Hooker Ray Niuia scored three tries from the lineup while Samoa bounced back 18-3 in the first half to beat Tonga 34-18 and remain undefeated after two rounds of the Pacific Nations Cup.
Niuia’s third attempt gave Samoa their first lead in the match after 52 minutes in Lautoka, Fiji, and an interception try in the center-forward Tumua Manu helped seal Samoa’s victory. Backrower Theo McFarland completed a five-try turn with a try in the 76th minute.
Samoa will face Fiji next weekend, which will likely decide the winner of the tournament, although in Saturday’s subsequent match, Fiji was defeated 32-18 by Australia A.
Tonga entered the match after a 36-0 first-round defeat to Fiji, while Samoa’s confidence had increased with their 31-26 victory over a strong Australian A team.
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Samoa were the favorites from that first performance and their world ranking of 14, compared to Tonga of 16. But Tonga shook Samoa with a bold performance in the first half in which they scored their first two tries of the tournament.
After an early period in which they resisted and repelled Samoa’s attacks with a solid defense, Tonga gained a small surplus of possession and created rehearsals for center Fetuli Paea and the blockade of Veikoso Poloniati. They were aided by Samoa’s defense who missed 11 innings in the first half.
Brett Phibbs / PHOTOSPORT
Ray Niuia, photographed playing Moana Pasifika against the Brumbies, scored three tries in Samoa’s victory over Tonga (ARCHIVE PHOTO).
Moana Pasifika’s Niuia scored the first of his hat-trick just before the break, while Samoa found a point in the game thanks to the skill of his lineout.
The powerful hooker scored again in the 45th and 52nd minutes of the second half, while Tonga was left with 14 men with Poloniati in the sin-bin.
“Full credit in Tonga. When we saw them before we knew exactly what the top 20 would come with,” Samoa captain Michael Ala’alatoa said. “We were too slow out of the box and let them play their game.
“Credit to our guys. We went back to our set piece and our set piece worked well for us. Our line-up game was something we supported throughout the game and regained our momentum.”
Ala’alatoa said Samoa’s coach had an extra briefing during the break, and after that his players had solid organization.
“In those first 20 we had our heads in our hands,” he said. “We were concentrating on the mistakes we made in the past. We had to be in the moment, focus on what we have in front of us and when we did we played really well.”
Tonga advanced with two early penalties to the first five eighth James Faiva. They then put up with two dangerous attacks from Samoa, one from a line-up play, before AJ Alatimu kicked Samoa’s first points.
A slight backward movement led to Tonga’s first attempt, which was finished off by Paea, who took a long pass from midfielder Afusipa Taumoepeau before scoring in the left corner.
After 28 minutes, Poloniati sent a free kick in high over the penalty box.
Niuia’s Samoa tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn’t get past the visitors’ defenders. the last essay.