Teamwork was the strength of the Tongan A side as they pipped Samoa A 13-12 in the second round of the World Rugby Pacific Challenge at the ANZ Sta­dium, Suva yesterday. Tongan A vice-captain, Leonaitasi Feke told SUNsports that they were overwhelmed with fi­nal outcome of the game.

“I feel it’s the unity among the boys that enabled us to keep striving to the last minute,” he said.

“After our loss in the first round to the Fijian Warriors we were briefed not to be physically prepared but mentally as well. We made a few silly mistakes in the first half but were able to regroup and make a comeback.”

What happened: Tonga A took a 3-0 lead in the 10th min­ute from a Liueli Simote penalty. The Samoans took control of the game with their aggressive forwards spearheading their moves. In the 30th minute the Tongans lost the ball and Samoan first five eight D’Angelo Leuila pounced on it to score the first try as they led 5-3.

Halftime: Samoa A 5- 3 Tonga A

The Tonga A side started the second half with a bang as centre Alefosio Vahe ran in to score their first try, which was converted as they regained the lead 10-5. The match became scrappy and Tongan forward Paea Fonoifua was yellow carded.

With a man advantage, Samoan No.8 AJ Sagaga crashed over to score their second try which was converted by Leui­la as they again took the lead 10-12.

The Tongan forwards took control of the game and began working their way to the Samoan tryline. Continuous pres­sure saw the Samoans penalised with Simote slotting over the penalty.

Comments: Tonga A vice-captain Leonaitasi Feke said; “We’ll go back and work on our weaknesses and be ready for the final round of competition this Saturday.”

Samoa A captain Afa Aiono said; “Congratulations to Ton­ga for the win and putting up a much more physical and intense game for us, they deserved it. We still need to work on most areas of our game before we take on Fiji Warriors this Saturday.”

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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