Tonga celebrate Sione Katoa's try. Photo / Photosport
Tonga is back — and with a bang.
After all the drama in the months preceding this contest, Tonga have achieved one of the most significant results in their history, with a 14-6 win over Great Britain.
And they didn't win, they smashed 'em bro.
The Tongan pack were outstanding, particularly Jason Taumalolo and Siosiua Taukeiaho.
Their kicking game was superb and Tui Lolohea had his best game in a red jersey.
The final scoreline flattered the touring team, who were outpointed across the park, with NRL stars such as Josh Hodgson and Gareth Widdop shut out of the game.
Tonga made a strong start, which was crucial, after the last three contests against tier one nations (England, Australia and New Zealand) had seen them concede early tries.
They dominated this contest from the outset, in a brutal display of forward power.
Tonga came in red waves — crash, bang, wallop, smash.
It was relentless pressure, and demanded some magnificent defence from Great Britain.
The Lions were well organised, and somehow kept getting bodies in the way, despite the barrage.
Taumalolo went close, as did Addin Fonua-Blake.
When the Lions did get the ball, they suffered some brutal hits, with Lachlan Coote being battered twice in the space of a few minutes and Canberra second rower John Bateman upended.
And how's this for heavy artillery?
When Taukeiaho went off after 25 minutes for an interchange, the imposing frame of Andrew Fifita ambled on to the field.
The levee surely had to break, and it did in the 30th minute, when Siliva Havili forced a mistake with a clever kick and Michael Jennings was quickest to react.
They set the vocal Tongan crowd alight, whose noise belied their relatively small number.
Manu Ma'u should have scored a few minutes later, losing the ball over the line in the tackle of Widdop before they managed one of the tries of the season, after the halftime hooter.
The movement started with just 10 seconds on the clock, and 15 passes later Sione Katoa was diving over in the left hand corner.
They went west, back east, then west again, with backhand flicks and overhead passes.
Tonga should have died with the ball three or four times but kept finding a way to keep it alive.
The halftime statistics told the story, as Wayne Bennett's team had been forced to make 64 more tackles than their opponents.
The second half was a more even affair, as the Lions came back into the contest.
They completed more sets, and some indiscipline came into Tonga's play, with Fifita in particular making some poor decisions.
A penalty goal edged them further ahead, though Lions forward Alex Walmsley was lucky to avoid a sinbinning, after a blatant shoulder charge (and professional foul) on Fanitesi Niu as he chased a grubber near the posts.
They bombed another try minutes later, which looked costly when Bateman forced him way over with 11 minutes to play, but Tonga lifted another gear to finish with a flurry, which sparked pandemonium among their fans.
Tonga Invitational XIII 14 (M. Jennings, S. Katoa try; S. Taukeiaho 2 cons, pen)
Great Britain 6 (J Bateman try; G Widdop con). HT 12-0.
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