Tonga seal RWC spot, as Warriors and Wāhine Toa deliver in a major weekend of sport

Some teams fell short, others continued to show resilience, and some challenged the odds in another huge weekend of sport. So, let’s get into it!

The ‘Ikale Tahi Tongan Rugby team qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup after outplaying Manu Sāmoa 30-16 at Teufaiva Stadium in Nuku’alofa on Saturday.

Despite Manu Sāmoa coming into the match ranked six places higher than their Pacific brothers, the ‘Ikale Tahi put those numbers to rest with a dominant performance.

They set the tone early in front of a home crowd, with flanker Siosiua Moala scoring the opening try within the first 10 minutes, assisted by his team-mate and captain Ben Tameifuna.

Manu’s response was lacklustre. They managed only two penalty conversions to trail 20-6 at halftime. Ill-discipline and a high error rate proved too difficult to overcome.

The 62-38 statistics in favour of ‘Ikale Tahi highlighted Sāmoa’s inability to keep pace with Tonga.

Despite achieving a 100 per cent scrum success rate and producing a more balanced second-half performance, Manu Sāmoa’s six lineout losses proved costly, while Tonga continued to surge.

‘Ikale Tahi’s fly-half and Moana Pasifika standout Patrick Pellegrini maintained his fine form, slotting all conversions and adding six more points from penalties.

Acknowledging the Manu’s patience and grit to compete for 80 minutes, and a late try from centre and former Auckland Blues player Melani Nanai to salute their efforts, it was apparent their inexperience as a whole got the best of them.

They now take on a long and difficult route to qualify when they face off against the Flying Fijians on Saturday, 6 September in Rotorua. Kick-off is at 3pm, local time.

While Tonga have some breathing space knowing they have secured their World Cup spot, they will still play Fiji the week before the Sāmoans do in Suva. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Warriors vs Titans

The Warriors have solidified their finals play-off spot after overcoming their bogey team, the Gold Coast Titans, 32-18 win at Cbus Stadium on Saturday.

While the Titans trounced the Wahs on home turf back in Round 21, and finals footy looming, plenty was riding on this match - and conceding the opening try to Titans lock Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, following a James Fisher-Harris handling error, didn’t help their cause.

The output of winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was simply undeniable. Scoring back-to-back tries off the back of well-executed set pieces in the first half allowed his side to be up 18-6 heading into the halftime sheds.

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui of the Titans is congratulated by Sam Verrels after scoring. Photo/Jason O'Brien/Photosport

Not to mention leading the game with the most run metres of 245, it appears that Tuivasa-Sheck's form puts him in contention for Dally M discussion, especially after surpassing Leka Halasima for this season's top try scorer, with 11.

It was hard to look past Chanel Harris-Tavita’s efforts. Helping set up Tuivasa-Sheck and centre Adam Pompey’s try in the second half, the work of Harris-Tavita, both on attack and defence, is one that kept his team in control.

Head coach Andrew Webster, told reporters the combination in the halves of Harris-Tavita and Tanah Boyd has been meticulously worked on to execute a well-rounded performance.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck against the Gold Coast Titans. Photo/Jason O'Brien. Photosport

“They worked really hard on the details of combining and communicating well. I loved how they ran the football. I thought when we looked best, they were in control of the game. It’s fair to say that was their best combination tonight,” Webster shares.

With back-to-back wins secured, fans can be pleased their beloved team is building momentum sooner rather than later. Paying credit to the Wahs' young stars like Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, who scored his first try in the NRL, Webster acknowledges there is still work to be done to be at the play-off level.

“We've got to play better footy to earn it. We want to improve; if we improve at the rate we want, we’ll be happy with that. We’re not near where we want to be, I thought today was a better step in the right direction,” Webster shares.

Now they return home to play their final home game for the regular season, on Friday against a battle-tested Parramatta Eels. Kick-off is at 8pm.

Women’s Warriors vs Cronulla Sharks

Although the Cronulla Sharks edged the Women’s Warriors 22-14 at FMG Stadium Waikato on Sunday for round eight, it was a match that displayed once again what these Wāhine Toa are about: all heart and courage.

Despite major reshuffles to Ron Griffiths’ side following the red cards to centres Matekino Gray and Tysha Ikenasio the previous week, the Warriors proved once again their ability to rise under adversity, taking a 10–6 lead into half-time as a testament to their strength.

In a physically gruelling game, the turning point was the send-off of lock Laishon Albert-Jones in the 48th minute, in which the visitors pounced.

Warriors Ivana Lauitiiti against the Cronulla Sharks. Photo/David Rowland/Photosport.

The work of Shark’s centre and captain Tiana Penitani Gray, helped set up winger Cassie Staples to extend her side's lead to six.

However, as any fan of the Wahs knows by now, this team live and breathe a ‘never say die’ attitude.

Winger Tyra Wetere, small in stature but huge in heart, was electric throughout the match. Recording the most line breaks for her side, the five-foot winger ran fearlessly up the middle before later scoring off a clean set piece to bring the score within two.

Harata Butler continues being a work-horse, ending the game with the most run metres out of both teams as well as equalling Sharks hooker Georgia Hannaway with 58 fantasy points.

Although denied the chance to take home two points from Sharks prop Stephanie Faulkner right before full time, head coach Ron Griffiths shared the continued admiration he has for his team despite the loss.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how valiant the team actually are…I can’t question how brave and courageous the group are, and I refer to it as ad nauseam, with the amount of inexperience we’ve got in that team to keep doing what they do, we just know that we’ll be okay,” Griffiths says.

The girls will travel across the ditch as they prepare to play the St George Illawarra Dragons this Saturday.