SYDNEY, Nov 7 (Reuters) – Fullback Kalyn Ponga returned three weeks after breaking his arm to help New Zealand beat Tonga 34-10 in Newcastle on Saturday and secure a spot in the Rugby League World Cup final for the fifth time. The Kiwis, world champions in 2008, will head to Brisbane next Sunday to take on the winners of Sunday’s second semi-final between reigning champions Australia and Samoa in Sydney. After an intense and tight first half, New Zealand opened up a 24-10 lead with tries from Casey McLean and Jahrome Hughes in five minutes shortly after the resumption. Forward Xavier Willison came off the interchange to score New Zealand’s fifth try 11 minutes from time and winger Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad put a gloss on the scoreline just before the final hooter. Tonga, losing semi-finalists in 2017, had given as good as they got before halftime but were forced to try to fight their way back into the game in the face of a strong wind and heavy rain that swept over the ground during the break. “I was always determined to come back,” said Ponga, who fractured his left forearm in the tournament opener against Australia.
“That first half was obviously tough and then the wind obviously helped us in the second half. But I think our mentality also, we knew that if we did enough in the second half we’d get some rewards, and we did.” Ponga gave New Zealand the perfect start in the third minute when he dug into the defensive line and released second-row Briton Nikora to open the scoring. Tonga hit back with two tries from winger Jojo Fifita — the first a brilliant length-of-the-field effort the winger started and finished — to take a 10-6 lead just after the half-hour mark. New Zealand halfback Hughes had two cracks at a fifth tackle kick in the 36th minute, however, and Tonga fullback Lehi Hopoate was unable to deal with the second, which allowed Kiwis centre Dane Gagai to level up the scores. Winger Jamayne Isaako added the conversion to give New Zealand the halftime lead, the second of his five successful place-kicks. Tonga halfback Isaiya Katoa refused to blame the dramatic change in the weather at halftime for his team’s defeat and preferred to pay tribute to the way his country’s passionate fans had lit up the tournament. “I don’t think these fans understand how much the support means to us, the way that they rally around us through thick and thin,” he said. “I want to say thank you to everyone, the whole Tongan community all around the world. We do it for you guys.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Clare Fallon)
