Samoa seal Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification with play-off win over Tonga

Samoa secured Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification with a 37-15 defeat of Tonga in Hamilton on Saturday.

Holding a healthy 42-13 advantage from the first leg in Auckland last weekend, Manu Samoa needed to avoid defeat by 30 points to make sure of their place at France 2023.

And, they did more than that at FMG Stadium, running in four tries and holding off the threat of a Tongan comeback to secure a 79-28 aggregate win.

Next stop: @France2023 🏆

See you at #RWC2023, @manusamoa 👋 🇼🇸 pic.twitter.com/XLKV76w1fZ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) July 17, 2021

Victory takes Samoa’s record in Rugby World Cup qualification matches against Tonga to nine victories and one defeat, and means they will feature in Pool D of RWC 2023 alongside England, Japan, Argentina and the Americas 2 qualifier. 

"It's very satisfying, the last four weeks have been building to this game," Samoa captain Michael Alaalatoa said. 

"We made it hard for ourselves in the second half, they were in our faces and we weren't able to deal with that well, but the boys stuck at it.

"We don't expect anything less when we play against Tonga.”

Full match report via World Rugby