Tonga’s Winning Streak Comes To An End
The Cook Islands women’s rugby 9s team has ended Tonga’s undefeated streak to reach the final, beating the debutants 16-8 and securing the gold medal.
Tonga had a disastrous start, with two players injured on the ground in the first play just 5 meters from the Cook Islands’ try line. One of these players was Lavina Tauhalaliku, the star for the Tongan team, and her absence was a huge blow for the team.
The Cook Islands capitalized on this, scoring two tries in quick succession.
Tonga managed to prevent a third try towards the end of the first half which would have blown the core out before half time. However, early in the second half, the Cook Islands slipped through their Défense to notch up another try.
Lavinia Tauhalaliku came back after treatment to her injury and revived Tonga’s hopes in the fourth minute of the second half with a try of her own, barging through the Cook Islands’ defence. Shortly after, the Cook Islands responded immediately.
Tonga scored again in the dying minutes of the match, but it wasn’t enough. The Tongan team heads home with a silver medal and should be very proud of their achievement as debutant in this year’s Pacific Game, particularly being unbeaten to reach the final in their first ever tournament.
