Tonga can score points, but cannot defend and too much dropped ball in first half, Australia as usual getting all the desisions, 8 point try no way.

[/u

Agreed.

Been a great game.
Speed, power, played in a mental atmosphere.
Tongans done alright but the Aussies have been clinical.
Tedesco is top drawer.
Enjoyed it.

Tonga exciting to watch for parts of the game however they are not the same side they were 12 months ago.

Strongly disagree. Tonga’s players haven’t had a game for between 4 and 7 weeks, obviously they are a bit rusty. If Tonga played England next week they’d win comfortably.

Fine words from Cordner and Sika in their post-match pitchside interviews.

What was the score?

Boo hoo? That’s how the international structure works, Tonga’s set completion for the first half was around 58% and you can disagree all you want Jean; it’s simply not good enough and as I said, not the same side they were 12 months ago.

Tonga didn’t beat England last year and certainly wouldn’t with the Wakey boys now in the England squad.

I’d also expect Lolohea to have one year at Leeds, based on that performance. His running game pulled it back for him slightly but for a halfback he offered nothing.

Looked massively overweight aswell

David Furner will smarten him up.

You are wrong Roy. Ryce Lynn is the worst player to wear an England shirt in a long time and would struggle to get into Tonga’s 3rd team.

I seriously hope this isnt aimed yet again at me

Haha ironic Jean!

Anyway his name is Reece not Ryce... You're usually spot on with names as well, disappointing.

I will never get tired of watching the south sea islands play. The atmosphere in that stadium was unreal, I had goosebumps as they all joined in to sing the national anthem and also the hymns they sang during the match, I love it.
As for the actual game I think they were just lacking a bit of match fitness and weren't clinical enough with ball in hand. You need an almost perfect completion rate when you play the aussies and they had to do far too much defending.
I think Tonga have some world class players but there are still a couple of key positions where they aren't quite strong enough to be a serious threat in the international competitions.

Lolohea is Sh1te..Always has been!

Generally agree - I just sat enjoying the fact that I was watching a RL test match on the tv with a team other than Eng and NZ taking on Aus. Enjoying the fact that it was a packed stadium. Enjoying the fact there was clearly an amazing atmosphere, that came across throughout the game through the tv. The war dance atmos, the anthems, the hymns. Spine tingling.
Enjoying the fact that there was some great tries and great hits from both sides with 2 teams smashing into each other and a new team to most watchers getting stuck right into the Aussies for 80mins.
Yes they made some mistakes and bombed some chances but so what. Most enjoyable test match for a long time in my view and the importance of it as an event for RL should not be ignored. To have a 4th competitive (and it was competitive despite the final score) test nation in the mix would be great for the game.
We’ve been tonked (as have NZ) many times by Aus. Let’s hope they get more matches so that they can improve further.
Will Eng V NZ look as good and come across as good over the next few weeks? I have my doubts but here’s hoping.

Australia were the better side but not a patch on usual Australia standards, certainly not in attack or kicking. Their defence, however, had to be good today. The difference was their execution.

As for Tonga, we saw the outstanding physicality and athleticism of last year's Tonga, with the execution of Tonga 10-15 years ago, especially when they started chasing the game. Far too much one-man rugby, glory-seeking and poor decision-making, even if their aggressive discipline has come on massively. Passion is great, but execution is a must.

For me Tonga lost that game more than Australia won it. They handed them too many points with defensive ill-discipline and handling errors, and took the wrong option in some excellent opportunities. Rectify some decision-making and they would easily be within 6 points of the Aussies, especially this Aussie team.

That said, their physicality and aggressive running alone would be a severe test for England - although let's not forget Australia and NZ are a massive physical test and modern England are rarely out-muscled.

But what an occasion. Nothing can beat that. It shows what international RL done well can be. It's also been great to see the game all over social media today. Also reinforces just how well England did last year to nil them for 72 minutes and to hold out for the win (even with a farcical last 5 minutes), when arguably Tonga played better than today.

I was lucky enough to be at the semi-final last year and can attest that a full-house of Tongans ( plus a couple of thousand England fans) resulted in an atmosphere I've never experienced before in 50 years of watching RL. Even on TV you could feel it yesterday. More of the same, please, especially as its obvious that Tonga's fans will turn up in numbers to see them play.

There needs to be a Four Nations between Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and England in 2019

Would have to be another year because of the return of Great Britain and the Ashes series.

Pacific islanders, south pacific islanders if you must, no such thing as south sea islanders, its a common mistake i know, but its like calling a Scot, scotch as in egg or whiskey.