Final score: Kangaroos 12 16 Tonga XIII
Tonga XIII 16 (Hopoate, Jennings, Pangai Junior tries; Staggs 2 conv) beat Australia 12 (Cotric, Trbojevic treis, Mitchell 2 conv)
Wrap: Wow ... just wow. Look it says Tonga invitational but this is the legit No.1 side and they have now beaten all top tier nations in the last two years. They were the best team by a mile in the second half .... the Kangaroos looked unsettled and intimidated ... they had no direction and aside from Tedesco they had no intent. The Kangaroos win the Oceania Cup but Tonga have won bragging rights and are now a legit force in international rugby league. Standouts for Tonga were Staggs, Lolohea, who looks like a new player, Taumalolo and Murdoch-Masila who was best on show for me. Will Hopoate was also very very good.
Fulltime - That is it! An amazing game comes to an end and an historic win for Tonga! They deserve it.
79mins - Oh my god! Australia have blown it. Crazy play on the last as the ball goes left and right with offloads and desperate tackles ... Vaughan ends up kicking from himself .. the ball recounds and the Kangaroos have a four man overlap but Cherry-Evans throws an awful pass and the ball floats out.
78mins - Big chance now for the Kangaroos ... Hurrell goes for an intercept on the 30m line .. if he takes it he scores but he can't hold on. Scrum Kangaroos.
77mins - Professional set from the Tongans ... Lolohea finds touch on the Australian 30m line. Great run from Taumalolo got Tonga out of trouble on that set.
76mins - Pressure annd Munster has crumbled. Tedesco with a barnstorming run has them within 10m....they shift right and Munster is almost through ... take the tackle mate..... but he pops an awful pass...just dreadful and it floats forward with three tackles left. Dumb dumb dumb from Munster.
75mins - Chance for Australia now ... the attack from 40m after a Tongan mistake.
74mins - Staggs hammers it and he has the distance but he pushes it to the left. 20m dropout for the Kangaroos.
73mins - Kangaroos only make 30m ... Cherry-Evans kicks and Hopoate runs it back....and Tonga win a penalty on tackle four. They are 38m out. Frizell pinged for slowing the ruck down and Staggs will have a shot at goal.
72mins - Dumb play on the last from Havili ... he goes himself from dummy half but is wrapped up by four defenders.
70mins - Oh Lolohea goes so close ... on the last he grubbers for himself and he looks to be winning the race ... the ball just bounces away from him and Tedesco forces the ball. Line dropout.
68mins - Tonga will get another set .. Lolohea kicks on the last .. it rebounds off Cordner but Mitchell toes ahead and the ball floats out over the sideline. Scrum Tonga 30m out.
67mins - Repeat set for Tonga .... Lolohea with the grubber for Jennings and Wighton can only knock the ball dead.
66mins - Wighton drops the ball in contact and Tupou is away! .... great scramble and Tedesco halls him down on halfway.
65mins - Big chance Kangaroos .... they get a repeat set after a knock on from Fusitu'a. Hot on attack Australia.
62mins - Magnificent defence Tonga ... Kangaroos rolling into the red zone ... Cherry-Evans creates half a chance and finds Cotric but four Tongans scramble superbly and gang tackle him over the sideline. Scrum Tonga on their own 20m.
61mins - Australia swing left and right but can't find the gap. Cherry-Evans on tackle four has lost the ball forward in a tackle from Hurrell ... the line speed of Tonga has been excellent in the second spell.
59mins - Big scramble on the last .... Cherry-Evans goes high and Cotric bats it back ... Trbojevic grubbers for Addo-Carr but Hurrell manages to beat him to the ball and punch the ball over the touchline. Line dropout Tonga.
57mins - Good set from Australia .... Cherry-Evans kicks high on the last but Fusitu'a leaps high and pulls it in under the challenge from Addo-Carr.
54mins - Try Tonga: Tevita Pangai Junior: Wow - they are all over the Kangaroos. Taukeiaho goes close from 30m out with a charging run ... quick play the ball and havili goes short to Pangai Junior who crashes over to score close to the posts. Staggs converts ... Kangaroos look intimidated. TON 16-12.
51mins - Ofahenguae floors Mitchell with a hell of a hit and he loses the ball in contact. Tongan scrum 30m out.
50mins - Lolohea's high ball is ridiculous and Tonga win the ball back .. Tedesco let it bounce. Tonga on the attack .... Hurrell knocks the ball on with two tackles up their sleave ... Scrum Kangaroos.
47mins - Great set after points ... Kangaroos pinned down inside their 10 but a good run from Wighton gets them out of trouble.
45mins - Try Tonga: Michael Jennings - That's a great set play ... out the back for Lolohea ... he shifts left to Pangai Junior who creates an overlap .. over the top pass to Jennings who goes in, then out to score in the corner . Lolohea can't convert. AUS 12-10.
44mins - Australia at sixes and sevens in defence as the Tongans throw the ball around .... Staggs gaps for the line on tackle four but Tedesco and Cherry-Evans stop the try. Tedesco's tackle looks high though. Yep - it's a no try but a penalty for Tonga ... could have been a penalty try but not this time.
43mins - Lolohea with a superb up and under that has Addo-Carr in fits but he just holds onto it ... Mitchell hammered on tackle two and Tonga have the ball back ... 20m out. They win a penalty .... and will go on the attack.
42mins - Tonga's set was good but the Kangaroos march up field ... on the last they shift left but Munster's pass is dropped by Mitchell with Lolohea right on him.
Second-half - Mitchell gets us back underway .... Fifita runs it back for Tonga.
Halftime - That'll be it ... good defence from Tonga in that last 10mins to hold out the Kangaroos. Will Hopoate has been excellent so far while Tedesco and Mitchell look dangerous for Australia.
39mins - Katoa with a poor pass from dummmy half and Staggs can't handle. Kangaroos will have one last attack from 30m out. They earn a drop out with 30 seconds on the clock.
37mins - Kangaroos run on the last through Mitchell down the left ... he kicks inside for Cherry-Evans but Hopoate is there again. Murray gives away a silly penalty on tackle four.
36mins - That's a great set from the Tongans ... Staggs grubbers on the last for Jennings but Tedesco is there and Australia have possesion inside their 10m.
34mins - Murdoch-Masila strips Cordner on tackle three and then wins his side a penalty.
33mins - They run on the last through Staggs ... Tupou is away .. inside ball travels forward though and that's a handover on halfway.
32mins - Hopoate does well yet again on a high kick....Tonga need to settle now and work this to a kick.
30mins - Try Australia: Paul Vaughan - Too easy. Cook darts from dummy half and finds a charging Paul Vaughan 3m out ... he hits and spins in the Pangai Junior tackle and scores next to the posts. Mitchell converts. AUS 12-6.
29mins - Sione Katoa pinged on tackle five for a high shot ... silly. Kangaroos on attack inside the 20.
27mins - Try Australia: Jack Wighton - Payne Haas makes an impact ... he crabs across field and draws the attention of four defenders .... inside pass to Wighton he goes in and out and beats two to score close to the posts. Mitchell converts. 6-6.
25mins - Penalty against the run of play for Australia. Lolohea kicks on the last and the ball rebounds of Mitchell ... he gets a lucky bounce and regathers ... finds Addo-Carr but the cover is there....but too skow to get up. Kangaroos on attack.
24mins - Great set from Tonga after points .... Good kick to finish from Lolohea and the Kangaroos work it back from their own 10.
20mins - Try Tonga: Will Hopoate - Taumalolo breaks the defensive line and makes a good 20m...quick play the ball for Havili...he finds Hopoate who sights a gap and gasses the defence to score from 10m out under the dot. Lolohea converts. TON 6-0.
18mins - Hoppate and Jennings combine to put Tupou away down the left but the cover is good....Tonga shift right on the last but Fusitu'a is bundled out on the 20m kline ... hospital pass from Hurrell.
17mins - Hopoate does superbly well to pull in a dangerous high kick from Cherry-Evans and defuse the danger for Tonga.
16mins - Mistake from Tonga now .... Lolohea finds a charging Taumalolo but he's hammered by Cordner and that forces the ball free. Defensive scrum Kangaroos.
14mins - Mistake from Damian Cook .... he ruushes out from dummy half and finds Tedesco in space but the pass was forward. Tonga have a scrum just inside Australian territory.
13mins - Tonga's defence stands up to the test .... they will work the ball out from their own line.
10mins - Tonga look dangerous but can't break the line ... Lolohea on the last with the bomb for Fusitu'a but he loses the ball forward and Mitchell breaks out ... inside ball to Tedesco but he's taken on halfway. Penalty Kangaroos for slowing the ball down.
7mins - Australia attack with intent. Munster and Cherry-Evans combine for a 30m run .... on the last Cherry-Evans grubbers but Hopoate does well to get back into the field of play. Penalty Tonga on the 4th and they will have a full set in Kangaroos territory.
5mins - Mistake from Fonua-Blake on tackle four with his side on attack ... he coughs up possesion trying to offload and the Kangaroos are let off the hook. Australia marches up field ... Cherry-Evans kicks on the last but well cleaned up by Jennings.
4mins - Great defence Kangaroos .... they hold a rampant Tonga out. Fusitu'a crashes over on the last but the pass from Hurrell is ruled forward .... borderline call.
2mins - Tonga have the ball in good field position ... great set too. Staggs with the bomb.....Cotric takes it but is smashed over the sideline and Tonga have a full set 5m out.
Kick-off: Tui Lolohea gets us underway ..... it's a great kick too - bounces into the in-gial and Papalii is met just in front of his own goal line.
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7:42pm -Saliva Havili leads the Sip Tau - it's awesome.
7:40pm - Eden Park is a sea of red as the national anthem of Tonga rings out - absolute scenes.
7:35pm - Players are on their way out .... superb reaction for the Tongan side.
7:13pm - Lovely conditions in Auckland tonight .... the Kiwis have edged Great Britain. You can check the highlights out here.
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Kia ora, good afternoon and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the rugby league international test between the Kangaroos and Tonga Invitational XIII.
Both sides are coming off fantastic victories last weekend with Australia thrashing the Kiwis and the Tongans edging Great Britain.
Australia: 1-James Tedesco, 2-Josh Addo-Carr, 3-Latrell Mitchell, 4-Jack Wightin, 5-Nick Cotric, 6-Cameron Munster, 7-Daly Cherry-Evans, 8-Josh Papalii, 9-Damien Cook, 10-David Klemmer, 11-Boyd Cordner, 12-Tyson Frizell, 13-Jake Trbojevic
Interchange: 14-Cameron Murray, 15-Payne Haas, 16-Paul Vaughan, 17-Wade Graham
Tonga Invitational XIII: 1-Will Hopoate, 2-David Fusitu'a, 3-Michael Jennings, 4-Konrad Hurrell, 5-Daniel Tupou, 6-Tui Lolohea, 21-Kotoni Staggs, 8-Andrew Fifita, 9-Siliva Havili, 10-Siosiua Taukeiaho, 11-Ben Murdoch-Masila, 12-Manu Ma'u, 13-Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14-Sione Katoa, 15-Addin Fonua-Blake, 19-Tevita Pangai Junior, 17-Joe Ofahenguae
TAB Odds: Australia $1.11, Tonga XIII $6.20
Tonga Invitational XIII overpower Great Britain
The Tonga Invitational XIII put off-field dramas aside to stun Great Britain 14-6 in Hamilton in a frightening display of physicality and flair, before their clash with the Kangaroos next week.
Instability back home threatened to ruin the tremendous work done by the Pacific nation over the past couple of years, but board tensions were quickly forgotten, as the players flexed their muscles against a Lions side that was outplayed from start to finish.
Emotions were running high in Hamilton, after Siliva Havili led a stirring rendition of the 'Sipi Tau' challenge, but the surge in adrenaline backfired, as Tui Lolohea sent the kick-off sailing out on the full.
It would be his only blemish in a dazzling first-half display, as the former NZ Warrior took control of the Tongan attack with several pinpoint kicks and then featured heavily on the half-hour mark, when the men in red shifted the ball brilliantly after a Great Britain error and Michael Jennings broke the deadlock.
Tonga should have extended their lead minutes later, when Manu Ma'u charged onto a short ball, but the Hull-bound enforcer was stunned by a crunching shot from Gareth Widdop, which jolted the ball free over the line.
But they needn't have worried, as Sione Katoa capped off a dream first half to finish off one of the greatest tries in rugby league history.
A seemingly broken play after the half-time siren turned into a move the Harlem
Globetrotters would have been proud of, as a flurry of flick passes and offloads ended in the hands of Jennings, who found his nuggety hooker with an inch-perfect grubber to make it 12-0.
Lions coach Wayne Bennett would have been desperate to see a response from his
side after they were totally outplayed in the opening 40 minutes and the signs were promising, when Oliver Gildart went close to start the second half.
But errors and ill-discipline cruelled their chances and a piece of foul play fittingly pushed the margin out to 14 points, when Siosiua Taukeiaho slotted a simple penalty goal with 16 minutes remaining.
The scene was set for the visitors' star-studded spine to spark somewhat of a
comeback, but instead, Canberra star John Bateman slid over late to get his side on the board with a try that proved little more than a consolation.
Newshub.
