Tonga 22–20 Ireland — Group C, 2008 Rugby League World Cup
27 Oct 2008 · Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia · Attendance: 6,165
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Group C, 2008 Rugby League World Cup: Tonga 22–20 Ireland, at Parramatta Stadium, Sydney, Australia on 27 Oct 2008.
Scorers
| Tonga | Tries: Jennings; E. Tonga; Uaisele; Vuna Goals: Taufa'ao (2/3); Williams (1/1) |
| Ireland | Tries: Blanch (3); Platt Goals: Richards (2/4) |
Teams
| Tonga | Ireland | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fetuli Talanoa | Fullback | Michael Platt | 1 |
| 2 | Cooper Vuna | Wing | Damien Blanch | 2 |
| 3 | Michael Jennings | Centre | Sean Gleeson | 3 |
| 4 | Etuate Uaisele | Centre | Stuart Littler | 4 |
| 5 | Esikeli Tonga | Wing | Pat Richards | 5 |
| 6 | Feleti Mateo | Stand off/Five eighth | Scott Grix (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Joel Taufa'ao | Scrum half/Half back | Karl Fitzpatrick | 7 |
| 8 | Antonio Kaufusi | Prop forward | Eamon O'Carroll | 8 |
| 9 | Tevita Leo-Latu | Hooker | Bob Beswick | 9 |
| 10 | Manase Manuokafoa | Prop forward | Ryan Tandy | 10 |
| 11 | Lopini Paea (c) | Second row | Ben Harrison | 11 |
| 12 | Richard Fa'aoso | Second row | Lee Doran | 12 |
| 13 | Willie Manu | Loose forward/Lock forward | Simon Finnigan | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Sam Moa | Mike McIlorum | 14 | |
| 15 | Epalahame Lauaki | Liam Finn | 15 | |
| 16 | Kim Uasi | Gareth Haggerty | 16 | |
| 17 | Tony Williams | Mick Cassidy | 17 | |
| Jim Dymock | Coach | Andy Kelly | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Steve Ganson (England) |
| Touch judges | Tony De Las Heras — single-sourced, Paul Holland — single-sourced |
| Player of the match | Not confirmed to Tier-1 standard |
Match report
Tonga beat Ireland 22-20 at Parramatta, Damien Blanch scoring a hat-trick for the losing side. Ireland's stand-in halves pairing came about after intended stand-off Graham Holroyd was ruled out injured, forcing captain Scott Grix to shift to stand-off alongside Karl Fitzpatrick.