Tonga’s Pacific Championships campaign gets underway this afternoon at Suncorp Stadium when they take on Samoa, who are aiming to keep their tournament alive.

Samoa went down in a thriller to New Zealand last week and need to win this to remain a chance of progressing to the Pacific Cup final on November 9.

If Tonga win, they’ll play New Zealand in the final no matter what happens in next week’s fixture against the Kiwis.

Today’s clash shapes up as a beauty with Tonga fielding quite possibly the strongest team they ever have in a Test match.

They were the real surprise packets of last year’s tournament, losing to Australia in the 2024 Pacific Cup by just six points.

In a massive blow, star middle forward Jason Taumalolo is a late out via injury. He’s been replaced in the starting side

See Full Page