Tonga Moves into The Finals As Favourite For Gold in the Women’s Rugby League 9’s
Honiara -Tuesday 21, 2023
Tonga’s Women’s Rugby League 9s team has extended an extraordinary winning streak at the Pacific Games, dominating Samoa 18-0 just a day after surprising the reigning gold medallists Fiji with a shock win.
Tonga kicked off the opening day of the games with a decisive 16-0 victory over fellow debutants Vanuatu, followed by a 16-6 win against the host nation Solomon Islands. However, it was the 14-8 triumph over gold medal favourites Fiji that had the players leaping into each other’s arms with joy at the final hooter.
Today, Tonga’s relentless offense left Samoa no room to create something special. In their final pool match, Tonga faced the Cook Islands. The Kukis led for most of the match until the dying moments when Tonga’s star fullback, Lavina Tauhalaliku, scored to take the lead and close out the match. Tonga won 12-10.
Tonga has now gone through the pool stages undefeated, a remarkable feat for a team experiencing their first international tournament. Wednesday marks the finals day, and Tonga has emerged as the favourite to clinch gold in the Women’s Rugby League 9’s.
Tonga will play the Cook Islanders for Gold on Wednesday afternoon 5:30 local time ( 7:30pm Tongan time).
