Tonga and Samoa Reach World Cup Semifinals — SkimNews
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- Tonga won all three Group B-C matches and beat Samoa 20-18; the result set up Tonga against New Zealand and Samoa against Australia in the semifinals, preserving a possible Tonga-Samoa final on November 15.
- Samoa reached the 2022 final after beating host England 27-26 in a golden-point semifinal and losing 30-10 to Australia, becoming the sixth nation to contest a men’s final across 16 editions.
- Australia has won 10 of the last 11 men’s World Cups, including the last three, while the 2026 tournament was reduced from 16 teams to 10.
- Tonga and Samoa used nine players with State of Origin experience in their group-game squads, evidence that the Pacific teams were bringing world-class quality to the tournament.
- Kristian Woolf has coached Tonga since 2014, while Samoa’s Ben Gardiner has led his side since 2023; both bring NRL experience and have worked with players on emotional regulation in big games.
- Pacific Rugby League Partnership was named as the recipient of A$250m (£130m) in Australian government funding over 10 years, announced in July to create opportunities in Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji and led by the Australian Rugby League Commission.
- IRL has let players elect to represent both a tier-one and tier-two nation since 2016, while limiting them to one country per calendar year or at a World Cup, giving Pacific diaspora players flexibility to represent Tonga or Samoa.
Why it matters: Australia’s A$250m, 10-year Pacific Rugby League Partnership, NRL-level coaching and nine State of Origin players give Tonga and Samoa more than a symbolic upset. The 20-18 result and their semifinal places add competition to a men’s World Cup cut from 16 teams to 10, while Australia has won 10 of the last 11 titles.
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