Four unanswered tries in the second half underpinned New Zealand’s emphatic 34-10 World Cup semifinal victory over Tonga.
After an instantly iconic post-haka staredown between the rival teams, the Kiwis overcame a fired-up first-half display from Tonga, their vociferous crowd support and shocking conditions in Newcastle to storm into the tournament decider.
The Kiwis posted an early try but fell behind 10-6 as Tongan winger Jojo Fifita exploded, before hitting back to lead 12-10 at the break. They withstood a barrage at the start of the second stanza then calmly capitalised on their opportunities at regular interval to take the match away from the Tongan side.
The spectacular return from a broken arm after only 23 days from fullback Kalyn Ponga headlines the Kingz Container Crew Kiwis player ratings.
21 KALYN PONGA: Extraordinary just to make it back on the field, but his performance was brilliant, brave and hugely influential. Laid on a try after just three minutes, bustled opposite Lehi Hopoate into an in-goal error for the Kiwis’ second, then threw the last pass for two second-half tries. Perhaps even more impressively given the nature of his injury, pulled off a body-on-the-line try-saver on a rampaging Demitric Vaimauga and another on Hopoate. On top of all that, 19 runs for 198 metres. Four handling errors. 9
2 JAMAYNE ISAAKO: Couldn’t stop opposing winger Jojo Fifita from completing a first-half double but was otherwise good defensively, while he made 12 runs for 116 metres. Again, perhaps his most notable contribution was a sensational goalkicking performance in a howling wind, slotting five from six — which also saw him equal Shaun Johnson as the highest Test pointscorer in New Zealand’s history. 6.5
3 DANE GAGAI: Chased through to score a vital try from Hopoate’s mistake, racked up an impressive 15 runs for 154 metres — including a line-break and four tackle-breaks — and handled the assignment against the dangerous Tolu Koula well. 7.5
4 CASEY MCLEAN: Robert Toia’s injury denied a dream individual match-up and McLean capitalised on Tonga’s misfortune to outplay clubmate Paul Alamoti. Breezed through for yet another Test try to get the scoreboard rolling in the second half, finished with two line-breaks and five tackle-breaks, made 134 metres on 12 runs and reeled off 21 tackles. 8
5 CHARNZE NICOLL-KLOKSTAD: A superb fill-in performance from the veteran, outshining fellow Warrior DWZ. Made a line-break and four tackle-breaks along with a game-high tally of 216 metres on a massive 23 runs, before latching onto a kick for the last try in the dying stages. 8
6 KODI NIKORIMA: An understated performance that also included two errors, but had eight runs for 62 metres and a line-break assist, while he made 26 tackles including some important stops near the try-line. 6
7 JAHROME HUGHES: Exactly what you’d want to see from your No.7 in such a big game and leading into a World Cup final. Scored a solo try, set up another with a great kick to the in-goal, made nine runs for 96 metres and steered the Kiwis around very well. 8.5
8 JAMES FISHER-HARRIS: The skipper led the charge against a fearsome Tongan pack and chalked up 18 runs for 152 metres in 55 minutes, along with 33 tackles in arguably his strongest display of the tournament so far. 8
9 JEREMY MARSHALL-KING: Sound again without shining, making four dummy-half runs and 33 tackles before getting interchanged with 23 minutes to go — by which stage he’d played his part in putting the Kiwis in full control. 6.5
10 MOSES LEOTA: Just 33 minutes of gametime but was productive with 11 runs for 95 metres and 24 tackles. Was part of the sloppy kick-chase that led to Tonga’s first try. 6
11 ISAIAH PAPALI’I: Played all but the last two minutes and toiled for 130 metres on 15 runs and a team-high 41 tackles. Also had a handling error and was made to look pretty sluggish as Vaimauga ran around him for a line-break. 7.5
12 BRITON NIKORA: Charged over for the first try of the match, made a second line-break and had a line-break assist in a performance that encompassed 10 runs for 89 metres and 28 tackles. Also made three errors and had seven missed tackles, but more good than bad. 7
13 JOSEPH TAPINE: Packed plenty into his 46 minutes, making 15 runs for 131 metres (56 post-contact) and 23 tackles. A handling error in the first half but a clever kick to force a line dropout in the second half and keep the heat on Tonga. 7.5
15 NAUFAHU WHYTE: Quite possibly the best middle forward in the game right now lasted only 25 minutes before going off with an ankle injury in what could be a huge blow for the final. Churned out seven runs for 79 metres and 13 tackles in his limited time. 6.5
16 ERIN CLARK: Great work-rate — 18 runs for 143 metres and 24 tackles in 58 minutes — along with throwing the last pass for one try and putting in a deft kick for another in the last minute. 8
17 XAVIER WILLISON: Always seems to make an impact and did so again, scoring a big try to go with nine runs for 83 metres and 16 tackles in 36 minutes. 7
22 PHOENIX CROSSLAND: Another Knights player to make an unlikely World Cup semi return in Newcastle, Crossland came on at dummy-half with 23 minutes to go. One run and 10 tackles. 5