Tonga secures its second win at Rugby League World Cup

Tonga recorded its second win at the Rugby League World Cup on Friday night, beating Lebanon 36-0 in Sydney.

With over 10,000 fans in the 'Sea of Red', the side kept their hopes of securing a semi-final spot alive with the win.

That came on the back of their first round victory over England in the first round.

Three first half tries gave them a 14-0 lead at half-time, before they added to that in the second half.

They ended the game with seven tries to their name.

But it was not their way all the time, with Lebanon showing strong resistance in the game, denying the Tongans early in the first half with some good defensive work.

The Cedars were also unlucky not to have scored any point in the first 40, with some close saves by Tonga off their line.

Co-captains Jason Taumalolo and Addin Fonua-Blake led the forward drives for Tonga, supported well by Salesi Foketi, Stefano Utoikamanu, Haumole Olakau'atu and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki.

Their backline of Lehi Hopoate, Sione Katoa, Tolutau Koula, Paul Alamoti, Jojo Fifita, Tuimoala Lolohea and Latu Fainu ran the ball at every opportunity they had.

Lebanon's attacks were led by winger Jason Saab, Khaled Rajab and Alex Conti at the back, while the forwards of Jaxson Rahme, Moustafa Dirani, James Roumanos, Tony Sukkar, Mikael Ibrahim and captain Alex Twal tried their best to gain territory with their runs.

Tonga's defence, which stood out against England last weekend, proved to the difference again against Lebanon in the end.

That told in the fact that they managed to stop Lebanon from crossing for tries.

Reaction by captains

Tongan co-captain Taumalolo said the win and the overall performance was great, especially with their fans backing them.

"To both Lebanese and Tongan fans tonight, despite the results, it's great to see two countries who love where they come from and what they are about come out here and celebrate tonight in rugby league," Taumalolo said.

"Obviously a lot to like about the performance.

"We still had our defence, obviously carrying on from last week. It's good to see the guys putting that on the line.

"Obviously abit slow out there at the start but finally picked up towards the back end .

"Thank you to our Tongan fans who turned up in numbers tonight."

He said the players love playing in front of the red flags and said they will rest and move their focus to Samoa, who they play next week.

Lebanon captain Alex Twal said he was proud of his players, adding that the Tongan team was an all-star team who deserved the win.

"Couldn't be more proud of the boys," he said post-match.

"Our boys are all hard workers, boys who just wanna play for the jersey.

"I don't think the scoreline reflects how the game really went. I couldn't be prouder to be Lebanese tonight and I couldn't be prouder of my Cedar brothers."

Twal said he will back Tonga all the way now.

"Individually they are probably some of the best players in their clubs you know," he said.

"We came here with a lot of respect and the way you show respect to them is you play hard and play tough.

"I will be supporting Tonga all the way , they are a proud nation and I think we see here today how the people get behind them, it's an amazing spectacle."

How the game went

Tonga started scoring with winger Katoa in the 13th minute, finishing off in the corner after he received a cut out pass from fullback Hopoate.

Alamoti finished off another Tongan attack eight minutes later, with the ball travelling from left to right, before Lolohea drew the defence to him and letting the ball go wide. Alamoti jogged to the line with the ball in hand to claim Tonga's second try for the half.

Koula then sprinted the full length of the field after he got the ball from Lebanese winger Saab, who had knocked it back after he climbed high on the Tongan line to collect Conti's high kick.

Alamoti's conversion saw Tonga lead 14-0 at halftime.

The second half started with Jojo Fifita claiming Tonga's fourth try in the 43rd minute.

But Lebanon managed to get themselves back into the game and defended Tonga's attacks successfully, holding the island kingdom warriors at bay until the 70th minute when Lolohea's flat pass found replacement Leka Halasima, who beat the defensive line to touch down.

Tonga led 24-0 heading into the last 10minutes with Lolohea's goal kick.

In the 74th minute Hopoate claimed a high ball on the Tonga 10 metre and sliced his way through the Lebanese line, before he was taken in Conti's tackle.

The ball went right and an overlap saw Fifita finishing off with his second try, which Lolohea converted for a 28-0 lead.

Katoa got his name on the scoresheet for the second time with a minute to go, running on to a Lolohea grubber for the corner, catching the ball on the bounce and running in unchallenged for Tonga seventh try.

Lolohea had the last say with his conversion, to take the 36-0 lead.

Tonga made nine line-breaks against Lebanon's one in the game, while possession was almost equally shared.

Tonga controlled the open play with 10 dummy passes

But they made 16 errors against Lebanon's eight.