Matty’s On the Five: ‘Ikale Tahi finish World Cup in style while Fiji qualify for quarters

1. ‘Ikale Tahi finish World Cup campaign with strong win

Tonga finished their Rugby World Cup on a high, thrashing Romania 45 to 24 in Lille, France. A contentious game between the two sides saw Romania nearly snatch a lead late in the second half, before Tonga turned on the heat and ran away with the win.

A highlight reel performance for Tonga saw their players return to their confident ball carries and defensive efforts, as seen in their performances earlier in the year.

The ‘Ikale Tahi busted through tackles 44 times in the game, maintaining possession for the majority of the match. Two of Tonga’s seven tries came from former rugby league dual international Solomone Kata, while Moana Pasifika’s William Havili put on another strong kicking game missing only two conversions.

And with ‘Ikale Tahi’s World Cup campaign coming to an end, it also ends Toutai Kefu’s tenure as the team's coach.

2. The Flying Fijians qualify for first quarter finals in 16 years

After a historic run in the Rugby World Cup, the Flying Fijians finished second in Pool C ahead of the Wallabies to qualify for the quarter finals.

The last time Fiji qualified for the play-offs was in the 2007 World Cup, which also happened to be in France. Fiji finished the pool stages with two wins and two losses - with one being inflicted this morning against a passionate Portugese side.

Fiji’s last run during the World Cup finals saw them fall short to South Africa, who went on to win the competition. This time Fiji will face an English side eager to bounce back from their loss to Fiji in a world cup warm-up match.

This year also marks a huge year for Fiji Rugby, as both the national team and its Super Rugby franchise have made it into play-off contention.

3. Manu Samoa denied a historic win against England

An overturned try for Samoa was the huge talking point in Manu Samoa’s narrow one-point loss against England in their last pool match. England won 19 points to 18.

The try that was overturned came at a pivotal moment in the game, as Samoa was heating up their play, putting pressure on the English side. The try in question came after a kick involving two English and one Samoan player, which was thought to have come off an English hand resulting in a play on.

The try was initially confirmed, but after review from the TMO, it was denied with a ruling that it went forward from a Samoan player. An ensuing penalty conversion put Samoa 17 points to 8 up at half time.

But Samoa lacked discipline, which eventually led to them conceding a late try for England to snatch the win. Samoa finished their World Cup with one win and three losses.

4. Several NRL players star in boxing event

The Battle of the Reef boxing event saw several NRL stars lace up the boxing gloves and step into the ring in Sydney over the weekend.

It was a big night for two of the NRL’s Samoan heavy-hitters with emphatic knockouts victories for Toa Samoa powerhouse Junior Paulo and Kiwis’ prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona, as they defeated Ben Hannant and Jarrod Wallace respectively.

The recently retired NRL Tongan backrower Tevita Pangai Junior defeated Frank Amato with a narrow decision win, while Reagan Campbell-Gillard beat Tongan supremo and Cowboys captain Jason Taumalolo by split decision.

The event was headlined by the IBO Intercontinental Light-Heavyweight title fight between Paulo Aukuso and Gabriel Omar Diaz, which Aukuso won in a points decision.

5. Tahiti come close to winning FIFA Oceania Futsal competition

Auckland hosted the OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Futsal Competition last week, which wrapped up on Saturday. Pacific nations including Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and New Zealand participated in the event at Bruce Pulman Arena in Papakura.

Solomon Islands entered the tournament as favorites, given they had won previous iterations of the competition.. But this year they finished the event in third place.

Tahiti have had a good history in the past as well, being runner up for the event twice before. And unfortunately, they were the bridesmaid once again, losing 5-0 to New Zealand in the final.

We caught up with two Tahitian players following their play-off qualifier which you can watch here: