test match

Kefu said “Come down for the game, our second test versus Canada. So come down please and support the Ikale Tahi as they gear up for the Rugby World Cup.”

Kefu has also named seven debutants in his line- up for the game.

The debutants are Sione Tupou, John Ika, Paula Latu, Vutulongo Puloka, Christopher Hala’ufia, Feleti Inoke and Tasi Feke.

Tonga will be taking on Canada at 3pm (local time) this afternoon.

IKALE TAHI SQUAD:

Forwards:

Captain Sam Cane and hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho also scored tries as the All Blacks silenced the 61,519 crowd to claim what will be viewed as a famous win having lost five of their previous six tests.

The Springboks were not as clinical as they had been in the 26-10 victory over the visitors the previous week as they scored tries through sublime centre Lukhanyo Am and winger Makazole Mapimpi, but faced opponents who were vastly improved.

Another loss would draw further ire from fans and New Zealand Rugby administrators and even a victory might not be enough to save his skin.

Adding to the drama, the test is at the Springboks' spiritual home of Ellis Park, where winning is considered one of the toughest challenges in world rugby.

All Blacks captain Sam Cane said they were "desperate to improve".

With a Covid-hit squad meaning he couldn't even be in camp, the All Blacks coach has raised pretty much every set of rugby eyebrows sky high in what is shaping up to be an extremely interesting test match.

Prop Joe Marler, who will not train until Friday after isolating with Covid-19, is named on the bench, as is uncapped hooker Nic Dolly.

Joe Marchant is on the wing with Manu Tuilagi returning to the midfield.

Flanker Courtney Lawes captains the side at Twickenham in the absence of the injured Owen Farrell.

England's last meeting with South Africa was the 2019 World Cup final in which the Springbok pack dominated to claim a 32-12 win.

England scored 11 tries, including four in the last 10 minutes, as the man-down Tongans lost their shape to give the Twickenham fans, filling the stadium for the first time since March 2020, plenty to celebrate.

Asked if he saw evidence of the ambitious rugby he had promised would be England's target after a year of sluggish performances, Jones said: "We saw the mindset of being aggressive in attacking the opportunities. The mechanics will be the fine tuning and we don't need to see the end of that until the seventh game of the World Cup."

The RFU said Farrell would miss Saturday's training after returning a positive PCR test and would remain in isolation and would be lateral flow and PCR tested again on Saturday. All other player and staff PCR test results received were negative.

Farrell had been due to start at flyhalf but his likely absence means a probable start for Marcus Smith, who was named among the replacements after missing parts of training this week with a leg injury.

Winger Sevu Reece scored three first half tries and Ardie Savea one in his 50th test for New Zealand to give the All Blacks a 29-6 lead at half-time.

Fiji hit back early in the second spell with a try to prop Peni Ravai, but the All Blacks continued to dominate, running in five second half tries - including a double for hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho on debut.

The New Zealanders took a while to hit their straps, but once Reece scored his first try in the 14th minute, they never looked back.

Despite matching up to the All Blacks physically and winning a number of penalties up front, coach Vern Cotter said his side will need to much better in the second test.

"Yeah we got a few turnovers. We got penalised a few times as well, so we definitely want to take away those penalties that are unnecessary - we still want to be competitive in that area.

"Different field, different conditions this weekend - we'll adapt to what we need to do to defend well, look for those turnovers but also not give away penalties, so it's going to be a balance between that."

Two of the laws have already been trialed in Super Rugby this year, the goal-line drop out, which has been seen in Super Rugby Aotearoa and trans-Tasman - and the 50m line to 22m line kick, which was used in Super Rugby AU.

World Rugby believes both have the potential to increase space and decrease defensive line speed.

Three trials focus specifically on reducing injury risk at the breakdown.