Isaiya Katoa Is Back for Tonga, and Sunday’s Game Against Samoa Will Decide the Pool B and C Semi-Finalists
Isaiya Katoa has recovered from his ankle injury and will play halfback for Tonga against Samoa at a sold-out CommBank Stadium on Sunday night. The winner is guaranteed a World Cup semi-final. Depending on Friday’s result between England and Papua New Guinea, the loser may be too.
Katoa returns
Katoa missed the win over Lebanon after hurting his ankle. Kristian Woolf has moved Tui Lolohea to five-eighth and Latu Fainu back to the bench, according to Fox Sports’ team list. Robert Toia returns in the centres, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak comes back on the wing and Tyson Frizell starts at lock, which moves Jason Taumalolo into the front row.
Samoa coach Ben Gardiner has kept the starting side that beat Papua New Guinea 64-6. Jazz Tevaga is back in the squad, and Deine Mariner is named at 22 as he comes back from a hamstring injury.
The combined table
Pools B and C share one table, and the top two reach the semi-finals. Samoa and Tonga have both won twice. England and Papua New Guinea have won once each. Our standings page has the full table.
Teams level on points are split by their head-to-head result first, then by points difference. That is what makes Sunday complicated, according to the tournament’s own explainer on rlwc2026.com.
What each result means
If Samoa win, they finish first and play New Zealand or Fiji at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle. Tonga still go through if England beat PNG, because Tonga beat England 30-12 in the opening round. If PNG win on Friday, Tonga’s 88-point advantage over PNG on points difference decides it.
If Tonga win, they finish first. Samoa are then safe if PNG beat England. If England win on Friday, Samoa and England are level and have not played each other, so points difference decides. Samoa start with a 68-point advantage after beating France 78-4 and PNG 64-6.
That is why England’s game comes first and matters to everyone. They need to beat PNG by as much as they can and then hope Tonga beat Samoa heavily. The England qualification guide has the detail.
The rivalry
Both squads are full of players who chose their heritage over Australia or New Zealand, a trend Jason Taumalolo started when he left New Zealand for Tonga in 2017. Valentine Holmes, who plays for the Cook Islands against Australia on Saturday, says the switches by Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita inspired his own.
Kick-off is 8.05pm AEDT on Sunday 1 November (9.05am in the UK). Lebanon play France at the same ground at 5.40pm. Every remaining kick-off is on our World Cup UK times page.
