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Live EPL on SN this weekend'Freak of nature': Ponga stars as Kiwis reach World Cup final with Tonga win
George Clarke, AAP •  November 8th, 2026 1:40 am
Kalyn Ponga has returned from injury with a bang, leading the Kiwis to a World Cup semi win over Tonga | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
New Zealand are into their first World Cup final in 13 years after Kalyn Ponga returned from a broken arm to power the Kiwis past Tonga in a 34-10 win.
At Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium dominated by Tongan flags, Ponga marked his comeback from a 23-day absence with an influential performance in Saturday's semi-final.
The Knights' fullback set up three of the Kiwis' six tries and pulled off one of the try-saving tackles of the tournament as New Zealand advanced to next Sunday's final in Brisbane.
"He's a freak of a player but you see the defensive mindset he had tonight, where he saved a couple tries there," said Kiwis skipper James Fisher-Harris.
"That's what I love about KP, he's a freak of nature but I think his leadership skills are very underrated."
The Kiwis, who also welcomed back hooker Phoenix Crossland following his lengthy suspension, will learn their opponents on Sunday when Australia face Samoa in the other semi-final.
Dane Gagai crossed for one of the Kiwis' six tries at McDonald Jones Stadium | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
On the other side of the coin, this was a missed opportunity for Tonga who have failed to reach a single final across three-straight tournaments.
Fullback Lehi Hopoate made five errors and the Tongan halves struggled to master the elements, particularly in the second half when they were running into a ferocious wind.
This semi-final exit is likely to mark the last chance for Jason Taumalolo - the architect of rugby league's Pacific revolution - to win a World Cup.
"It's a disappointing way to finish, we've had an outstanding World Cup and we're happy with everything they've done," Tonga coach Kristian Woolf said.
"You can feel the disappointment in there and there's a bit of a missed opportunity with what the group's been able to do and how talented the group is."
But there remains a chance for New Zealand to become world champions next week after Ponga marked his return with a protective arm guard to send Briton Nikora crashing over after three minutes.
Tonga soon hit back as Jojo Fifita started and finished one of the most breathtaking tries of the tournament.
Catching a bomb five metres off his own line, the Gold Coast winger surged through a gap in the Kiwis' kick chase, linked with Tui Lolohea and Tolu Koula, who burned Joe Tapine and turned the pass back infield for Fifita to score.
Ponga halted Demitric Vaimauga with an incredible last-gasp tackle to slow Tonga's charge, before Fifita muscled over on the left for his second of the night.
Isaiya Katoa couldn't make the conversion and that was as close as Tonga got to victory.
It proved a disappointing exit for the well-supported Tonga team | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
As halftime approached, the Kiwis edged ahead 12-10 courtesy of Dane Gagai and never looked back.
Hopoate was unable to deal with a bouncing ball to the in-goal under pressure from Ponga and Gagai pounced.
But Tonga were unable to go the distance as Casey McLean, Jahrome Hughes, Xavier Willison and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad moved New Zealand out of sight with second-half tries.
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