Addin Fonua-Blake’s Late Try Beat Samoa 20-18 and Sends Tonga Into a World Cup Semi-Final Against New Zealand
Tonga beat Samoa 20-18 at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta on Sunday night to finish top of the combined Pools B and C table. Addin Fonua-Blake scored the winning try in the 72nd minute and Isaiya Katoa converted it.
The crowd of 29,411 was a record, nrl.com reported. Tonga now play New Zealand in Newcastle on Saturday, Samoa play Australia in Sydney on Sunday, and England are out.
Toia breaks it open
Tonga had two early chances. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s foot grazed the sideline in the 13th minute, and four minutes later Stephen Crichton stopped Jojo Fifita in the corner.
Robert Toia broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. Haumole Olakau’atu put him into space with a flick pass and Toia went 45 metres, past Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Sua Fa’alogo. Katoa converted, then kicked a penalty goal in the 36th minute for 8-0.
Samoa scored just before half-time. Jarome Luai’s bomb was tapped back to Crichton, who got a flick pass away to Brian To’o with three defenders hanging off him. It was 8-4 at the break.
| Team | Tries | Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonga: Robert Toia, Jojo Fifita, Addin Fonua-Blake | 3 | 4 (Katoa) | 20 |
| Samoa: Brian To’o 2, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Ronald Volkman | 4 | 1 (Volkman) | 18 |
Samoa come back
Katoa and Tui Lolohea combined on the left in the 46th minute, and Lolohea’s long ball put Fifita over in the corner. Katoa’s conversion made it 14-4.
To’o scored his second in the 52nd minute from a pass by Chanel Harris-Tavita. Harris-Tavita missed the conversion, grabbed at his hamstring and left the field, nrl.com reported. Ronald Volkman came on for him.
With 17 minutes left, Luai, Izack Tago and Fa’alogo moved the ball for Tabuai-Fidow to race away, and it was 14-12. Volkman then broke two tackles to score and converted his own try. Samoa led 18-14.
Fonua-Blake’s answer
Fonua-Blake took a pass one off the ruck and ran through Spencer Leniu and Connelly Lemuelu to level it. Katoa’s kick put Tonga back in front.
Samoa had two more chances. Fa’alogo went over in the corner with two minutes left, but his foot was in touch. In the last minute Tabuai-Fidow caught a bomb and threw a forward pass to Fa’alogo.
“I can’t put it into words,” Fonua-Blake told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. “This is up there with Origin as an atmosphere. And this is the pinnacle for me. Representing my people is something special.”
Katoa, who kicked four from four, told Premier Sports: “I think that was about five or 10 levels above NRL tonight. Every tackle felt like the first of the game.”
The semi-finals
Tonga finish first with three wins from three and play New Zealand at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday 7 November. Samoa finish second on points difference and meet Australia at Allianz Stadium on Sunday 8 November, a repeat of the 2022 final.
“Australia have got star power across the board, so we’ll have to be on for the full 80 for the semi-final next week,” Volkman told the BBC.
Our preview set out what each side needed. Samoa won the 2022 quarter-final between these two by the same score, 20-18. The final standings are on the World Cup table, and channels for the semi-finals are on how to watch the World Cup.
