Samoa 15-19 Tonga

7 Sept - 20 Oct, 2007

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Official World Cup website

Samoa (12) 15
Pens: Williams 5

Tonga (6) 19
Tries: Taione
Cons: Hola
Pens: Hola 4

Tonga shocked Pacific Island neighbours Samoa to throw the race for second place in Pool A wide open.

Four penalties from Gavin Williams to two from Pierre Hola gave Samoa a 12-6 half-time lead in Montpellier.

Tonga took control after the break and Epi Taione's try and five points from Hola helped them into a 19-12 lead.

A fourth Williams penalty trimmed the gap but despite losing two men late on Tonga held on to consolidate their second place in the group.

Samoa, who are England's next opponents on 22 September, had been expected to provide the greatest threat to the floundering world champions' hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

But this result means England must now be dreading their meeting with Tonga on 28 September in Paris as well.

Tonga and Samoa have a reputation for being among the two most explosive sides in the world game but anyone expecting a pulsating opening to the encounter was to be disappointed.

Samoa had battered South Africa for 40 minutes in their opening match in France before running out of steam in the second half but they started slowly and Tonga drew first blood through Hola's penalty.

Samoa soon hit back through a penalty from Williams, the son of former New Zealand legend Brian, and they nearly claimed the first try of the match, but the television match official ruled against Elvis Seveali'i.

Samoa are ranked 10th in the world, four places above Tonga, and despite playing much more conservatively than usual they gained the upper hand.

Their territorial advantage led to two more Williams penalties, the second after a trademark charge from powerhouse Leicester winger Alesana Tuilagi.

And when Tonga saw former Newcastle and Sale player Taione sin-binned after yet another infringement at a ruck, Williams' fourth penalty made it 12-3 after 28 minutes.

Tonga decided the only way to get into the game was to give the ball some width and they were eventually rewarded with a second Hola penalty as the half ended 12-6.

Samoa came out with a much more positive mindset in the second half and Tuilagi was bundled into touch five metres short after Samoa finally decided to spin the ball down the line.

But Tonga then made an almighty mess of a Samoa scrum to repel another attack and they trimmed the gap to just three points when Hola landed his third penalty.

Samoa's brief flurry soon fizzled out and Tonga seized control of the game, taking the lead when Taione finished off a powerful forward drive.

Hola's conversion made it 16-12 to Tonga but still Samoa opted to kick away any possession that came there way and Tonga, with Finau Maka to the fore, edged further ahead through Hola's fourth penalty.

Hale T Pole conceded a silly penalty to enable Williams to trim the gap to four points and the Tonga blind-side then put his side in deep trouble as he was sent off after a forearm smash to the face of a Samoan with nine minutes to go.

Things went from bad to worse for Tonga as replacement Toma Toke was yellow carded for a high tackle to reduce the Sea Eagles to 13 men.

But Samoa could not take advantage as Tonga produced a series of big hits in defence and they held out to claim a shock victory in a World Cup which has seen the so-called smaller teams prove time and again that they belong at rugby's top table.

Samoa: Williams; Tagicakibau, Seveali'i, Mapusua, A Tuilagi; Crichton, So'oialo; Va'a, Schwalger, Johnston, Tekori, Thompson, Leo, Ulia, Sititi (capt). Replacements: Fuga, Salanoa, Lafaiali'I, Purdie, Polu, Lui, Lemi.

Tonga: Lilo, Tu'ifua, Hufanga, Taione, Vaka; Hola, Taufa; Tonga'uiha, Taukafa, Pulu, Afeaki, Hehea, Pole, Latu (capt), Maka. Replacements: Lutui, Toke, Vaki, Kauhenga, Tu'ipulotu, Tupou, Tonga'uiha.

Source: BBC Sport