Manu Samoa have one hand on a spot at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, defeating Tonga 42-13 at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday.
Despite a physical first half with no tries scored, Samoa came to life in the second spell, scoring five tries to one to overwhelm Tonga.
Tonga though will have the chance for revenge in the repeat fixture next Saturday, with the second leg of the World Cup qualifier to be played in Hamilton next weekend.
After an error-ridden start to the encounter from both sides, Tonga grabbed the lead midway through the first half via the boot of captain Sonatane Takalua, only for Samoa to hit back and level scores six minutes later through Henry Taefu.
Both sides continued to trade kicks, with Taumatene missing another shot at goal in the 30th minute, before the Taefu put Samoa ahead 6-3 before halftime.
Samoa looked to have scored the first try of the match through replacement halfback Jonathan Taumateine, only to see it ruled out through the TMO for a loose carry in the build up.
Even with the disallowed try, Samoa took their three-point advantage into halftime.
But while the first half saw neither side refuse to budge, the second spell saw the match come to life, as both teams opened up.
Taefu added three more points to his side's advantage with another penalty to begin the second half, before Samoa went over for the first try of the match.
With some quick hands out wide from Taefu and Ben Nee Nee, Samoa sent hooker Ray Niuia over in the corner, with the successful conversion pushing the score out to 16-9.
Not long after, Samoa were in again as Alamanda Motuga crashed over from close range to extend their lead to 21-3, before Tonga hit back through a try to Viliami Taulani.
Playing under advantage, the Tongan replacement forward was in the right place to pick-and-go at the Samoan tryline, showing off his strength to hold off Taumatene to score next to the posts.
With Tonga threatening a comeback, Samoa clicked into gear, putting their opposition to the sword with back-to-back tries.
Having impressed with the boot, Taefu showed off his running game, beating one defender and bumping off another to score on the left wing, before replacement back Ed Fidow crossed over for the try of the night.
A crossfield kick from Rodney Yona found Fidow on the right flank, seeing him cut back inside and step the oncoming defender for his side's fourth try of the night.
In less than 10 minutes, Samoa had extended their lead from 28-10 to 35-13.
Tonga's cause was hindered in the final 10 minutes, as Taulani was shown a yellow card for being offside, defending on his own tryline, and meaning his side would finish the contest with 14 men.
With the numerical advantage, Samoa added their fifth try of the night, again coming on the left wing. Moving the ball through the hands, Stacey Ili finished off in the corner as Teafu added another conversion to put his side up 42-13.
And despite a late chance after the siren, Tonga couldn't score again, leaving themselves with a 29 point gap to make up in Hamilton if they're to book a spot at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The two sides will meet again next week in the second leg of the qualifier, as the side with the highest aggregate score sealing that World Cup berth.
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