TONGA 36 LEBANON 0
EMMA KENNEDY, CommBank Stadium, Parramatta, Friday

SIONE KATOA and Jojo Fifita both scored doubles as Tonga overcame a stubborn Lebanon to maintain their unbeaten start to the tournament.

Crossing for three tries in the final ten minutes against a hard-working but tiring Cedars defence, it was a scoreline that perhaps flattered Tonga, who backed up last weekend’s victory over England with another 30-plus points haul.

Now, all attention turns to next Sunday’s mouth-watering clash with Samoa, likely to decide the teams that will progress to the semi-finals.

Tonga applied the early pressure after Lebanon were caught offside from a short kick-off, but it was the Cedars who saw the better of the early chances.

A Lehi Hopoate knock-on presented them with a gilt-edged opportunity, from which Khaled Rajab was stopped just short, with Jason Saab then fingertips away from grounding Alex Conti’s chip to the corner.

It was instead Tonga who opened the scoring just before the quarter-hour, Hopoate’s cut-out pass sending Katoa racing over out wide.

Despite losing Rajab to a hamstring injury, Lebanon looked to hit back immediately after forcing a drop-out, but Tonga were able to recover possession, paving the way for their second try.

The Cedars’ left-edge defence was again exploited far too easily, with Abbas Miski – playing in the second row instead of his favoured position on the wing – jumping out of the line too quickly, opening space for Paul Alamoti to profit from a neat right-side shift.

The centre added the extras, the only of his four attempts, opening a 10-0 lead.

Things almost got better for Tonga five minutes later when Fifita dived over from Tui Lolohea’s cross-field kick, but the try was disallowed for a knock-on.

Momentum began to swing back Lebanon’s way as a result, but though they continued to pepper the Tongan line, their heats were broken three minutes before the break when Saab batted back a Conti chip into the hands of Tolutau Koula, who raced the length of the field to score and send his side in at the break with a 14-0 advantage.

Having been frustrated by a stubborn Lebanon in the first half, Tonga raced out of the blocks in the second.

With Cedars defenders drawn in from a six-again, there was acres of space for Fifita to add his name to the scoresheet in the 44th minute.

But it was a similar story with the boot, Alamoti again dragging his attempt wide.

Lebanon were indebted to Saab, who put his 6ft 6in frame to good use with a stunning one-on-one tackle on Fifita, but Tonga, led by the growing influence of Lolohea, who stood up superbly in the absence of Isaiya Katoa, appeared the more likely to trouble the scoreboard.

The halfback’s clever grubber forced a drop-out, from which Sione Katoa almost scored his second on the hour after some silky handling, but the Cedars’ defence held strong to force an error with the tryline begging.

Creating something out of nothing, Joseph Nohra almost caught Tonga cold with a miracle play, collecting his own chip and chase before arrowing a kick in the direction of Saab, but Hopoate was alert to thwart the danger.

That proved to be as good as it got for Lebanon, with a late flurry of Tongan tries adding gloss to the scoreline inside the final ten minutes.

Leka Halasima split Cedars defenders and Hopoate’s long-range break laid the position for Fifita to stroll over before Lolohea’s neat kick bounced perfectly for Katoa to score his second inside the final minute.

Lolohea took over kicking duties, converting all three to cap a deserved victory.

GAMESTAR: Tui Lolohea was at the heart of Tonga’s attacking play.

GAMEBREAKER: Tolutau Koula’s length-of-the-field try on the stroke of half-time took the wind out of Lebanon’s sails, with the Cedars ultimately running out of steam in the second half.

MATCHFACTS

TONGA
1 Lehi Hopoate
2 Sione Katoa
3 Tolutau Koula
4 Paul Alamoti
5 Jojo Fifita
18 Latu Fainu
6 Tui Lolohea
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Salesi Foketi
10 Stefano Utoikamanu
11 Haumole Olakau’atu
12 Kulikefu Finefeuiaki
13 Jason Taumalolo
Subs
14 Soni Luke
15 Taniela Paseka
17 Leka Halasima
19 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (not used)
20 Talatau Amone (not used)
22 Siua Wong

Tries: S Katoa (13, 79), Alamoti (21), Koula (37), Fifita (44, 73), Halasima (70)
Goals: Alamoti 1/4, Lolohea 3/3

LEBANON
1 Jacob Kiraz
2 Tony Francis
3 Michael Gabrael
4 Jordan Samrani
5 Jason Saab
6 Khaled Rajab
7 Alex Conti
10 James Roumanos
8 Jaxson Rahme
16 Jalal Bazzaz
11 Tony Sukkar
19 Abbas Miski
13 Alex Twal
Subs
9 Moustafa Dirani
12 Mikael Ibrahim
15 Tupou Francis
17 Khalil Rahme (not used)
18 Joseph Nohra
22 Ibrahim El Labban (not used)

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 14-0; 18-0, 24-0, 30-0, 36-0

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Tonga: Tui Lolohea; Lebanon: Jason Saab

Penalty count: 5-5
Half-time: 14-0
Referee: Liam Moore
Attendance: 25,065