New Zealand 25–24 Tonga — Group B, 1995 Rugby League World Cup
8 Oct 1995 · Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington, England · Attendance: 8,083
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Group B, 1995 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 25–24 Tonga, at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington, England on 8 Oct 1995.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Blackmore (2); — further scoring in the closing stages not fully itemised in sources found Goals: Ridge (2 confirmed, additional detail not reconciled in sources found) Drop goals: Ridge (1) — reported in narrative sources, not confirmed in structured match data |
| Tonga | Tries: Finau; Taufa; Veikoso; Wolfgramm Goals: Amone (4) |
Teams
| New Zealand | Tonga | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Ridge (c) | Fullback | Asa Amone | 1 |
| 2 | Sean Hoppe | Wing | Una Taufa | 2 |
| 3 | Richie Blackmore | Centre | Tevita Vaikona | 3 |
| 4 | Ruben Wiki | Centre | Phil Howlett | 4 |
| 5 | Richie Barnett | Wing | Jimmy Veikoso | 5 |
| 6 | Gene Ngamu | Stand off/Five eighth | Angelo Dymock | 6 |
| 7 | Stacey Jones | Scrum half/Half back | Willie Wolfgramm | 7 |
| 8 | Quentin Pongia | Prop forward | Martin Masella | 8 |
| 9 | Syd Eru | Hooker | Duane Mann (c) | 9 |
| 10 | Jason Lowrie | Prop forward | Lee Hansen | 10 |
| 11 | Tony Iro | Second row | George Mann | 11 |
| 12 | Stephen Kearney | Second row | Solomon Haumono | 12 |
| 13 | Tony Kemp | Loose forward/Lock forward | Awen Guttenbeil | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Henry Paul | Salesi Finau | 14 | |
| 15 | Hitro Okesene | Talite Liava'a | 15 | |
| 16 | Kevin Iro | |||
| 17 | Mark Horo | |||
| Frank Endacott | Coach | Mike McClennan | ||
Match officials
| Referee | David Campbell (St Helens) |
| Touch judges | Not identified in sources found |
| Player of the match | Not identified in sources found |
Match report
New Zealand edged Tonga 25-24 in a classic at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington, trailing 24-12 with around 20 minutes remaining before a late surge — including a Matthew Ridge field goal — snatched victory. Tonga's four tries and the closing New Zealand comeback reconciled to the final score, but the exact composition of New Zealand's late scoring beyond Richie Blackmore's two tries and Ridge's two goals could not be fully itemised from sources found and is shown as an honest gap.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): New Zealand 22–28 Tonga