Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has confirmed powerhouse middle forward Jason Taumalolo will be “right to go” for the high-stakes Pacific Championships clash with New Zealand on Sunday and challenged his side to be more “physical” than it was against Samoa.
The Tongans need to beat the Kiwis by 17 points at Eden Park in Auckland if they are to qualify for the final, having suffered a 34-6 defeat to Samoa at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Woolf deemed Taumalolo not yet ready to play against Samoa after the knee “cleanout” surgery he had following the NRL season.
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The Tongan forward pack was then stripped further when front-rower Stefano Utoikamanu was ruled out with concussion just a minute into the game.
Utoikamanu won’t be available for the clash with New Zealand but Woolf confirmed in his post-match conference that $10 million Cowboys juggernaut Taumalolo would return.
“He obviously had end-of-season surgery, and it was always a little bit of a rush trying to get him back for that game, and that’s what we all aimed to do, including him,” Woolf said.
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From left to right: Tonga’s Jason Taumalolo, Siliva Havili and Isaiya Katoa during the 2024 Pacific Championships. Getty
“I just felt when I watched a few things and when I watched some training vision and him running … that it wasn’t the right thing to do by him to play and that it was just a little bit too soon.
“My job as a coach is obviously to try and put us in a position to win games but it’s also to look after our players, and I thought he needed to be looked after a little bit, and I thought we’re gonna put him at risk if we throw him out there.
“He’ll be right to go [on Sunday]; he’ll have another week of running under his belt.”
Woolf admitted Taumalolo was “certainly chomping at the bit” and “desperate” to face Samoa.
“So I don’t think I’ll be able to hold him back next week,” he said.
Set to confront Tonga in the middle of the park on Sunday are James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Joseph Tapine, Naufahu Whyte and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
The loss of Utoikamanu is set to hurt Tonga, but the Mate Ma’a will have Addin Fonua-Blake, Felise Kaufusi, Moeaki Fotuaika and Taumalolo.
Carrying the ball out of yardage for the Kiwis will be the likes of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Jamayne Isaako and Matthew Timoko, while Tonga will have Lehi Hopoate, Daniel Tupou and Tolutau Koula.
“I think we’ve gotta take the physical challenge a little bit more first,” Woolf said.
“I think Samoa came out of the blocks harder. They showed that in their line speed, showed that in their contact, they showed that the way they wanted to carry out of the backfield and showed that the way they wanted to get after kicks.
“That’s a starting point, and we’ve got to make amends there really quickly.
“That’s our biggest strength — our physicality and how we can go after games.”
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The Samoans lost to New Zealand 24-18 in round one before fighting back with their 34-6 win over Tonga to book a spot in the decider.
Asked how his side would go about the clash with New Zealand knowing a 17-point win was needed, Woolf said he was only focused on winning.
“We’ve just got to worry about going and winning the game to start with and playing a lot better than what we did [against Samoa],” Woolf said.
“Obviously we’d love to get those sorts of points and win by that sort of margin, but I don’t think going and chasing points is gonna give us a result that we want, either.”