Samoa

Namulauulu says the match was hard as expected and prepared for, his gratitude was to the players in his team for their strong effort that won them a good spot to move forward.

The first half was all Samoa, with an early penalty try after a deliberate knockdown by the Tongans at the line and few minutes later, a strong forwards pack maul leading to Jeff Lepa crossing the try line for Samoa.

Two penalty kicks later one to each team and the hooter sounded for halftime with the score, Samoa 23 to Tonga 3.

And hosts Tonga and Cook Islands were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in the other match on the opening day yesterday.

Kicking off proceedings against Cook Islands at the Loto-Tonga Soka Centre in Nuku'alofa, host nation Tonga could thank the crossbar that saved them from falling behind in the third minute.

After surviving the early the scare the hosts responded through Talatala Po’oi, who forced two brilliant saves from Cook Islands goalkeeper Keegan Inia and smashed a rifling shot against the top of the woodwork.

Highlighting increasing horticultural regional collaboration, the workshop was attended by senior representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forests and Fisheries of Tonga (Losaline Ma’asi), the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture (Shalendra Prasad), Pacific Community (SPC) (Dr. Siosiua Halavatau), UN-FAO (Tim Martyn), the University of the Sunshine Coast and The University of Queensland (Professor Steven Underhill), and SROS (Tilafono David Hunter and Tuimaseve Kuinimeri Finau-Asora).

Thirteen minutes into the game, PNG flanker Micheal Foster found an opening to belt a powerful right footy into the goal to lead 1-0.

Samoans fought hard to cross into the PNG territory but faced a strong Komolong-brother combination that held them off the half-way line.

Raymond Gunemba then bagged the second goal for PNG in the 32nd minute with a stunning dribble in front of the goal mouth, avoiding the Samoan opponents before slotting it behind the net for 2-nil.

After leading 2-0 at half time, the host team added six more goals on the board, beating the helpless Samoans in a one-sided match.

PNG’s flanker Michael Foster opened the second half with his second goal before striker Nigel Dabinyaba added another point for a clear 4-0 lead.

Raymond Gunemba finds the net once again after a cross for his second to put PNG on the line for a decider to qualify as forward Koriak Upaiga sealed the deal with a chip over the goalkeeper for a 6-0 lead.

This coincides with the upcoming opening of its new 4 star Tanoa International Dateline Hotel in Nuku’Alofa, Tonga. 

Tanoa is a major hospitality player in the Pacific with 10 hotels in Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand and soon, Tonga. 

This makeover for Tanoa Hotels, which was founded over 50 years ago, is designed to bring the brand in line with their growing portfolio and position in the market.

It's the first tournament victory for the Manu since Dubai in 2012 and reverses a 42-5 hiding suffered at the hands of their Pacific rivals in pool play a day earlier.

Head coach Damian McGrath was full of praise for his players.

"I never in my wildest dreams when we woke up this morning thought that we could go through the day. We played three probably the most physical teams here in South Africa, Argentina and then Fiji and to put in the sort of performance that we did made me really proud."

Last year's match on the Gold Coast – watched by 12,336 diehard fans – and the 2013 version in Penrith produced atmospheres that could rival some of the biggest spectacles on the planet.

According to RNZI, the mid-year test window marks the beginning of Rugby World Cup qualifying for the three Pacific nations, who failed to earn direct entry to the 2019 tournament last year.

With only a three-week June window, Georgia and the three Pacific teams will play each other over consecutive weeks.

Samoa Rugby Union's head coach Ieremia is in Fiji for the 2016 World Rugby Pacific Challenge as the manager of the Samoa A team.

Talking about the general standard of rugby on display by the three island nations in the tournament, the once feared backline utility feels improvements are being made.

"The game is actually moving towards suiting Pacific Islanders. The openness and making sure of the ball skills of island forwards is very critical now," he told the Fiji Times.