TONGA PUSHES BUT KANGAROOS HANG TOUGH
AUSTRALIA won the game against Tonga 34-16, but the resurgence of international rugby league is now complete.
In front of a sold-out Tongan-strong crowd of 26,214 at Mt Smart Stadium, the Tongan side showed there is more than just the big three in the international game.
A week after being humbled by the Kiwis, the Australian side did enough to race in six tries to three to defeat a spirited Tonga side.
Tonga let themselves down with poor handling at crucial times but did enough to show they could mix it with the world’s best.
Tom Trbojevic and Valentine Holmes crossed twice while James Tedesco was named man of the match for his try, two line breaks and a try assist to complete a stellar season for the Roosters fullback.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said his young side had “learnt plenty out of this”.
“It’s a different kind of match,” Meninga said of Test football. “I believe we picked the right players. We can only get better. There is some improvement in the footy team which is pretty exciting.
“We put ourselves under the pump. We have to learn to keep that intensity.
“There is the lesson we learnt – we make an error we get penalised.”
Meninga had flooded the Kangaroos team room in the lead-up to the game with quotes from Tongan players who had suggested the Australian side did not share the same passion.
Tonga won the second half 6-4 as they forced Australia to produce six line dropouts, building pressure which was not apparent in the opening half.
The signs looked ominous for a Tongan side who failed to complete two of their opening three sets. Australia’s first try happened after just six minutes when Daly Cherry-Evans raced 35m having scooped a loose pass from Siliva Havili.
Tom Trbojevic crossed five minutes later to have Australia leading 12-0 in as many minutes. Tonga fought back through Tevita Pangai Jr before Andrew Fifita spilt the ball from the kick restart.
Holmes scored next to extend Australia’s lead to 12 before Tonga were kept in it when Daniel Tupou scored six minutes before halftime.
Any hope of a Tongan fightback was snuffed out when Holmes scored on the stroke of halftime – which resulted in a possible eight-point try when Pangai Jr kicked Holmes.
A Tyson Frizell error in the opening set of the second half saw Australia fail to touch the ball for the next 10 minutes.