WATCH: Tongan fans show how pumped they are to have rugby back with bizarre celebration
They love their rugby over in Tonga!
Dan Carter’s French club Racing 92 side have beaten the defending Super Rugby champions the Highlanders 45-38 in a frenetic match in Hong Kong.
The scores were tied 38-all with 10 minutes to go before Racing 92 broke the deadlock when the Highlanders couldn’t stop a rolling maul crossing the line for a try to another former All Black Chris Masoe.
Racing scored seven tries to the Highlanders’ six.
Carter, who retired from international rugby after last year’s World Cup, started second five-eighth for his new Paris-based club.
He kicked a conversion before half-time but then didn’t return for the second half.
The match was billed as a clash of styles between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Racing are in the middle of their season while the match was a warm-up for the Highlanders as they prepare to defend their 2015 Super Rugby title.
The club said it was valuable hit-out to shake off the cobwebs with the majority of the squad getting a run.
The side moves from the bright lights of Hong Kong to a paddock at Waimumu, near Gore, on Thursday for another pre-season match, this time against the Crusaders.
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They love their rugby over in Tonga!
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