'What a relief': Tonga regained their spirits after qualifying for the Rugby World Cup

“Relief” was a word that was heard over and over again in the Tonga camp after they beat Hong Kong 44-22 at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Kawana Waters on Saturday.

Key points:

• Tonga scored six tries to three against Hong Kong
• Captain Sonatane Takulua stars in three trials for Tonga
• Tonga enjoys great audience support on the Sunshine Coast

The win means Tonga have secured their place at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. The Tongas will join Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Romania in Pool B next year.

“I was very emotional inside. I tried not to show my emotions but it’s a relief to win,” Tonga captain Sonatane Takulua said after the match.

When the full-time siren sounded, the red sea erupted and tears flowed easily.

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Even for the Tongan supporters — who have a reputation for being the ‘extras’ — it’s on another level because it’s not about World Cup qualification: it’s about feeling like a winner again.

A fan hugs captain Sonatane Takulua (right) after Tonga’s emphatic win over Hong Kong.(ABC News: Ali Almond)

Tonga had lost their previous three games in the Pacific Nations Cup, with their trio of star players proving to be successful.

Israel Folau has been sidelined for months with a hamstring injury after playing just 30 minutes in Fiji.

Malakai Fekitoa returns to his Irish club with a calf problem and Charles Piutau is only committed to two Pacific Nations games, one of which was Tonga’s shock 30-0 loss to Fiji.

It was starting to feel like a curse on ‘Ikale Tahi.

But all that was left was a memory as the curtains closed in the entertaining clash with Hong Kong on Saturday night.

Takulua was an inspiration as he led Tonga by example.(Getty Images/World Rugby: Peter Wallis)

Tonga made an aggressive start – perhaps too aggressively – with two attempts disallowed in the first 10 minutes after knock-on and obstruction play.

But it didn’t take long for Takulua to place one on the jammed board, firing up the fray for the match’s first try.

Hong Kong hit back immediately and scored his first attempt with some fine passes that saw prostitute Alex Post hit a five-pointer in the corner.

Takulua continued to lead from the front, quickly scoring his second try in the same manner as the first.

It looked like people were watching a real rugby game.

Tonga tightens his grip

There was little drama in the first half after an interesting sprint from Hong Kong fullback Nate De Thierry which saw the game move to Tonga 22.

In securing the game, Tongan hooker Siua Maile illegally tried to slow the ball in the fray and was shown a yellow card, leaving his team with 14 men for 10 minutes.

The Tongan flag is seen around the Sunshine Coast Stadium.(ABC News: Ali Almond)

Gregor McNeish scored a penalty, closing the gap on the scoreboard to just nine points.

Nonetheless, Hong Kong stuck in a defensive pattern of play and failed to capitalize on Tonga as a downhill player. Hong Kong did not score again in the first half.

At this point, the Tongans felt so confident that they began to make creative decisions, such as throwing a 150-kilogramme Ben Tameifuna into the line-out, which took some eyebrows by surprise.

The Tongas came flying out of the blocks in the second half with two tries in the opening 10 minutes.

First Takulua scored his hat-trick, then a textbook sent Siegfried Fisi’ihoi over the line. The score is now 30-8.

A scrum saved multiple penalties across 22 opponents for Tonga, with Telusa winger Veainu completing a set piece, before fellow winger Anzelo Tuitavuki scored a try after the 65-metre line crossed the flank.

This is the last try for Tonga. William Havili made his fourth conversion of the game, with the score changing to 44-8.

Havili has also scored two penalty goals in the first half.

The last 10 minutes of the game were exciting.

First, Tima Fainga’anuku dealt a big blow to Hong Kong captain Josh Hrstich with the kind of tackle that Pacific Islanders fear.

You could hear the thud from the stands and Hrstich was left lying on the ground.

Hong Kong continued to fight, despite knowing the match was over.

Winger Matthew Worley scored two late attempts which were converted, making it 44-22 for Tonga.

The victory means a lot to the loyal Tonga support group.(ABC News: Ali Almond)

Tonga’s set-pieces, scrums and mauls all feature elite-level clinical rugby. Tonga’s front and back were stunning, only outperforming Hong Kong.

When the Little Kingdom diaspora returned home on Saturday night, all of Bibi, Fa’e, Tami, and Tamai were smiling broadly because they knew sleeping would be easy that night.

Their son was victorious again.

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