Roos outclass brave Tonga
They may have failed to come away with an upset over the Kangaroos but you get the feeling Tonga are here to stay.
In the end the scoreline shows Australia ran out comfortable 34-16 winners in front of another sea of red at Mt Smart Stadium.
But Tonga by no means disgraced themselves.
Many of their side were playing their first game in six weeks and it showed. The Kristian Woolf-coached team was left to rue an error-ridden first half that saw it trail 30-10, while it suffered a major blow when halfback Ata Hingano was forced off with a shoulder injury in the 25th minute.
But spurred on by the bulk of the 26,214 crowd, Tonga refused to go away and enjoyed most of the running in the second half.
Australia’s superior skill and fitness proved the difference as they burned Tonga on the edges, with Tom Trbojevic and Valentine Holmes grabbing doubles.
But it’s hard to imagine that Tonga would not have been more competitive with a game or two under their belts.
Normally, such a scoreline would dampen the occasion yet try telling that to the Tongan supporters who cheered, sang and danced right till fulltime.
Unlike previous years, they won’t have to wait long to see the side again with a ‘grudge match’ against the Kiwis confirmed next June.
The fuse was lit for an explosive start when former Kangaroos prop Andrew Fifita led a spinetingling Sipi Tau.
But it was Australia who came out firing. The Kangaroos made a fast start as Daly Cherry-Evans swooped on a poor pass from hooker Siliva Havili and raced 30m to score.
Alarm bells were ringing for Tonga when James Tedesco beat an injured Hingano for Trbojevic to put the Kangaroos up 12-0 after just 11 minutes.
Tonga were at their best off the back of second-phase play. After stretching the Australian defence, they managed to hit back when Hingano put Tevita Pangai Jr through a huge gap.
Australia, though, scored in bunches.
They caught the defence short twice in three minutes through Holmes and Trbojevic before a deft cutout pass from Tuimoala Lolohea created space for Daniel Tupou to reduce the deficit.
But you can’t clock off for a second against a side with this much strike power.
When Holmes beat several defenders on the inside in the final play of the half, it left Tonga in a hole they would struggle to get out of.
They gave themselves faint hope after camping on Australia’s try-line for the opening 10 minutes of the second half, eventually breaking through when Solomone Kata stepped inside two defenders to score.
Tonga dominated possession in the third quarter and had the Australians scrambling on several occasions.
But a poor penalty invited the Kangaroos back into their red zone.
And Tedesco effectively sealed the result in the 63rd-minute when he sliced through a retreating defensive line. always