too big and races over the dead ball line. The Tongan choir know it’s now or never. They raise their voices to inspire their side. What a glorious sound that is.
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50th minute: Australia 20-4 Tonga. What a run by Sione Katoa! Tonga were desperately defending their line when the big No 4 shot out of the line and intercepted. He got 60 metres before Australia caught up with him. But when they did there were five guys in green and gold and none in red. Katoa stopped, stepped, charged again. Finally the Tongan support arrives but they promptly dropped the ball!
48th minute: Australia 20-4 Tonga. Almost another Trbojevic try but it’s a tap-on from Tabuai-Fidow that has been ruled forward. Tonga escape! But they need to up the intensity fast because Australia have exploded in this second-half. Mitch Barnett puts his extremely rude haircut over the ball with a big run and it sets up Moses for a little chip which Tabuai-Fidow chases. Tonga are pinned in their own half.
45th minute: Australia 20-4 Tonga. Grant tries the same trick but it doesn’t come off this time. But Moses has plenty of time to kick and it’s that slingshot Zac Lomax who contests the kick. Tonga clean it up. Paul Alamoti has left the field with a dislocated shoulder after being the nail to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow’s hammer in a tackle just now.
TRY! Australia 20-4 Tonga (Trbojevic, 43")
Harry Grant had a snipe from dummy half and it caught Tonga unawares. Dearden was on his hip and he spun out of contact and took off. He veered left but there were red jerseys swarming so he stepped right and found a green and gold one in support. Tom Trbojevic was wearing that jersey and the Mayor of Manly sprinted home, stepping a defender in the in-goal to touch down under the posts.
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42nd minute: Australia 14-4 Tonga. Australia take the kickoff and it’s a captain’s run from Isaah Yeo that gets Australia rumbling to halfway where Moses puts it on the boot. Lomax chases like a dog pursuing a meatwagon but this time he can’t haul it down from the heavens. Tonga run it out of trouble.
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Tonga coach Kristian Woolf refuses to be intimidated. He reckons Australia has scored their tries off the back of his side’s errors and that the 10-point margin doesn’t reflect how close this match has been. Here we go for the second half…
HALFTIME: Australia 14-4 Tonga
What a torrid half of rugby league that was! Tonga shot from the blocks, roughing Australia up with their bone-jarring defence and Sione Katoa cashed in by scoring in the corner inside 10 minutes. Australia looked rattled for a while but, despite being battered and bruised they managed to counter-punch when the chance finally came. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow scored the equaliser in the 16th minute and then threw a lovely pass in contact to Xavier Coates who gave Australia an 8-4 lead in the 27th. Tonga’s early passion seemed to sap gtheir attacking spark and a couple of costly errors gave the Kangaroos a chance to run over the top of them in the final moments of the half. Trbojevic found the stripe in the 36th minute and then almost scored twice in the shadows of half-time. Only desperate defence from Tinga kept him out. It’s abten point margin here in Parramatta but rest assured this Pacific Cup final remains on a knife edge.
39th minute: Australia 14-4 Tonga. Have Australia scored again?! Tom Trbojevic looks to have planted this ball down. No! There’s a hand underneath and it belongs to Lehi Hopoate. Great try-saver in the shadows of halftime! But Australia retain possession and again it’s Trbojevic lunging for the line. Great scramble defence stops him one metre from the chalk and this time it’s Tolutau Koula with the try-saver. Good desperation from the men in red. That’ll be halftime.
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TRY! Australia 14-4 Tonga (Trbojevic 37")
He’s not much of a kicker, Tom Dearden, but his running game is wonderful. And he used it to catch the Tongans napping there, sprinting 30 metres upfield. Tom Trbojevic went with him and crossed under the posts. Lomax finally nails a conversion.
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36th minute: Australia 8-4 Tonga. Tonga have been impressive in defence but scattergun in attack. They reef it downfield from their own half and Coates takes it cleanly. Edwards darts in for good metres and Lomax does likewise. Dearden smalls a whiff of panic and gets the fast play-the-ball he wants. He jags left, jinks left and looks for support. Here it comes… and it’s Turbo-charged!
34th minute: Australia 8-4 Tonga. Pat Carrigan is off for Australia and Mitch Barnett is on. Dearden tries to take on the defence but the red line holds firm. Now there’s a dink kick for Tom Trbojevic. He bats it back and Hudson Young is there to take it and touchdown. Try? Looks like Trbojevic’s tapback might have gone forward…
33rd minute: Australia 8-4 Tonga. Tom Dearden elects to run on the last and he’s tackled easily. Strange option and it gives Tonga a chance to run it out of their own quarter. They do so with gusto through Soni Luke who is on from the bench. Australia look exhausted from all their defensive work but they’re hanging on grimly. Tonga need structure here. Their forwards have done the heavy lifting, now their backs have to step up. Isaiya Katoa spins out of a tackle and gets an offload away and Tonga cross… but I think they’ve lost this over the line. Yes. No try.
30th minute: Australia 8-4 Tonga. Reuben Cotter runs it back from the kickoff. He deserves a medal of valoiur for that feat right now. The Tongan tackling today has been ferocious. Now it’s Keaon Koloamatangi bending the line. Good run by the big Bunny. But it all falls apart with a knock-on. Australia on the counter-attack!
TRY! Australia 8-4 Tonga (Xavier Coates, 27")
Great play by Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow there. He was jammed either side but somnehow snaked an arm out of the tangle of limbs to loop a pass to Xavier Coates who had acres of space either side. He swooped into the corner and Australia are ahead. Lomax puts another conversion wide.
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26th minute: Australia 4-4 Tonga. Having absorbed those hammer blow tackles, Australia are now on the attack. Dearden goes left and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow gets hit by three men. Somehow he wriggles free. Who’s loose? Xavier Coates!
24th minute: Australia 4-4 Tonga.Tom Dearden just got smashed and now it’s Felise Kaufusi hammering Angus Crichton! This is fearsome stuff by Tonga. Mitchell Moses kicks it out of trouble and again it’s Zac Lomax who flies high on the touchline. He misses the mark but the ball is flicked back but Taumalolo picks it up in goal and can’t get out. Kangaroos ball.
22nd minute: Australia 4-4 Tonga. Jason Taumalolo is leading from the front here. That’s another charge that sends Kangaroos pin-balling away. It creates the space down the left and they’ve opened the Kanharoos up. One pass, two and they’re in! Or was that an obstruction…? We’ll go to the Bunker here.
20th minute: Australia 4-4 Tonga. Now it’s Tonga charging into the teeth of the green and gold defensive line. But another poor kick gives it back to Australia. But Dylan Edwards has dropped it cold on tackle two. Tuimoala Lolohea picks it up 20 metres out and after three bone rattling hit-ups, Isaiya Katoa dabs a neat grubber at the posts which Dylan Edwards is forced to run dead. Tonga on top at CommBank!
TRY! Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Australia 4 - 4 Tonga, 16")
That was a poor kick from Katoa that gave the Kangaroos a sniff. They had been defending their line for repeat sets but Katoa’s muffed bomb gave them the glimmer they needed and Dearden scooted away and offloaded to Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow who flew into the corner for the equaliser. Lomax’s kick sails wide.
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15th minute: Australia 0-4 Tonga. Great charge by Tolutau Koula gets Tonga another set and Tonga are on fire. Thery are two metres out and going to their lethal right side again. It sputters out and Australia counter through Dearden. He’s away! And who’s looming in support but The Hammer himself…
13th minute: Australia 0-4 Tonga. Almost another try to Sione Katoa! He flew high to take the bomb but Harry Grant of all people was there to catrch the crumbs and charge it out of trouble. Australia roll it downfield and will get a fresh set now. They attack to the right, fast hands but slow progress and finally it breaks down when Zac Lomax spills it. That was awesome pressure defence by Tonga. Australia look a little rattled.
10th minute: Australia 0-4 Tonga. The Kangaroos are under massive pressure now. They are struggling to get out of their own end but the Tongan torpedoes are cutting them down before they make five metres. Remember what’s at stake today: Australia has not been beaten on home soil since 2015 and Tonga are aiming for back-to-back Test wins for the first time since World Cup 2021. The Tongan choir is booming right now.
TRY! Sione Katoa (Australia 0-4 Tonga, 7")
The Mate Ma’a are over ! This was beautiful play and Isaiya Katoa was the spark. He drew two with the dummy and made space on the outside. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow got sucked in and fast hands got it to Sione Katoa who speared over in the corner to score.
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5th minute: Australia 0-0 Tonga. Both sides look dangerous as Australia’s lethal centre pairing Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tom Trbojevic get a shimmy-shimmy going down the touchline and make good ground. With the songs of their people ringing out across the stadium, Tonga scramble them down. But it’s Australia on the attack…. until Crichton coughs it up in contact. Another early mistake from Angus!
2nd minute: Australia 0-0 Tonga. Here we go! Thunderous contact as Tonga receive the first kickoff and Siliva Havili powers back into the line. The visitors take 50-metres from their first set while the Kanfgaoos can only manage 30. The men inred have it back and are on the attack with good field position. Early pressure for the Aussies.
Better than any anthem, here is the Tongan war cry, with Siliva Havili leading the ‘Sipi Tau’. The Kangaroos are facing it a boomerang formation. The crowd are going bananas.
As we hear a stirring rendition of the Tongan national anthem, CommBank Stadium is a sea of red as Tongan fans pack in hoping their boys deliver a fat slice of history to a population of 107,773 back home. Advance Australia Fair answers the call and the players retreat to their respective corners ready for battle. Here we go…
If you missed last week’s match between New Zealand and Tonga you missed something very special. Racing into a 24–0 first-half lead amid a sea of red and black in Auckland, Tonga looked unstoppable as Sione Katoa, man-of-the-match Addin Fonua Blake, Silvia Havili and Soni Luke all crossed the whitewash.
But, in a remarkable comeback, the Kiwis came either side of half-time, scoring four converted tries of their own to lock the scoreboard up at 24-all. Jamayne Isaako’s long-range penalty and further drop-goal attempts from the winger and Shaun Johnson all went wide. Then 20-year-old half Isaiya Katia put his name up in lights with a field goal to give the Mate Ma’a a famous 25–24 win and booking Tonga’s place in the final.
Latest team news
Kangaroos: Australia have one major out with South Sydney captain Cameron Murray succumbing to a wrist injury. Canberra’s Hudson Young moves into the starting side while Penrith Panther Lindsay Smith joins the bench on Test debut. Ben Hunt will again serve as the replacement player.
Tonga XIII: Good news for Tonga with the late mail that Keaon Koloamatangi will play. The big Rabbitohs enforcer, Cam Murray’s best mate since childhood, was on tenterhooks with Mrs K to give birth any day now but will now join the bench. That’s awesome commitment to the cause by Mrs Koloamatangi! Big Keaon’s inclusion means there’s no room for Sitili Tupouniua, who instead becomes the replacement player.
Preamble
Hello sports fans and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the men’s Pacific Championship final between Australia and Tonga at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, lands of the Burramattagal people, a clan of the Dharug.
What a game we have before us today. The Kangaroos qualified for this final after defeating Tonga 18-0 in week one and defeating 2023 champions New Zealand 22-10 in week two. Tonga recovered from that early defeat to Mal Meninga’s men with a shock 25-24 triumph over the Kiwis last weekend in Auckland, with Addin Fonua-Blake and Jason Taumalolo combining for 422 run metres and young gun Isaiya Katoa icing the one-point win.
Prior to their opening round encounter, Tonga and Australia had met twice before in a rugby league internationals, with honours even. Australia won the first encounter at Mount Smart Stadium in 2018. Tonga avenged that defeat in 2019 when Jason Taumalolo led his team to a famous 16-12 triumph at Eden Park.
Now they meet again to crown the 2024 Pacific champions. Can Tonga become the first Pacific nation to win the final of a major tournament? Or will Australia restore balance to the rugby league universe by continuing on their unbeaten way?
The action is not far off so buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down because the kickoff is 4.05pm and we’ll have team news shortly.
