Hundreds of Tongan rugby league fans gathered in central Auckland on Sunday evening to celebrate their team and protest its controversial semi-final loss.
- Referees boss defends Andrew Fifita call
- Thousands of Tongan fans sign petition calling for referee explanation
Mt Smart pulled in its biggest rugby league crowd in more than 22 years for Saturday night's match, a 20-18 win for England over Mate Ma'a Tonga.
In the final phase of the game, hopes of a Tongan victory were crushed when a try claimed by Tonga's Andrew Fifita was disallowed.
At around 6pm on Sunday evening, several hundred people assembled on Queen Street wearing red and waving Tongan flags after a callout was posted on Facebook.
"We have decided to lodge a protest due to the most disgraceful biased refereeing we have ever seen," the event description read.
"We will be starting the march at the wharf going to Aotea Square and finishing off at the Grand Mercure Hotel."
The march comes after more than 45,000 signed a petition asking officials to explain why, in such a critical moment, the video referee wasn't called on.
"We're here to protest against the ref," one Tongan fan said. "He made a wrong decision. And we're here to show love to Tonga. Go Tonga!"
"We're here to celebrate with everyone. Tonga lost but everyone still has one heart and everyone's still united. Bad call ref, bad call ref," another fan said.
Police say there were no major incidents - a contrast with other recent post-match celebrations.
Central Auckland was filled with singing, dancing, and toots of support late into Sunday evening.
Newshub.
