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WARRINGTON – It was a marketer’s dream. A packed house of passionate Pacific voices, intertwined with the local rusted-on rugby league public, watching two of the most star-studded line-ups go head to head. Then the game kicked off.
The sip tau v siva tau was as good as expected, and the game was even better. It was the best game of the tournament, by a distance, with Samoa edging it 20-18 after a brutal contest.
They never trailed and, in truth, it would have been harsh had Samoa lost – though, with Tonga pushing all the way to the last kick of the game, they very nearly did.
The improvement in Matt Parish’s men since losing 60-6 on the opening day of the World Cup has been swift, and they earned themselves another crack the hosts as a result. This will be their first ever semi-final, but they will not see it as mission accomplished.
It’s glib to talk about the cultural performance and not the footy but for the purposes of this tournament, that needed to happen. It’s international rugby league’s USP.
The game itself more than living up to the billing. The tries flowed early, as did the hits: one by Taylan May on Keaon Koloamatangi is already going around the world.
Tonga, as many expected they would, lacked the guile at the times when they needed it most. They ended up with Keaon Koloamatangi playing in the halves after Will Hopoate limped off
The physicality largely erred on the side of the law, though Joseph Suaalii was pinged for a high knee, a consistent flaw in his running style. The NRL judiciary have already looked into it, and the World Cup Match Review Panel will certainly look again.
The handling was not always what it could have been – given the contact going in, hardly surprising – but what lacked in execution was made up for in enthusiasm, with both extreme physicality and constant commitment to offloading and forcing play.
Jaydn Su’A started the scoring, finding the perfect line and weaving around Will Hopoate, who picked the worst moment to lose his footing.
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His timing returned moments later, however, as the Saints fullback came into the line and produced an excellent cutout pass for Daniel Tupou to cross.
Tonga might have had more, but more than once when Hopoate got into position to execute the same move, he was spotted up in defence or missed his target.
The Samoans gradually inched up the field and built considerable pressure, which paid off into points when Will Penisini made the perfect read, but missed the tackle and allowed Jarome Luai to score.
The traffic was one way, but the red wall did not break further. Instead, once Tonga got their chance, Soni Luke rolled a kick that Siosiua Taukeiaho touched down.
That was that for a bruising first half, and indeed for a while. Though the hits continued, the handling wavered.
The sides could only exchange penalty goals until the hour mark, when Suaalii smashed his way through the Tongan line. While he couldn’t get over himself, Mate Ma’a never regrouped and a simple kick saw Brian To’o move the lead out to 20-12.
Samoa at ample chances to ice the game, but with Tonga fraying, they managed to bring themselves back into it.
Koloamatangi, repurposed as a five eighth, gathered a loose ball and broke. Luai dragged him down, but Mosese Suli broke through and found Sione Katoa on his inside shoulder to set up the grandstand finish.
Tonga might well have nicked it, with David Fifita battering down the wing and forcing a six again, but a Lolohea kicked bounced Junior Paulo’s way and the game was theirs.
Lindsay Collins. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
Steel sharpens steel, says Kangaroos prop Lindsay Collins, who will aim to blunt the hopes of a New Zealand pack led by Sydney Roosters teammate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in their Rugby League World Cup semi-final.
Waerea-Hargreaves sat out the Kiwis’ 24-18 quarter-final win over Fiji with suspension and could now return for an all-Antipodean showdown at Elland Road on Friday (Saturday AEDT) with a place in the final up for grabs.
Collins credits Waerea-Hargreaves as his mentor and claims the Kiwi enforcer’s rough-and-tumble style has taught him the dark arts of front-row play.
“Jazz (Waerea-Hargreaves) has been doing it consistently for so many years,” Collins said.
“I have gotten closer to him and learned the tricks of the trade. It’s the cliche saying, but steel sharpens steel. If you want to be better then you’ve got to hang around with the best.
“He has been the best front-rower in the last decade, to go up against him in an international game it’s very exciting.”
Collins says that despite their tough-as-teak appearances, he and Waerea-Hargreaves spent a lot of time having “chats in the spa”.
He also claimed the Kangaroos wouldn’t need to bait the veteran Kiwis prop into making next weekend’s battle a heated one.
“I don’t think (it takes) much (to set him off),” Collins said. “You know what he’s going to bring. That’s a front-rower thing, the battle, you play footy to test yourself.”
There’s another good friend of Collins in the Kiwis side. Joey Manu is usually a centre with the Roosters but has arguably been the best fullback at this tournament.
It puts Manu on a collision course with Kangaroos and Roosters captain James Tedesco and while Collins was loath to compare the pair he said the Kiwi’s switch to fullback would pose his side problems.
“He (Manu) has been good, I’ve seen a lot of highlights,” Collins said. “It’s Joey being Joey, pulling s**t out of his back pocket.
“That’s what he does, that’s why we love him. For the Kiwis, having him around the ruck similar to what ‘Teddy’ does, then he’s swinging out the back of shape.
“He (Manu) is everywhere and they both do that really well. You’re in the thick of it, seeing pink elephants and you’ve got Joey running at you, it’s a bit daunting.”
With AAP