World Cup

Now she's finding her voice thanks to her younger team mates.

Karaka will attend her third Netball World Cup next month with a determination to be on court when it matters the most.

The defender has a gold medal from the 2019 World Cup and a silver from the 2015 showpiece event but she has never played in a World Cup final.

For years Karaka bided her time behind some of the legends of New Zealand netball. She watched team mates Casey Kopua and Katrina Rore and wondered "am I good enough".

In South Africa she wants to show she is.

TNA posted a notice on their official Facebook page that stated “Notice to our TALA supporters who will be joining our girls in Cape Town from July 28th to August 6th 2023!”

“If you have not purchased you game tickets yet, please message us as we may have a sweet deal for you for seats directly behind our team!”

“This offer will be available until Saturday 1st of July! Message us now and we will give you all the details you need to know.”

Tonga will be playing against Fiji in their first game on July 28 before they face Australia in their second game on July 29.

The decision to remove Indonesia as host of the May 20-June 11 tournament was taken after its football federation said it had cancelled the draw after the governor of the largely Hindu island of Bali refused to host Israel's team.

"FIFA has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023," a FIFA statement said.

"A new host will be announced as soon as possible, with the dates of the tournament currently remaining unchanged. Potential sanctions against the PSSI may also be decided at a later stage."

A peak five-minute audience of 21.31 million people tuned in to ITV (and +1) to watch the end of the World Cup 2022 quarter-final match on Saturday.

England crashed out of the tournament after losing 2-1 to France.

Some people may have watched on other services such as ITVX, which are not reflected in the Barb rating figures.

The five-minute peak of 21.31 million was the most-watched single channel TV moment of 2022 so far.

Former champions Argentina, Spain, Germany and Brazil all suffered shock group-stage losses and Africa, Asia and North America were represented in the last 16 along with traditional powerhouses South America and Europe.

Infantino said the matches -- "played in beautiful stadiums" -- had already attracted a TV audience in excess of two billion viewers.

"Fantastic atmosphere, great goals, incredible excitement, surprises, small teams beating big teams," he said in comments released by FIFA on Wednesday.

Most casual fans would know about Australia, New Zealand and England but over the coming weeks, we’ll introduce you to some of the other teams.

Tonga have become a rugby league force to be reckoned with since beating Great Britain and Australia at the end of the 2019 season. The impact of COVID-19 halted their momentum but a 26-6 loss to New Zealand in June 2022 is seen by Tonga as a mere setback.

Cooper went down in the first seven minutes of the second half after attempting one of his trademark goose steps. The 34-year-old immediately fell to the ground clutching his heel and was clearly in agony.

It has been confirmed that he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon, a notoriously difficult injury to mend in the context of elite sports.

The injury could mean he doesn’t set foot back onto a rugby pitch until the mid-2023 and leaves the mercurial playmaker in a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni said the Government is throwing its full support behind the team.

It's the first time Tonga has qualified for the World Cup after beating Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands in the Oceania qualifiers.

Coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson said it was a big step forward for women's sport in the Kingdom.

Solomon Islands head coach Felipe Vega-Arango sent out the same starting eleven that overcame Tahiti in their previous fixture. Meanwhile, Marcos Gusmao made just one change from Papua New Guinea’s clutch victory over Fiji, Raymond Gunemba replacing Stahl Gubag in attack.

The Tongan national squad have enjoyed a meteoric rise through the rankings in international rugby league in recent years.

They reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2017 before going on to claim historic wins over Australia and Great Britain in 2019.

Woolf, who is also coach of Super League champions St Helens, believes Tonga will have their best squad yet at this autumn’s World Cup, which is hosted in England.

Woolf told Love Rugby League: “I think we have got a real opportunity at the end of the year.