Pacific Championships: Kangaroos beat Tonga but work to be done

Australia defeated Tonga in the opening game of the Pacific Championships at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, prevailing 18-0 in an unconvincing performance by the world No.1 side.

Rugby league bookmakers had the Kangaroos as heavy $1.15 favourites to defeat Tonga, yet for large swaths of the match, Tonga looked the better team.

Tonga had the better of possession and territory in the opening half, with Australia surviving due to some desperate defence.

A Tom Trbojevic intercept was the only score of the first half, sending the Kangaroos into the sheds up 6-0 at halftime.

Soon after the break, a well-worked move put Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow over for Australia’s second, handing the hosts a 14-0 lead when Zac Lomax bagged a penalty soon after.

It seemed as though Tonga were back in the match when Keaon Koloamatangi dotted down a grubber by Tui Lolohea, until the try was disallowed due to a slight bobble over the line.

With time running out, Tonga’s play became more and more expansive, allowing Tom Dearden the opportunity to cross over once more in the dying minutes for an 18-0 final score that flattered the hosts.

Australian captain Isaah Yeo agreed that the scoreline was not reflective of how tough his side had it against Tonga.

“It was [a close game],” he said.

“We made it hard for ourselves in that first half. Think we played at 66-67% percent (completion rate), so we had to do a lot of tackling there.

“Obviously really happy with the nil.

“I thought they scrambled well.

“Really tight game until that last 5-10 minutes where we started to get a bit of ascendency.

“A lot to work on, but happy with the way we defended our line.”

Tongan second-rower Jason Taumalolo was also proud of how his side defended and is hoping for improvements next weekend.

“It was a tough game as we expected,” he said.

“Everything we expected against the Kangaroos.

“We kind of threw away a few opportunities there.

“I though defensively we were pretty sound.

“Overall, a bit rusty, but week one down, and hopefully we’ll build on tonight.”

Tonga will now need to win their next match against New Zealand to avoid playing in the relegation match against the winner of the Pacific Bowl.

Sports news