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The USA claimed their first win over Tonga in 25 years with a convincing 36-17 result at the neutral venue of Chambéry on Saturday. An improved attacking game yielded five tries, while the Eagles set piece got the better of their opposites en route to the historic result.
Early on it was the Tongans who looked sharp as Patrick Pellegrini broke free to set alarm bells ringing. Not long after Fetuli Paea burst clean through the line before casually touching the ball down. A high tackle gave the Eagles a chance to respond, and after several phases Dom Besag powered through a tackle to score out wide. The conversion attempt was no good and the Tongans held a slender two-point lead.
Discipline became a concerns for the Ikale Tahi and more penalties gave away field position. The Eagles pack went to work until Jason Damm squeezed in under the posts. A raking kick downfield from AJ MacGinty pinned Tonga back in their end and when the Eagles regained possession they again looked to their big men up front. This time Jack Iscaro was the man to dot down on the edge of a ruck, and suddenly the USA were ahead by a dozen points with a half-hour played.
Tima Fainga’anuku was proving a menace for the Eagles defense and a high shot on the rampaging right winger resulted in a red card to USA fullback Mitch Wilson. A line break from Lotu Inisi put the Americans on the retreat and soon after a kick ahead appeared to sit up perfectly for Tupou Afungia, only for the flanker to drop the ball with the line at his mercy. The score stood 19-7 to the Eagles after 40 minutes.
An exchange of tries came not long into the second half. Ruben de Haas intercepted a loose pass from Pellegrini to scorch in untouched from 40 meters. At the other end Afungia made amends with a perfectly-weighted skip pass to Fainga’anuku, who barged in to give the Tongans some hope.
Strong carries from Cory Daniel, Alex Maughan, and Greg Peterson got the Eagles in behind the Tongan defense. A few phases later MacGinty would do his best forward impression with a pick-and-go from a ruck to score. It was nearly followed by a try from Kapeli Pifeleti, but the replacement hooker lost control of the ball while sliding over the line.
A sniping run from Siaosi Nginingini gave the Tongans their third try but that would bring a close to their scoring for the day. MacGinty notched a penalty goal for some insurance, and what looked to be a de Haas double on the end of a lovely sequence was wiped off the board when the TMO determined Luke Carty’s offload had drifted ever-so-slightly forward.
Both sides close out their calendar years next weekend. The Eagles head to Madrid for a clash against Spain on Saturday, while Tonga are off to Tbilisi where Georgia will be waiting on Sunday.
| SCORING |
USA 36
Tries (5) – D. Besag (9′), J. Damm (19′), J. Iscaro (26′), R. de Haas (46′), A. MacGinty (54′)
Cons (4) – A. MacGinty 4/5 (20′, 27′, 47′, 55′)
Pens (1) – A. MacGinty 1/1 (71′)
RC (1) – M. Wilson (36′)
TONGA 17
Tries (3) – F. Paea (5′), T. Fainga’anuku (49′), S. Nginingini (65′)
Cons (1) – P. Pellegrini 1/2 (6′), W. Havili 0/1
| TEAMS |
USA
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Jake Turnbull 67′), 2 Shilo Klein (16 Kapeli Pifeleti 45′), 3 Alex Maughan (18 Paul Mullen 61′), 4 Jason Damm (20 Mikey Grandy 71′), 5 Greg Peterson (capt.), 6 Vili Helu (19 Tomás Casares 64′), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Paddy Ryan, 9 Ruben de Haas (21 Ethan McVeigh 74′), 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Conner Mooneyham (22 Mark O’Keeffe 36′), 15 Mitch Wilson (23 Luke Carty 56′)
TONGA
1 Tau Koloamatangi (17 Salesi Tuifua 55′), 2 Sam Moli (16 Sefo Sakalia 71′), 3 Ben Tameifuna (capt.) (18 Paula Latu 55′), 4 Semisi Paea, 5 Harison Mataele (20 Tevita Ahokovi 44′), 6 Tupou Afungia (19 Justin Mataele 66′), 7 Sione Havili, 8 Lotu Inisi, 9 Aisea Halo (21 Siaosi Nginingini 58′), 10 Patrick Pellegrini (23 Poasi Tonga 61′), 11 Tima Fainga’anuku, 12 Fetuli Paea, 13 Fine Inisi, 14 Taniela Filimone (22 Josiah Unga 74′), 15 William Havili
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, November 16
Venue: Chambéry Savoie Stadium, Chambéry
Kickoff: 17:30 local (08:30 Pacific, 11:30 Eastern)
Weather: clear, 45°F (7°C), wind SE 0-1mph (1-2km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistants: Luc Ramos (France) & Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
