England v Tonga Test Series 2023

[Wizardman]

If only Tonga had a spine

 

[KennySterling]

Well done England. They defended well, kicking game was great and their attack looked more crisp than Tonga.
Tonga looked rudderless the entire game and couldn't generate any ruck speed.

If you were a Dolphins fan would you be a tad worried at the prospect of Woolf succeeding Bennett ?

I know Tonga are lacking the inspirational Taumalolo and still appear to have nothing much in the halves (Isaiya Katoa disappointing again) but the coach has got nothing out of this team as an attacking unit.

And he hasn't even considered Leigh's John Asiata, arguably player of the year in SL, or Tom Amone.

 

[KennySterling]

I wouldn't believe a word that guy says.

Nobody with half a brain would. Joke.

 

[KennySterling]

Probably not

samoa touring would be good

but again we miss out on tonga vs samoa

I’d prefer australia to tour and it was nz Samoa and tonga

Shaun Wane took charge of England in 2021 and has now won 10 of his 12 matches.

But he has yet to face either Australia or New Zealand thanks to a 'kind' World Cup draw he was unable to take advantage of...

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Shaun Wane took charge of England in 2021 and has now won 10 of his 12 matches.

But he has yet to face either Australia or New Zealand thanks to a 'kind' World Cup draw he was unable to take advantage of...

What's the second loss (other than the Samoa WC SF?)

 

[KennySterling]

What's the second loss (other than the Samoa WC SF?)

His very first game, England lost to Combined Nations (a selection of imports playing in SL) in 2021.

 

[taste2taste]

Why have these games been so slow ? It's like watching an NRL game in slow motion.

I know it's been raining in both games but the ref hasn't helped with allowing players to lay in the play the ball.

Do they have a 30 second clock for scrums ?

 

[Perth Red]

Gritty win, not pretty but just did the basics better. Very surprised to see the england pack get on top of the Tongans. But for two fluffed tries the score could have been much worse for tonga. Frizzel aside they look solid but lacking any creativity

england pack did a great job, very solid in defence and make good metres, burgess the stand out when he was on.
mikey Lewis I thought had a better game than game 1, much more rounded with great kicking, solid defence despite being run at all night and a bit of creativity. He likes the niggle as well which got under Tongans skins lol

crowd was just under 12k. Not great but a few factors, hudds which no one seems to like, RUWC final on the tv and raining heavy. Should get 15k plus at Leeds Is which is where I’d expect a crowd against a tier two nation to be.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

Gritty win, not pretty but just did the basics better. Very surprised to see the england pack get on top of the Tongans. But for two fluffed tries the score could have been much worse for tonga. Frizzel aside they look solid but lacking any creativity

england pack did a great job, very solid in defence and make good metres, burgess the stand out when he was on.
mikey Lewis I thought had a better game than game 1, much more rounded with great kicking, solid defence despite being run at all night and a bit of creativity. He likes the niggle as well which got under Tongans skins lol

crowd was just under 12k. Not great but a few factors, hudds which no one seems to like, RUWC final on the tv and raining heavy. Should get 15k plus at Leeds Is which is where I’d expect a crowd against a tier two nation to be.

Great kicking game by England and they are a relatively young side in certain key positions. Hopefully they go on to do great things against Aus & NZ. World RL needs multiple threats to the Kangaroos come 2026. England and NZ are still the closest to that.

 

[This Year?]

If you were a Dolphins fan would you be a tad worried at the prospect of Woolf succeeding Bennett ?

I know Tonga are lacking the inspirational Taumalolo and still appear to have nothing much in the halves (Isaiya Katoa disappointing again) but the coach has got nothing out of this team as an attacking unit.

And he hasn't even considered Leigh's John Asiata, arguably player of the year in SL, or Tom Amone.

I would be a tad worried. Woolf hasn't got Tonga up for this tour. Katoa hasn't really kicked on and seems to be going backwards. It's a long season and he is so young, so he should bounce back after the offseason though.
To me Tonga just play like a team of back rowers all on their second stint. I hope they can give their fans something in game 3.

 

[Last Week]

crowd was just under 12k. Not great but a few factors, hudds which no one seems to like, RUWC final on the tv and raining heavy. Should get 15k plus at Leeds Is which is where I’d expect a crowd against a tier two nation to be.

You're such a hypocritical merkin.

 

[Perth Red]

 

[Wb1234]

After I saw the ref favouring England I went to sleep

 

[Wb1234]

Why have these games been so slow ? It's like watching an NRL game in slow motion.

I know it's been raining in both games but the ref hasn't helped with allowing players to lay in the play the ball.

Do they have a 30 second clock for scrums ?

Tier two nations

 

[Wb1234]

If you were a Dolphins fan would you be a tad worried at the prospect of Woolf succeeding Bennett ?

I know Tonga are lacking the inspirational Taumalolo and still appear to have nothing much in the halves (Isaiya Katoa disappointing again) but the coach has got nothing out of this team as an attacking unit.

And he hasn't even considered Leigh's John Asiata, arguably player of the year in SL, or Tom Amone.

Disagree

in game one Tonga we’re the better side

even nz don’t seem interested playing in England

if this series was in nz or Tonga England would get flogged

and the dolphins have a star roster now with farnsworth and fleger and getting rid of deadwood like milf

 

[Wb1234]

11another awful crowd but to be expected hudds was a poor choice

Leeds seems to have already sold 13k

the games should’ve been Wigan Leeds and London or Manchester

but it’s something. To build on for samoa next year

Then they can have png or Cook Islands

 

[RedVee_8]

If Hudds is agreed as a bad choice…. Why did they make that choice?

Surely there was / is a rationale?

 

[Wb1234]

So png vs fiji got just over 14k today

3k more than England got

 

[Perth Red]

After I saw the ref favouring England I went to sleep

Please, if he’d called the tongan offsides we’d have kicked more penalties than a RUWC final!

 

[Perth Red]

If Hudds is agreed as a bad choice…. Why did they make that choice?

Surely there was / is a rationale?

I’d suggest rental cost. They probably also stupidly thought rugby league fans in yorkshire would get off their arses and support the game rather than stay home to watch some union borefest.