Tonga forward Felise Kaufusi has promised a stronger performance this weekend, admitting the team felt “embarrassed” after their 34-6 defeat to Samoa in Brisbane.
The loss leaves Tonga needing to beat New Zealand by at least 18 points at Eden Park to have any chance of reaching the Pacific Cup final and earning a rematch with their Pacific rivals.
“[I feel] kind of embarrassed to be honest; we had such a great build-up to our campaign and wanted to put it out there, but we were a bit rusty, bit off the pace and obviously didn’t help ourselves with our errors,” Kaufusi told nrl.com.
“We weren’t executing and our discipline… you can’t afford to do that at this level.
“Maybe club level you can get away with it, but definitely internationals, and against a team like Samoa, they were on tonight and it showed.
“Luckily, we get a chance against New Zealand and we’ll take some lessons from that.”
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – NOVEMBER 02: Siua Wong of Tonga charges forward during the men’s 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championship match between New Zealand Kiwis and Tonga XIII at Go Media Stadium on November 02, 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
He outlined the game plan needed to defeat the Kiwis, admitting his side must be better in their next showing.
“We want to start fast, start hard and be a lot more disciplined and execute a lot more, but I think we’ll be better for having that run,” he said.
Tonga were without star forward Jason Taumalolo, who was ruled out on the eve of the match to continue his recovery from surgery, while prop Stefano Utoikamanu exited early with a head knock.
“That’s probably one of our biggest strengths, being aggressive, being a good pack and leading off that, and we obviously didn’t do that [against Samoa{,” Kaufusi said.
“It’s a good challenge for us that we come up another against another great pack in New Zealand and it’ll be another big one.
“Obviously losing Jase… you know what difference he makes in that red jersey and with Stef, it was just unfortunate, and we lost him so early as well.
“I know he was keen for a big game… [Byt] that’s just part of the game nowadays that we’ve got to prepare for and be ready for.”
Kaufusi hopes Tonga’s passionate supporters will again turn out in numbers for Sunday’s clash.
“Absolutely we want to see the ‘red sea’ again,” he said.
“I know they’ll be out in their droves, with their parades, cars, their flags.
“Win, lose or draw, I know they’ll be there, so I can’t wait to see [them in] New Zealand again.”
The Tongan squad will get the chance at redemption this weekend against the Kiwis.