Iklale Tahi Tonga Take Plenty Away from Loss to England in RWC Opener

Trailing only 18-3 to the Englishmen at the half time break the Tongan's went into the sheds with a lot of confidence after conceding 54 points at half time to the All Blacks only a few weeks back.

While the final score was 35-3, there were plenty of positives for Tonga to take with them into the remainder of the Rugby World Cup. Many people would argue that England are favourites to win this year's tournament. England are currently ranked 3rd in world rankings and won matches against Italy, Ireland and Wales in last month's RWC warmup matches. 

Tonga is a tier two rugby nation who rely heavily on funding allocations from World Rugby. Their players compete in various rugby competitions around the world including England (8), Wales (1), France (7), Australia (2), NZ (5), Scotland (1), Italy (1), Tonga (1) and those who aren't signed to a club at the moment (5).

This means their ability to train and play together as a team is extremely limited and fraught with challenges ultimately impacting significantly on the team's ability to perform and reach its full potential.

Imagine the Wallabies or the All Blacks team where only one player was based in Australia or NZ!

This is the third time the two teams have met at a Rugby World Cup taking England's tally to 3 from 3.

Tonga was able to respond to most of what England had thrown at them but really struggled to contain Samoan/Englishman Manu Tuilagi, the powerful running outside back.

Tuilagi created headaches for the Tongans all night, almost always managing to brush off the first defender as well as scoring two brutal tries in the first half. Tongan fly-half Kurt Morath suffered an injury while grappling with Tuilagi during the game and will be out for the remainder of the tournament. "Kurt is still in hospital in Sapporo and may need surgery. He injured his larynx when Manu Tuilagi (ENG) caught him with his boot in a tackle. It was totally accidental." Tongan Assistant Coach Pita Alatini.

Samoan born Tuilagi is one of only two foreign players to have scored multiple tries for England at the Rugby World Cup. And it was no surprise that England's prodigal son had earned himself man of the match for this performance. "I just wanted a win and get a try and do it all over again. I was fortunate to get a couple today. It is a long time since my last try in the World Cup but for some reason the try didn't feel any different from others I have scored. You just have to focus on winning."

As the history books will now show, England went on to score two more converted tries in the second half and a penalty goal to finish off the Tongans in a very physical encounter.

Post game stats indicate the Tongans are fundamentally a good side, faltering only in their ability to gain metres, and against a solid defensive side such as England it's not hard to do.

Their set piece was very good losing only 1 lineout from 14 and all 9 from 9 scrums while all other stats were fairly even.

If Tonga had played like they did in the last 10 minutes of the game by upping the tempo to another level the history books would tell a very different story today.

Tonga's scrum half, Sonatane Takulua has registered points in each of the 21 test appearances he has made since the 2015 Rugby World Cup converting a penalty in the 14th minute to square up the game.

One of the highlights of the game was the hit on English prop Billy Vunipola by Zane the Train Kapeli. Kapeli was given instructions by head coach Toutai Kefu to "get into Billy’s face and smash him".

"I just saw him (Vunipola) running at me, put my head down and hoped. What’s Newton’s Law? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction?"

When asked about the hit, Vunipola said, "It was big and they put their stall out early in the week saying they are going to come and get me. They got me on that occasion and it is part and parcel of the game. The tackle I took was probably my fault because I told Fordy (George Ford) to give me the ball and so I gave them the opportunity and they took it."

Zane Kapeli plays for Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, but things are likely to change for him following the Rugby World Cup. "I have been looking forward to this (RWC) for a long time. It’s the biggest stage we have and I’m pinching myself that I got the chance to put the jersey on. I’m grateful to be here."