Pacific Nations Cup
Tonga defeat Canada for first time in 16 years
ESPN Staff
July 25, 2015

Tonga has claimed their first win in the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup with a come from behind 28-18 victory over Canada at Swanguard Stadium in Burnaby, Canada. It was Tonga's first win over Canada since 1999 and was a strong turn around from the side's eight point loss to Fiji last weekend.

In a fast-moving, attacking match, both side's saw themselves on the wrong side of the referee with Canada loosing Liam Underwood early with a yellow card at the ruck, before Tonga lost two players, Telusa Veainu and Sona Taumololo, in the dying minutes. But despite their loss, Tonga managed to hold strong with just 13-men to produce a 10-point victory.

It looked like it was to be another loss for Tonga in the early stages of the match with Aaron Carpenter crashing over twice within two minutes for Canada. But the tide quickly turned at the midpoint of the first half after Canada's Liam Underwood was yellow card for a violation at the ruck, which provided Tonga with the best opportunity to start their fightback.

Within minutes Tane Takalua had put Tonga on the board, leaving Tonga trailing 15-10 at the half time break.

Making sure to turn things around in the second, Tonga came out flying and quickly saw Kurt Morath pile the pressure on Canada before Otulea Katoa was over and Takalua was over for his second.

Although Canada continued to attack and put pressure on Tonga, they could only add three points in the second half, despite a two-man advantage in the final stages.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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