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Tonga get us back underway! And Tuitama takes the mark deep inside his 22 from the off, allowing Leuila to find touch up near halfway. Fineanganofo sends the line-out to the front, and Pellegrini runs into contact in midfield. They spread it wide to the right, but a pass goes loose, and Alosio picks it up and bursts away...

Samoa get us underway! And Tonga collect on their 22m line with Pellegrini. They carry with one phase, before Paea goes to the boot off the back of the ruck. It isn't a great effort though, and the hosts will get an attacking line-out opportunity 25m out from the try-line. 

Scrum for Tonga on their own 22m line again and Halo rolls the ball in. It comes out for Foliaki to charge into the defensive line once more, before Felemi makes a carry. Eventually Pellegrini goes to the boot, and Alosio carries back into contact on halfway for Samoa. 

Scrum for Samoa 20m out from their own try-line, and Matavao rolls the ball in. It comes out for Leuila, who goes to the boot and kicks long downfield. Foliaki is back to collect near his own 22, before looking to orchestrate the counter-attack with the run up to halfway. Inisi tries a kick in-behind, but Ili takes the mark inside his own 22 and that will signal the end of the first half.

Leuila takes the kick down just inside his own half and runs into contact on halfway. Samoa get some more go-forward ball with a couple of strong carries, before going to the boot with Leuila. It's nudged in-behind, but takes a deflection off a Tongan foot and rolls over the sideline for a Samoan line-out 25m out from the try-line. 

The line-out is accurate for Samoa this time, and they spread it wide through the hands for Tuitama wide on the right. He's cut down 5m short of the try-line though, and Samoa continue to build with front foot ball. It comes back across to the opposite flank for Alosio, before Moore-Aiono gets even closer. Big defence from Tonga here so far. 

The line-out is good for Samoa, but this breakdown battle continues, and Mataele gets over the ball to win the penalty for Tonga. It's blow for blow in that area at the moment, and Pellegrini finds touch on the 22m line. 

Not enough on it from Iona, and his penalty effort drops just short of the crossbar. 

ILI GETS OVER! Samoa strike first! The hosts continue to build phases 5m short of the try-line, but the Tongan defence continues to hold firm. Eventually Matavao puts some width on it though, and it comes wide to the right for Ili, who cuts inside multiple defenders and powers over for the opening try. Mistakes have plaueged this test match early, but finally Samoa have put it altogether to cross the line. 

Matavao is forced into a clearance inside his own 22, but he only finds touch 20m from his own line. Aniseko throws to the line-out again, and Tonga peel away off the back. Nee-Nee gets into disrupt at the breakdown though, and the penalty goes the way of Samoa. 

Ili tips it off for Tolai on the left, as Samoa continue to build pressure on attack 30m out. The Tongan defence holds firm though, and Tuitama spills it forward in a big collision from Foliaki and Inisi. 

The line-out is good for Tonga, and they look to counter-attack too, keeping the ball in hand inside their own 22. It's sevens rugby late on, and Inisi breaks up over halfway on another strong burst. The Ikale Tahi eventually get the penalty, with offside called against the hosts. 

Tolai charges up through the middle, before they spread it wide for Tuitama on the right. He gets away from the touchline this time, and steps inside two or three defenders to burst inside the 22. Tonga manage to scramble back, but all the momentum is with the hosts here. 

The throw is collected at the front and Tonga spread it wide out for Foliaki on the left wing. He's taken down in a good tackle by Moleli, but Moala follows up with a charge to get the visitors up inside the 22. Just as they look to be building some momentum though, Malolo gets over the ball to win the turnover penalty for Samoa. Leuila finds touch 40m out from the try-line. 

Matavao responds with a kick downfield from the Samoan half, and Alosio gets up to contest down the left wing. He fails to get ahold of it though, and spills the ball forward for another Tongan scrum 30m from their line. 

Matavao sends a kick downfield, and Foliaki collects on his own 22m line. He looks to orchestrate the counter-attack again with a run up to halfway, before Tapueluelu runs into contact. They spread it out to the right Tu'itupou spills it forward in a heavy collision and Samoa get the scrum. 

Tuitama spills the ball over the sideline on the right edge, and Tonga's defence comes up trumps again. Aniseko throws to the line-out 40m from his own line, but Falemi spills it forward moments later, and Samoa can build with attacking possession again. 

Mau'u is on for Samoa now, and immediately packs down in the scrum. It doesn't go their way though, and Tonga get a free kick. Halo takes the quick tap and sprints up towards the 22 with the help of Moala. Pellegrini tries a kick over the top, but Moleli drops back to scramble to the ball and clear into touch. Line-out for Tonga coming 5m out. 

Tameifuna runs the ball into contact as the visitors build a couple of phases inside their own half. Halo tries a box kick, but McFarland is caught out for being offside, and Tonga win a penalty. Pellegrini finds touch 35m out from the try-line with a solid kick. 

Halftime in Apia and Samoa are in control against their South Pacific rivals once again. Tries from Stacey Ili and Tuna Tuitama has given them a seventeen-point lead at the break, and the hosts have been dominant. It's been scrappy at times, but when Samoa maintain their discipline, they've been hard to stop, gaining front-foot ball up front and dominating the Ikale Tahi with their physicality in the pack. They've dictated possession and territory off the back, and with Leuila and Matavao running the show in the halves, have torn apart the Tongan defence for two good tries. The visitors have struggled in response, and have failed to settle into any sort of rhythm. They've failed to build any attacking pressure, and a number of handling and breakdown errors have disrupted their efforts. It's never acceptable to go forty minutes without scoring a single point, and Samoa are in the box seat to claim a sixth straight victory against their arch-rivals. 

Tonga feed the scrum 25m from their own try-line and Paea charges into the defensive line as the first reciever. It comes back inside the 22 for Pellegrini to kick, but he sends it out on the full, and Samoa will get a big chance with the line-out 20m from the line. 

Curry picks up the restart inside his own 22, and the replacement breaks straight through the Tongan defence to advance over halfway. Samoa spread it wide to the right for Alosio, but he can't evade his defender and is pushed over the sideline 25m from the try-line. 

Leuila gets plenty behind it, but his penalty kick doesn't quite have the accuracy and the ball flies just wide of the left post. 

These two proud South Pacific neighbours have faced off on 63 previous occasions, with Samoa winning 38 to Tonga’s 27. As mentioned, the Samoans have dominated in recent times though, winning all of their last five meetings dating back to 2018. Tonga kept in touch during the first half of their clash in Apia last year, trailing by just four points at the break, but Manu Samoa scored 21 unanswered points to run away with a convincing 34-9 victory.

Leuila adds the extras again with a great kick out near the right-hand touchline. 

Tonga get the scrum 40m out from their own line, but the referee awards a free kick in favour of Samoa. Matavao takes the quick tap and the hosts look to settle back into their attacking work. Tameifuna gets over the ball at the breakdown and comes up with a huge turneover penalty though. Pellegrini finds touch on the 22m line for Tonga. 

The hosts get a penalty on halfway, following a Tongan ruck infringement, and Iona will take a shot at the posts from over 45m out, but straight in front. 

Paea feeds the ball into the scrum again, before Foliaki bursts up to halfway on a strong run. His support fails to react though, and Matavao gets in over the ball to win the turnover penalty. Leuila will have a shot at goal from a tough angle out to the right and 45m out. 

Leuila kicks downfield from the restart, and Foliaki is forced to rush back inside his own 22 to recover. He responds with a kick back down the other end, where Leuila collects and charges into contact on halfway. Again the hosts spread it wide across to the left, but the final pass is missing this time, and the ball spills over the sideline for a Tongan line-out. 

Leuila comes to the sideline to a round of applause from the home fans, and Iona is on in his place. Play eventually resumes with the line-out for the hosts, and they win a penalty for an infringment on Slade in the air. 

Leuila sends the restart out on the full, and Tonga will get a scrum feed on halfway. The Ikale Tahi are hoping this is a little shift of momentum in their favour. 

Pellegrini goes long downfield off the drop-out, and Malolo surges back up into contact with a big caryy towards halfway. Matavao goes to the boot with box kick again, opting for the contestable. Pellegrini collects just inside his own half for Tonga though, and a kicking battle ensues, that results in an effort from Leuila flying out on the full. The visitors will get an attacking line-out 30m out from the try-line. 

Leuila adds the conversion with another good kick from just to the right of the posts. 

Aniseko's throw to the front of the line-out is collected, and Tonga send the ball into midfield. Pellegrini fails to pick up a poor pass around his ankles though, and the fly-half drops it forward. Another unforced error from the Ikale Tahi and Samoa will feed a scrum 40m from their own line. 

Tevita Tu’ifua has had a tough start to life as the new head coach of Tonga, losing all three of his matches at the helm during the January window. The results included a first test defeat to Spain, and heavy losses at the hands of Italy and the Queensland Reds. Most worrying was the fact that all three defeats came in front of their home crowd in Nuku’alofa. The Pacific Nations Cup is a massive chance for redemption then, but they don’t have a great recent record in this competition either, failing to win a match since 2019 and picking up consecutive wooden spoons. The Ikale Tahi haven’t tasted victory against arch-rivals Samoa for six years either, continually struggling against their Pacific neighbours in recent times. The signs aren’t promising as such, but Tonga will at least be trying to show some improvement on their performances from July. 

Petelo-Mapu carries off the back of the scrum for Samoa, and they win the penalty for a ruck infringement against Tameifuna. Leuila will take a shot at goal from 30m out in the centre of the field. 

Fingenganofo throws to the back, but it doesn't find a teammate, and Malolo picks up the loose ball for Samoa. Matavao goes to the boot with a contestable kick, which Pellegrini does well to collect. Kaufusi spills it forward off the next carry though, and Samoa get a midfield attacking scrum 30m from the try-line. 

Leuila finds touch on the 22m line from the penalty, and the line-out is accurate. Leuila hands it off for Leuia, but the latter spills it forward and Tonga try to counter-attack from their own 22. Inisi bursts away, but Pellegrini spills his pass forward and the errors keep coming. Samoa will get a scrum feed 35m out from the try-line. 

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