The Tonga national rugby league team beat England 30-12 in Perth on Saturday, 17 October. It was Tonga's first win over England, after six straight defeats. The seventh try was the charm, and Haumole Olakau'atu scored twice to lead it.
Perth turned on a three-minute burst
England ran the ball hard for the first half-hour at HBF Park. They played under George Williams and made chance after chance. Tonga held firm, then struck first through Stefano Utoikamanu, sent clear by an Isaiya Katoa pass.
Two Katoa penalty goals pushed Tonga to a 10-0 lead at the break. After the restart, Hugo Savala broke through and set up AJ Brimson, who cut the gap to four. Then a penalty for a high shot on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak swung the game back to Tonga.
Tonga scored twice in three minutes, turning a 10-6 edge into 22-6. Olakau'atu and Tolutau Koula crossed in back-to-back sets. Dom Young replied for England, but Olakau'atu sealed it by pouncing on a Katoa grubber near the end.
Katoa kicked three conversions and four penalty goals. The crowd of 18,302 cheered them on, most of them backing Tonga.
Revenge for the 2017 semi-final
The win avenged a two-point loss to England in the 2017 World Cup semi-final. England won that game 20-18 in Auckland, after leading 12-0 at the break. Andrew Fifita looked to have scored a late winner, but the referee ruled a knock-on.
That semi-final had stood as Tonga's best World Cup result since their debut in 1995. "It's a big thing to get up and beat tier-one nations," coach Kristian Woolf said. He added that the longer the game went, the better his side became.
England's Brian McDermott, in his first match in charge, felt his team had stuck with Tonga for most of the contest. The result left Tonga in pole position to reach the semi-final. They next play Lebanon in Sydney on 23 October.
