After their famous victory over New Zealand last weekend, Tonga will face Lebanon this Saturday in Christchurch for a spot in the final four of the 2017 World Cup.
Having secured top place in Pool B and avoided a blockbuster clash with Fiji in the last eight, Kristian Woolf’s side will have a much easier time on paper against Lebanon this weekend, but they still certainly won’t have it all their way. What they might lack in class and experience coming in to the tournament, Lebanon have more than made up for with camaraderie and stirring defence and they’ll go in to Saturday’s game with nothing to lose.
Going in as the underdogs, Lebanon know they will need to take it up a gear in order to put up a fight against this undefeated Tonga side. Winning only one of three games in the World Cup so far and affected by a number of injuries, the Cedars might be shaken, but they are not defeated, and will no doubt give it their all in Lebanon’s first ever World Cup quarterfinal.
In terms of the statistics, Saturday’s game looms as a one-sided contest to Tonga; they have already scored 19 tries and 110 points in the tournament to date, and are boosted by the return from injury of centre Michael Jennings, who is the second-highest try-scorer so far.
Lebanon have been made to do a mountain of work so far in the tournament — their 989 tackles are more than any other team so far — and it’s likely that will continue again here.
Quarterfinal 2: Tonga vs. Lebanon
MATCH DETAILS
Date — Saturday, November 18, 2017
Time — 3:00pm AEDT
Venue — Christchurch Stadium, Christchurch (NZ)
LIVE STREAM AND TV INFORMATION
Live Stream — Channel 7’s https://7live.com.au/ (Australia only)
TV — Click here for a full country-by-country list of TV broadcasts.
TEAM NEWS
Lebanon |
|
Tonga |
Anthony Layoun |
1 |
Will Hopoate |
Travis Robinson |
2 |
Daniel Tupou |
James Elias |
3 |
Michael Jennings |
Adam Doueihi |
4 |
Konrad Hurrell |
Abbas Miski |
5 |
David Fusitu’a |
Mitchell Moses |
6 |
Tui Lolohea |
Robbie Farah (capt.) |
7 |
Ata Hingano |
Tim Mannah |
8 |
Andrew Fifita |
Michael Lichaa |
9 |
Sione Katoa |
Alex Twal |
10 |
Sio Siua Taukeiaho |
Nick Kassis |
11 |
Manu Ma’u |
Ahmed Elias |
12 |
Sika Manu (capt.) |
Jamie Clark |
13 |
Jason Taumalolo |
Mitchell Mamary |
14 |
Siliva Havili |
Ray Moujalli |
15 |
Sam Moa |
Elias Sukkar |
16 |
Tevita Pangai Jnr |
Jason Webhe |
17 |
Ben Murdoch-Masila |
Reserves (LEB) — Andrew Kazzi, Chris Saab, Bilal Marbaani
Reserves (TON) — Ukama Ta’ai, Joe Ofahengaue, Mahe Fonua, Samisoni Langi
RLWC RESULTS SO FAR
Lebanon
Game 1 — Lebanon 29 def. 18 France at GIO Stadium, Canberra
Game 2 — England 29 def. Lebanon 10 at Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Game 3 — Australia 34 def. Lebanon 0 at Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Tonga
Game 1 — Tonga 50 def. Scotland 4 at Barlow Park, Cairns
Game 2 — Tonga 32 def. Samoa 18 at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Game 3 — Tonga 28 def. New Zealand 22 at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
HISTORY
Set to meet each other for the first time in history, both Lebanon and Tonga will be full of respect and caution for the other with a spot in the World Cup semifinals on the line.
KEY MATCHUP — Tui Lolohea (Tonga) v Mitchell Moses (Lebanon)
For Wests Tigers fans in particular, Saturday’s matchup between Tui Lolohea and Mitchell Moses will be extremely fascinating to watch given their shared past. With plenty of pressure on him and halves partner Ata Hingano heading in to the tournament, Lolohea has shown to be more than capable of directly the side around — starring in his side’s comeback win over New Zealand last weekend with a hand in three second-half tries. Both players are nearly identical with their statistics so far in the tournament — Lolohea narrowly trailing Moses with 41 tackles to 45 but has also missed less than the Lebanese playmaker, while both players have chalked up three try assists and a try. Both Lolohea and Moses will look to use their skills and experience close to the line, but a lot of what they do will come down to how their respective forward packs go in setting a platform for them.
PREDICTION
Lebanon have been probably the feel-good story of the tournament and it’s hard not to like what you see from Brad Fittler’s men each week, as they continue to display great resilience in defence against far superior opponents. That attitude will likely be on show again this week, but as in the past fortnight, it probably won’t quite be enough for the Cedars. Tonga will be riding high after their famous victory last weekend, and while that might lead to some complacency, they should have far too much strike power on the edges for Lebanon to hold them out for the full 80 minutes. Tonga will kick away and win easily. Tonga by 24.
