Tonga made a winning start to their 2017 Pacific Nations Cup campaign with a 30‑26 victory over Samoa in Nuku'alofa yesterday.
The tournament, involving the Vodafone Flying Fijians as well, doubles as a qualifier for the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup. It is contested over the 2016 and 2017 seasons and Fiji currently lead the group with 8 points after two matches.
After Tonga's victory, Samoa and Tonga are equal on five points from three matches. Fiji play Tonga next Saturday and Samoa the following weekend in the remaining matches.
Saturday's match marked a historic occasion as it was the first time Tonga had hosted a rugby match in eight years at the revamped Teufaiva Stadium, which saw a crowd of 10,000 in attendance.
The Flying Fijians will fly out to Tonga next Tuesday and will take on Tonga at 2pm Saturday.
