New Zealand 22–28 Tonga — Group B, 2017 Rugby League World Cup
11 Nov 2017 · Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand · Attendance: 24,041
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Group B, 2017 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 22–28 Tonga, at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand on 11 Nov 2017.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Fusitu'a (3); Hopoate; Lolohea Goals: Taukeiaho (3/4); Lolohea (1/2) |
| Tonga | Tries: Tuivasa-Sheck (2); 2 further tries — scorers not identified in any source found Goals: Johnson — exact conversion count not identified in any source found |
Teams
| New Zealand | Tonga | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Hopoate | Fullback | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | 1 |
| 2 | Daniel Tupou | Wing | Dallin Watene-Zelezniak | 2 |
| 3 | Mahe Fonua | Centre | Dean Whare | 3 |
| 4 | Konrad Hurrell | Centre | Brad Takairangi | 4 |
| 5 | David Fusitu'a | Wing | Jordan Rapana | 5 |
| 6 | Tui Lolohea | Stand off/Five eighth | Kodi Nikorima | 6 |
| 7 | Ata Hingano | Scrum half/Half back | Shaun Johnson | 7 |
| 8 | Andrew Fifita | Prop forward | Martin Taupau | 8 |
| 9 | Sione Katoa | Hooker | Thomas Leuluai | 9 |
| 10 | Siosiua Taukeiaho | Prop forward | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | 10 |
| 11 | Manu Ma'u | Second row | Simon Mannering | 11 |
| 12 | Sika Manu (c) | Second row | Joseph Tapine | 12 |
| 13 | Jason Taumalolo | Loose forward/Lock forward | Adam Blair (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Siliva Havili | Nelson Asofa-Solomona | 14 | |
| 21 | Tevita Pangai Junior — unusual squad number, unverified | Russell Packer | 15 | |
| 16 | Peni Terepo | Isaac Liu | 16 | |
| 17 | Ben Murdoch-Masila | Danny Levi | 17 | |
| Kristian Woolf | Coach | David Kidwell | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Gerard Sutton (Australia) — single-sourced |
| Player of the match | Not confirmed to Tier-1 standard |
Match report
Tonga beat New Zealand 28-22 at Hamilton in one of the tournament's biggest upsets, David Fusitu'a scoring a hat-trick. New Zealand's scoring breakdown is incomplete — sources confirm Roger Tuivasa-Sheck's two tries and Shaun Johnson's goal-kicking, but roughly 8 points' worth of New Zealand's scoring could not be attributed to a specific player in any source checked; shown honestly as a gap rather than guessed.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): New Zealand 25–24 Tonga
Sources
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup final — Wikipedia
- Rugby League World Cup: Australia beat England 6-0 to retain trophy — BBC Sport
- Famous Fixtures: Australia v England | 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final — rugby-league.com
- Australia 6-0 England: Kangaroos win Rugby League World Cup — Sky Sports
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final Team Lists & Officials — League Unlimited
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup — Wikipedia (full group/knockout results)