It was billed as the best game in the opening round of the Rugby League World Cup and Tonga v Papua New Guinea lived up to the hype.
In a surprise to nobody, physicality defined the early stages of this one. The Papua New Guinea Kumuls defended well to keep Mata Ma’a Tonga to only 40 metres in their opening set.
A Tevita Tatola error out of yardage soon provided the Kumuls with an opportunity to attack in good ball and made Tonga pay for a slow start. Justin Olam took a handful of early touches as Papua New Guinea looked to their star player in attack. However, it was the right edge that produced the points through Rhyse Martin.
Tonga opted to start with 18-year-old Isaiya Katoa in the halves, and Kyle Laybutt picked him out early.
It wasn’t long before the Kumuls looked left again, though. Another strong defensive set saw Papua New Guinea start theirs close to halfway. Earning another shot in good ball, a tipped Olam pass to Dan Russell on the wing is all that stopped them from scoring again.
Similar to Papua New Guinea, Tonga’s first points of the night came on the back of their defence. Forcing Lachlan Lam to kick from deep in their own end, Tolutau Koula produced a moment of magic to send Will Penisini over the line and square things up at 6-6 after 15 minutes.
Neither side was afraid to throw an offload. Perhaps as expected in an early game in this Rugby League World Cup, too many of those offloads went to ground. It stopped either team from generating consistent go-forward. However, Tonga’s pack eventually started to gain the ascendency as Papua New Guinea spent a lengthy period working hard to get out of their own end.
A penalty provided the Kumuls with free passage up the field and, again, a Katoa hand is all that stopped them from scoring a second. The Tongan winger couldn’t stop the next shift, but the sideline could. The Kumuls went close twice in as many minutes as they continued to pick holes in the Tongan right side defence.
The game continued in an ebb and flow of Tongan dominance in yardage before providing Papua New Guinea with a relieving penalty until Tuimoala Lolohea broke the game open. His carry deep into the Kumuls half scrambled the defensive line and, most importantly, brought Alex Johnston into the tackle.
Where he would ideally be defending at A in good ball, Johnston filled in at marker leaving a gaping hole in behind the ruck. Koloamatangi almost put Siosiua Taukeiaho over the line in the previous attacking set. This time, he engaged the A defender as he came off the line and put Moeaki Fotuaika back into the gap.
Perhaps with an eye on halftime as Tonga’s middle dominance started to take it’s toll, fatigue started to catch up with Papua New Guinea as they conceded a heartbreaker just before the break. Isaiya Katoa – on debut and without an NRL appearance to his name – backed up a Moses Suli break out of yardage to score under the posts and take Tonga into the sheds with an 18-6 lead.
Papua New Guinea needed to wrestle back some control to start the second half.
Enter: Edwin Ipape.
Like the first half, Tonga started the second on the back foot. The Kumuls scored early, executed well in yardage, and compressed in the middle to keep a lid on the Tongan forward pack.
The similarities to the first half continued into Papua New Guinea’s missed opportunities. Ipape was involved again by installing himself down the short side before throwing a bullet to Rodrick Tai. Tai should have stepped in field against the much smaller Koula but instead went for the corner before the video referee decided the ball touched the sideline before touch in goal.
David Fifita’s introduction to the game provided Tonga with a much-needed boost. His destructive carries saved a handful of their yardage sets and he went close to scoring himself. The good ball attack – or lack thereof – left a lot to be desired as clunky shifts and misguided offloads made things easy for the Kumuls defence.
Koula then opened the door for Papua New Guinea with an error coming off his own line. From the scrum, the Kumuls finally executed on a left edge shift to level things up at 18-18 with 12 minutes to play.
Ipape played a key role in Papua New Guinea heading into the final ten minutes level, but it was his penalty that gave Katoa a chance to give Tonga the lead from 40 metres out. The youngster sent it wide giving both teams five minutes to find a winner.
It wasn’t how Kristian Woolf drew it up. It’s perhaps the ugliest field goal set you’ll ever see. So ugly that it ended with Siosuia Taukeiaho putting in a grubber from ten metres out. But it ended with Koloamatangi getting to the ball first and securing the 24-18 win.
It looked like the best game of Round 1 on paper and produced the goods on the day. The Kumuls impressed before an unfortunate end. For Tonga, they have a lot of work to do if they’re to play up to the expectations set for them at this Rugby League World Cup. They played with an uncharacteristic lack of intensity along with the usual lack of direction with the ball in this one. They looked unstoppable when rolling but struggled when the Kumuls matched them.
Nonetheless, Mate Ma’a Tonga is on the board.
Key Takeaways
Edwin Ipape and the PNG spine
Ipape stood out as the key figure in this Kumuls spine. Lachlan Ilias looked dangerous at times while Kyle Laybutt produced a typically solid performance at five-eighth. Alex Johnston popped up in promising positions, too. However, it was a scheming Ipape at dummy half and when sweeping around to the short side that offered the most in attack.
He should have thrown a lovely try assist to Tai in the corner and constantly engaged the markers when the Kumuls controlled the ruck. He’s going to have a big say on whether or not Papua New Guinea earn a spot in the Rugby League World Cup quarterfinals.
Keaon Koloamatangi at hooker?
In a year we’ve seen Sam McIntyre spend time at hooker for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL, we’ve just seen Keaon Koloamatangi start the match at dummy half.
While Koloamatangi offered acceptable service, the pack moved better with the introduction of Soni Luke and Koloamatangi’s move to lock.
The Tongan spine has always had a question mark over it. While the halves combination is young and developing, the hooker position is now one they need to start finding some quality.
Tonga’s right-edge defence
The Kumuls exposed Tonga’s right-edge defence a few times in this one. Twice it took a Katoa hand to stop them from scoring in the corner. The touchline stopped another. Tui Lolohea will be a target for attacking teams throughout the Rugby League World Cup. Bringing him into two or three tackles in a set before setting up in the middle and sending a lead runner at Lolohea’s inside shoulder with Alex Johnston sweeping around the back is something I expect to see in the coming weeks. Lolohea isn’t quick enough laterally and slows down with fatigue. Will Penisini didn’t always follow him in on those lead runners early enough either.
Woolf spent a lot of time scribbling in his notepad throughout the game. I’d image the disconnect of the right edge defence was one of those notes.
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Rugby League World Cup Round 1 Results
England 60 def. Samoa 6
Australia 42 def. Fiji 8
Ireland 48 def. Jamaica 2
New Zealand 34 def. Lebanon 12
Tonga 24 def. Papua New Guinea 18