Rugby League World Cup: Tupou hat-trick helps Tonga overcome Wales resistance

Tonga's Daniel Tupou scores a try against Wales during the 2022 Rugby League World Cup at The Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens, England. Photosport

Tonga overcame a strong effort by Wales to prevail 32-6 this morning and stay on course for a potential Rugby League World Cup quarterfinal with Samoa.

Winger Daniel Tupou scored a hat-trick of tries in Tonga’s second win from two matches.

Wales was similarly stoic in losing to the Cook Islands 18-12, and must beat Papua New Guinea in its last Group D fixture to avoid going through a fourth consecutive World Cup without a win.

“We looked like we thought it was going to be easier than it was I suppose, and you tend to get a lesson when you go out there thinking like that,” Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said.

On a historic night when Kasey Badger became the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match, the Welsh part-timers took a surprise lead from Kyle Evans’ 18th-minute try to the delight of the crowd of 7,752.

The pace, power and class of Tonga, however, eventually took a toll.

Tonga struck back almost immediately from a scrum with Tupou’s first try, but Wales was still in front nearing halftime.

The game took a momentum shift when star second rower David Fifita entered the action from the bench and his close-range try on 37 minutes put Tonga in front for the first time.

Wales’ defense cracked again two minutes later when second-rower Keaon Koloamatangi, who scored Tonga’s late match-winner against PNG, went through a gap for their third try. Tui Lolohea’s second conversion made it 16-6.

That quickly became 22-6 when fullback Tesi Niu wriggled free from Wales’ futile attempts to wrestle him to the ground for Tonga’s fourth try.

Wales prevented Lolohea grounding the ball when he forced his way to the line, but center Siosifa Talakai got Tupou over for his second try on the hour.

The pair produced a copybook move to enable Tupou to complete his hat trick. He had a fourth try disallowed for obstruction.