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Le Tongien Semisi Paea en 8 contre l'Afrique du Sud
Le staff des Tonga a apporté trois changements à l’équipe qui avait débuté face à l’Écosse dimanche dernier (défaite 45-17) : Semisi Paea entre au centre de la troisième ligne à la place de Vaea Fifita, suspendu, tandis que les ailiers Anzelo Tuitavuki et Fine Inisi sont titularisés sur les ailes.
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Semisi Paea sera titularisé en numéro 8 après la suspension de quatre matchs de Vaea Fifita au sein d’un XV de départ qui subit trois changements par rapport à celui qui a perdu contre l’Écosse la semaine dernière
Fifita, qui a été suspendu après avoir reçu un carton rouge pour une faute contre l’Écosse, manquera les matchs des Tonga contre l’Afrique du Sud et la Roumanie ainsi que les matchs des Scarlets en URC contre les Bulls et les Stormers.
XV de départ
1 Siegfried Fisi’ihoi
2 Paula Ngauamo
3 Ben Tameifuna (cap.)
4 Halaleva Fifita
5 Sam Lousi
6 Tanginoa Halaifonua
7 Sione Talitui
8 Semisi Paea
9 Augustine Pulu
10 William Havili
11 Anzelo Tuitavuki
12 Pita Ahki
13 Malakai Fekitoa
14 Fine Inisi
15 Salesi Piutau
Remplaçants
16 Sam Moli
17 Tau Koloamatangi
18 Sosefo Apikotoa
19 Adam Coleman
20 Sione Vailanu
21 Sonatane Takulua
22 Patrick Pellegrini
23 Afusipa Taumoepeau
Paea sera aligné en troisième ligne avec Tanginoa Halaifonua et Sione Havili Talitui. Talitui compte le deuxième plus grand nombre de plaquages sur la compétition (37) derrière le Gallois Jac Morgan (44).
Les deux autres changements sont apportés aux ailes, avec Anzelo Tuitavuki qui fera ses débuts en Coupe du Monde de Rugby à gauche et Fine Inisi aligné à droite.
Tuitavuki remplace Afusipa Taumoepeau, qui sera sur le banc.
La force de la première ligne
Inisi remplace Solomone Kata, qui sort du groupe des 23, Toutai Kefu cherchant à trouver la clé pour déverrouiller le potentiel offensif de son équipe
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Le trio de la première ligne – Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, Paula Ngauamo et le capitaine Ben Tameifuna – reste le même pour le troisième match de suite
Havili a réussi ses sept coups de pied d’occupation et peut taper du pied droit comme du pied gauche. Seuls l’Italien Tommaso Allan (13) et le Japonais Rikiya Matsuda (10) affichent plus de coups de pieds réussis avec 100 % de réussite.
Avec deux ballons grattés dans les rucks, plus que tout autre coéquipier, Havili a prouvé qu’il était décisif en défense, ce qui peut expliquer le fait que Sonatane Takulua soit sur le banc.
40e sélection pour Adam Coleman
Salesi Piutau et Malakai Fekitoa, anciens All Blacks, ainsi que l’ancien international néo-zélandais U20 Pita Ahki sont les seuls joueurs des Tonga à avoir disputé toutes les minutes de la Coupe du Monde de Rugby 2023. Ils pourraient améliorer ce total car ils seront titulaires sur ce match.
Adam Coleman, ancien Wallaby, pourrait connaître sa 40e sélection internationale, la deuxième pour les Tonga, s’il entre en jeu.
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Le banc des Tonga totalise 149 sélections, tandis que le XV de départ en compte 250.
Comments on RugbyPass
*_“I love watching bone-shuddering tackles, brutal clear-outs, monster ball carries, and crushingly intense scrummaging. I love it. These things make my heart rate spike. These aren’t the only things I love about rugby, but I feel no need to pretend I don’t love them, or to apologise for loving them just in case someone thinks I shouldn’t.”_* beautifully put Flats🔥
3 Go to comments“Hidden comments” all over the place😂 Turlough’s been a busy little boy ey🤭
72 Go to commentsit’ll all be released in an autobiography a few years from now….. “Razor shafted me” blah blah blah. thinking of making Scott Barrett captain might be a good move. Could calm down his brain fades & make him an even better player for them
3 Go to commentsSadly he played far too many games too young. England and France really do need to look after their younger players better.
1 Go to commentsHaving finally been able to watch the first Chasing the Sun (thanks RugbyPass!) - because I refuse to pay DSTV's extortionate monthly fee in SA - after four years, it was amazing to see Mapimpi's story as well as seeing my personal hero, Rassie, breaking down when telling it. There _is_ hope for the country, but only once we've got rid of the crooked and incompetent ANC (and others) who have set out to destroy it. Viva Rassie, viva Kolisi viva rugby!
1 Go to commentsWhether true or not, all the best to you Sam Cane. A warrior of a player and a loyal servant to the ABs! Go get you some yen and have some fun.
3 Go to commentsThe game was changing too much with teams trying to role the dice drawing fouls. Would be better if scrums and the adjudicating problems were resolved but this is a good immediate fix.
37 Go to commentsLike many here I am encouraged by this post. Our forwards are where the real rewards and improvements must come from. With a 50/50 pack against any opposition, our backs could ensure more than 50% of the games will be won. We need Valetini at 6 and Cale at 8 to make the most or a good tight 5, McWright will add to the effectiveness of the pack BUT must get a very good tight 5 out there first.
108 Go to commentsThe key point I think that is missing is that if Joseph wants to guarantee a Lions spot, he really has to play wing in his first year. He is easily going to nail down whatever he wants to do, but with just half a season, how much of a factor he proves to be in the Lions series could be dictated by this initial choice of playing position.
8 Go to commentsthe game was 2 weeks before the challenge cup final. I really don’t believe they needed to rest that many players.
1 Go to commentsI really feel like neither of the Vunipolas is given the respect they deserve. I would have liked to see both of them get a few more caps than they have gotten in the past couple of years, but unfortunately the fact that they both peaked young has meant that for a number of years they have been perceived as disappointments. When they are both retired, in the cold light of day they will be recognised as two of the best players of their generation of any nation.
2 Go to commentsthis generation of saracens players could produce some really incredible coaches. When Farrell retires he could walk into any premiership team as a defence, attack, or kicking coach. Itoje could make it as a defence or a lineout coach, and Jamie George as a lineout or scrum coach. The problem the Vunipolas are going to have is that its not clear what their coaching speciality would be. Neither are great in the set piece, and while they were good in attack and defence, they were never tactical masterminds. Perhaps contact skills would be their ideal brief? Mako perhaps could work in strength & conditioning, but Billy has a bit of a reputation for not taking that side of the game seriously.
2 Go to commentsA very good player.We are finally getting some balance in our team. Plummer..Heem ..Lam a solid..experienced combo who take the sensible options consistently. Clarke was a grt impact of the bench option until Lam moved to 13 to replace an injured Reiko. Cotter is doing a grt job building his team. .
1 Go to commentsSaturday was last straw. Terrible record in Premiership since Jan 23. Capitulation against Bath at home. There are 3 conclusions. Players aren't good enough. Coaching team aren't good enough or combination of both.
2 Go to commentsAs you say in your article Brett, the point was Hamish and his vanity - plain and simple. The crazy bit is that sua’ali’i has to be probably twice the player of mark N, no easy feat, just for RA to get their money's worth!?! And as you say, tahs aren't short of wingers, props on the other hand id like to see $1.6m spent on. I still shake my head at the absolute carry on in the media and comments section around the boon of getting sua’ali’i and the revenue it'd generate. It was all such hogwash imo and short sighted, real sugar hit stuff. And wasnt Waugh (and others) on the board at the time this money was spent? You say silver bullet, I'd say sugar hit but without the flavour.
8 Go to commentsNZR should play hard all a bit with some of these players and make them sign up to the next world cup. If they won’t, offer it to someone who will. Because what happens is the NH (especially France) swoop on a bunch of nz players coming off contract, weakening their depth, and nz scrambles less than 2 years out trying to get replacements up to speed.
1 Go to commentsNo thanks. Savea almost always leaves easy points out there and goes for the corner, no matter how many times it’s not working. He claimed he took “the learnings” from this when he kept making the same mistake against the Boks a few years ago. Then went out the very next week and did the same thing and SA snatched victory because of it. Years later he still does it, right up to and including the world cup final. Great player, not so great rugby nous.
10 Go to commentsIt certainly wasn't a rhetorical masterpiece coming from big E …. (just as a side remark: Eben is the better player, Siya by far the better talker - maybe that's why they don't seem to like each other very much) …. but could we please move on?
72 Go to commentsMan who wasn't there and hasn't held a conversation with those who were present weighs in on dead rubber debate and is presented as representative of the Irish Rugby Union’s spokesperson on subject he has no apparent knowledge of whatsoever.
72 Go to commentsanybody who bends at the waist when they tackle
6 Go to comments