Tonga cruise to victory after early scare

In the Rugby League World Cup, they were made to work hard by a Welsh side.

Kyle Evans' fine try gave Wales the lead at the start of the game.

After Daniel Tupou crossed, two quick tries from David and Keaon gave them the lead.

Tupou completed his hat- trick around a Tesi Niu try.

A win over Cook Islands in their final pool game next week will confirm Tonga as Group D winners and a quarter-final game against the Group A runners up, with hosts England set to top the group if they win their final match against Greece.

Wales' hopes are hanging by a thread, having already lost their opener to Cook Islands, as they continue to search for a first win at a World Cup since 2000.

If John Kear's side want to stay in the tournament, they need to beat Cook Islands on Tuesday night and then beat PNG in their final game next week.

Will Evans, Rhodri Lloyd, Mike Butt and the injured Ben Evans are out of the competition due to a throat injury, so Kear brought in five new players to replace them.

Konrad Hurrell was welcomed back, but they were still without Will Hopoate, who is out for the rest of the season.

The Totally Wicked Stadium has been the home of the team since 2020 and they have won three Grand Final there.

Wales entered Woolf's den as huge underdogs, with their largely semi-professional pool of players fronting up to a Mate Ma'a Tonga outfit filled with NRL and Super League talent.

The first women to referee a men's Rugby League World Cup game blew her whistle to start the game between the two countries.

Wales started sloppily, putting themselves under pressure with poor handling and poor discipline, but survived and then clicked to cross the tryline first, only for Dalton Grant to be held up in the tackle by Niu.

There was no denying Kear's side when wing Evans put in a crunching tackle to knock the ball free and then scamper away to the line from Josh Ralph's well-timed pass.

Evans is a recent convert to league from union, with just three games for Trinity under his belt, but he showed his potential with a high-class performance against high-class opposition.

Tuimoala Lolohea missed the tricky kick at goal after Tupou was put over on the left.

When Sione Katoa broke through on the right, he juggled the pass and let the ball slip through his grasp.

The match was on the line as Wales put their bodies on the line, but conceded two tries before the break that turned the match on its head.

First, Fifita worked a mismatch against Olds to break the whitewash, and then he pounced on a defensive line to score.

In the first half, Lolohea kicked two goals.

Niu showed power to break the Wales' sliding defence for the opening try of the second half, and Lolohea kicked the kick to make it a four-try game.

Joe Burke did brilliantly to get two hands under the ball as Lolohea tried to dot down, but it was only a momentary reprieve as Wales ran out of numbers on their right to allow Tupou in for his second of the night.

There was a smudge of sideline whitewash that prevented a try for Lolohea, the interchange diving to scoop a kick back into the arms of his waiting half-back, the video referee's no-try decision drawing good-natured boos.

As Wales tired, pride and bravery were not enough to keep Tonga at bay, Tupou completed his hat-trick with Siosifa Talakai taking over kicking duties to add another two points.

Tupou had already been awarded the player of the match award when he was denied a fourth.

The injury to Olds could rule the stand-off out of the game next week.

The coach of the country of Tonga.

"It's a little bit like last week, we've got a bit of improvement in us, we left a lot of points out there just with our basic catch-pass and execution."

I think our discipline with the ball was an issue for us all night because we gave up one try with the ball being a bit loose.

You tend to get a lesson when you go out there and think that way.

John Kear is the Welsh coach.

The score doesn't do us justice. You need to take your hat off to the players, they're all heart.

I'm proud of them but we've lost and the resilience is great.

They are the full time outfit. I'm happy with our effort because we're playing a good team from the other side of the country.

The date is 22. Tesi Niu was on the second day. Daniel Tupou is three years old. Siosifa Talakai was born in 1993. Konrad Hurrell is five years old. Sione Katoa is six years old. The person is 7 years old. Tuimoala Lolohea is eight. A female named Addin Fonua-Blake is 14 years old. There is a 17 year old girl named Soniluke. There is a person named Moaki Fotuaika. Felise Kaufusi was twelve years old. There is a person named Keaon Koloamatangi. The leader is Sio Siua Taukeiaho.

The total number of interchanges is 16. Tevita Tatola is eighteen years old. David Fifita is twenty years old. There is a person named Toluta'u Koula. Murdoch-Masila is named after Ben Murdoch.

The country of Wales is 1. Aekins is a young man. Kyle Evans is five years old. The boy is 6 years old. Kear was the leader. The person is 14 years old. There is a 7 year old boy named Oliver Olds. Josh was 8 years old. A man is 9. A young man named Matty Fozard. The boy is 12 years old. Chester butler is 17 Bailey Antrobus is sixteen years old. A man named Joe Burke.

There are 10 new interchanges. Dan Fleming is fifteen years old. A man is 21. A man named Tom is 18 years old. There is a person namedConnor Davies.