Tonga

Having played at Waikato Stadium last Saturday, where they beat Samoa 32-18, Tonga have remained in Hamilton all week as they prepare to play New Zealand at the same venue, allowing for an ideal build up for the match which will decide who tops Pool B.

Tonga sealed their second win in the tournament against Samoa on Saturday night at a packed-out FMG Stadium in Hamilton.

The stadium was a sea of colours as fans showed up to sing, cheer and dance for their Pacific teams. 

Woolf says the experience was one of a kind and it proves that Pacific teams are worth the investment.

"The first step I think is putting on more games. We'd love to play Samoa every year and I know they'd love to play us every year and I'm sure the fans would love to see that as well."

With a 32-18 win over Samoa on Saturday night, Tonga made it two wins from two at the tournament and assured themselves of advancing beyond the group stage for the first time in five attempts dating back to 1995.

The victory in front of over 18,000 fans at Waikato Stadium was also just the second time Tonga have tasted victory over their Pacific neighbours in a rugby league Test match, with coach Kristian Woolf happy for his men to celebrate before re-focussing for their final pool game against New Zealand.

A commanding performance from Tonga's star forward pack laid the platform, and off the back of it they starved Samoa of the ball and took full advantage of their opposition's sloppy errors to score five tries.

The team that was the talk of the World Cup prior to the tournament kicked off due to the high-profile inclusions of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita wasted no time to show that what is on paper will transfer to the field, Michael Jennings scoring the opening four-pointer of his first half hat-trick inside the first three minutes.

All eyes were on forwards Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita, both playing their first match for Tonga since turning their backs on New Zealand and Australia, but the duo only played the first 20 minutes of the match.

Samoa and Solomons Men met for the first time for many years and it provided a close tussle. 

At the conclusion of the match it was a 2 all draw.

To find the winner involved the first shootout competition of the tournament.

Exciting goalkeeping kept the score 1-1 as different strikers had their turns however, it was in sudden death that Samoa, in their first Hockey5s shootout broke the deadlock to take the game.

The highlight game in the women's section was the match between Samoa and Fiji. Samoa really challenged Fiji and the match ended 6-4 to Fiji. 

Wilex Samoa, a 100% locally owned family business, is showcase its delicately crafted KOKO LOA brand of chocolates.

The KOKO LOA is a new boutique cocoa brand that proudly celebrates its Samoan origins.

Elife’s Samoa Wild Tumeric is another Samoan product that will be promoted at the show this weekend.

Rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, Elife’s Samoa Wild Turmeric Juice is uniquely prepared with alkaline ionised water to ensure you experience its unique and natural flavour, without the interference of additives and preservatives.

King Tupou VI last week made the decision to declare elections a year early, an effective vote of no confidence in Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva.

Mr Pohiva's government will continue in an interim role until the elections, set down for November 16.

His cabinet met yesterday, before a brief statement was read on the country's public radio.

It provided no reaction to the decision, except to say that the administration of government services will continue.

Already out of contention for the semi-final stage, competition debutants American Samoa will be out to cause an upset when they face Tonga in the opening match of the day. Tonga need a strong win – and Cook Islands to defeat Fiji – to equalise with Fiji on points and overtake the Melanesian nation on goal difference.

Feeling positive after claiming their first point of the competition on Monday, Tonga coach Lafaela Moala has put Cook Islands and Fiji’s encounter out of his mind and is keeping focus on repeating the impressive performance Tonga gave against Fiji.