Canadian men lose to Tonga, finish sixth at Pacific Nations Cup rugby tournament

TOKYO — Tonga ran in three first-half tries and relied on some stingy second-half defence to defeat Canada 30-17 in the fifth-place match Saturday at the Pacific Nations Cup rugby tournament.

While the Canadian men fared well at set pieces, they were hurt by inopportune mistakes — often triggered by some physical Tonga defence. And the flowing Tongan attack took advantage.

The young Canadians had the ball in the Tonga end for long stretches of the second half but were unable to turn that possession into points until the 67th minute when Takoda McMullin slashed through the Tonga defence to cut the deficit to 22-15.

Canada was reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute when flanker Ethan Fryer was sin-binned for a high tackle. The ensuing Tongan penalty kick upped the lead to 25-17 and the Pacific Islanders added a last-minute try by John Tapueluelu, his second of the match.

"We've got to start converting in that (attacking) zone," said Canada captain Lucas Rumball. "It's been a theme for us all tournament."

Canada lost its opening two games of the six-team tournament, beaten 55-28 by No. 14 Japan on Aug. 25 in Vancouver and 28-15 by the 19th-ranked U.S. on Aug. 31 in Carson, Calif. Tonga lost 43-17 to No. 13 Samoa and 50-19 to No. 10 Fiji.

The Canada-Tonga game — a 4 p.m. local time kickoff — was followed by the first semifinal with Fiji defeating the U.S. 22-3 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium. Samoa faces Japan on Sunday in the second semifinal.

The final and third-place games are set for Sept. 21 in Higashiosaka City.

Andrew Quattrin also scored a try for Canada, which trailed 19-10 at the half. Peter Nelson kicked a penalty and two conversions.

"There's lots of positives for us … I'm proud of the players, the way they've stuck to it," said Canada coach Kingsley Jones. "Just taking those opportunities that they've worked so hard to create is our (task to) work on."

Siosiua Moala and Josiah Unga also scored tries for Tonga. Patrick Pellegrini booted two conversions and two penalties.

Prior to the game, the Tongans performed their Sipi Tau war dance as the Canadians, arm-in-arm, watched impassively.

Canada started brightly in the 30-plus C Tokyo heat, winning the ball back after kicking off to the Tongans. But wing Josiah Morra knocked on Nelson's kick to the corner to end the threat.

Canada kept the pressure on and went ahead 3-0 on a Nelson penalty kick in the sixth minute.

Tonga passed on a penalty kick for goal and opted to kick for the corner with Moala going over at the back of a powerful driving maul from the ensuing lineout, with the conversion giving the Pacific Islanders a 7-3 lead in the 10th minute.

Tapueluelu scored in the 15th minute, outpacing three Canadian defenders down the left wing for a converted try and a 14-3 advantage.

Tonga lost prop Jethro Felemi was sent to the sin-bin in the 19th minute for collapsing a Canadian maul. And Canada wasted little time taking advantage with Quattrin powering his way over from close range for a 20th-minute converted try that cut the Tonga lead to 14-10.

Unga made it 19-10 with Tonga's third try in the 26th minute after a Pellegrini 50-22 kick moved the Tongans, still a man down, near the Canadian goal-line. A Pellegrini penalty kick in the 47th minute increased the Tonga lead to 22-10.

Tyler Matchem, a 20-year-old graduate of Rugby Canada's Pacific Pride developmental program, came off the bench in the 62nd minute to earn his first cap for Canada. Callum Botchar entered in the 71st minute, his first appearance since November 2022.

Next year's Pacific Nations Cup comes with World Cup qualification on the line.

World Rugby says the top three teams from the 2025 tournament will book their ticket to the 2027 World Cup in Australia. But given that No. 10 Fiji and No. 14 Japan have already qualified by virtue of their performance at last year's World Cup, a top-five finish would do it for Canada if Fiji and Japan finish above it.

Tonga has won the last five meetings since a 36-27 loss to Canada in Kingston, Ont., in June 2013, also at the Pacific Nations Cup.

Tonga holds a 7-5-0 career edge over Canada, with the teams tied 3-3-0 in games played in neutral venues. Three of Canada's victories came at the World Cup: 37-4 in 1987 in New Zealand, 24-7 in 2003 in Australia and 25-20 in 2011 in New Zealand.

The Canadian men's next action is in November when they play No. 21 Chile and No. 20 Romania, with both games in Bucharest.

The Pacific Nations Cup is sponsored by Asahi.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024

The Canadian Press