The sea of red. The incessant noise and cheers. The heart-breaking and controversial finale. The World Cup semi-final between Tonga and England was a once in a lifetime event.
Tonga was undoubtedly the story of the 2017 tournament. This tiny Pacific nation received a huge boost before the World Cup started when a series of high-profile defections from New Zealand and Australia boosted their squad. Then the competition kicked off and the Mate Ma’a got the ball really rolling.
First they disposed of Scotland in a high-scoring manner. Then they took care of bitter rivals and neighbours Samoa in an engaging and brutal clash. The Tongan expat community in New Zealand had really got behind their team. Then came their final group clash against heavyweights and hosts, the Kiwis.
An inspiring second half comeback saw Tonga upset New Zealand and win their group. It was the first time a tier two nation had ever beaten a tier one nation, as history was spectacularly made. That amazing result sent them on a collision course with England in Auckland.
The English arrived in New Zealand’s biggest city after brushing past Papua New Guinea. A fan event in Auckland in the week before the match revealed that while Tonga’s support would be overwhelming, England’s would be miniscule.
On the Saturday afternoon Mt Smart Stadium, the home of Kiwi rugby league, filled early. Thousands of Tonga fans, all dressed out in red shirts, flags, hats, scarves, skirts and all manner of clothing waited for hours for the gates to open. When they did the supporters poured in by their droves. Rugby league rarely gets a party-like atmosphere of epic proportions, but it did that day.
Of the 30,003 people that filled Mt Smart Stadium on November 25, probably 28,000 of them were dressed in red. Singing hymns, cheering their players on and just generally having a good time. For a small rock in the Pacific, these were heady times. They were joined by 2,000 hardy English folk, many decked out in white, who had travelled far and wide to see their country end a 22-year wait to reach another World Cup final.
While you sensed it was Tonga’s day to seize the moment, after an impressive war dance and powerful national anthem, it was England who stole the show. Wayne Bennett’s men started like a house on fire, and went 12-0 up after just 16 minutes. England was efficient, clinical and professional, while the enormity of the occasion seemed to constrict the Tongans. They huffed and puffed, but a strong English defence parried all their moves.
The second half continued much like the first, with Tonga blowing several chances to cut the lead back. When John Bateman touched down in the 68th minute, and Gareth Widdop converted to make it 20-0, there was a sense of inevitability about the game. Tonga was done.
But underestimate the Mate Ma’a at your peril. In the final seven minutes they put on a show almost unheard of in the 13-man code. First Pangai Junior struck, then Siliva Havili and Tui Lolohea in an insane three-minute spell. Suddenly Tonga was only two points behind, and England looked out on their feet, with a little over a minute left.
The pro-Tonga crowd, who had been at full voice all match, went even wilder. For the English fans a dark, foreboding sense of déjà vu, after they were beaten in the World Cup semi-finals in the last six seconds four years ago, crept in. Surely the sporting gods wouldn’t be so cruel again?
With only seconds left Tonga mounted a final attack. Andrew Fifita darted for the try-line but a final lunge by Elliot Whitehead somehow knocked the ball loose. Fifita regathered the ball to ground it, but it mattered not. The referee had awarded a knock on, surprisingly not going to the video referee, and England was saved. They were through to the final by the skin of their teeth, despite an amazing Tongan tidal wave in the dying stages.
Those they were at Mt Smart Stadium that afternoon will long remember a rugby league event like no other.
