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New Zealand v Tonga Rugby world cup live

New Zealand take their first step on a road that they hope will lead to redemption and a long overdue second World Cup title when they tackle Tonga in Auckland on Friday live on SPORTS FUTURING.
The greatest rugby nation in the world is under massive pressure to win the game's holy grail after five botched Rugby World Cup attempts; that quest re-commences with a battle against South Sea hardmen Tonga.

New Zealand v Tonga, Ground name:Eden Park, Auckland

                 Fri-9 at 20:30 local, 08:30 GMT

The Rugby World Cup is the sport's showpiece event and is contested every four years by the game's 20 leading nations.The competing countries are initially divided into four pools and play each other once with the group winners and runners-up progressing to the knock-out stages that consist of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup - named after William Webb Ellis, who is credited with inventing the sport.The first World Cup was hosted by New Zealand in 1987 with the United Kingdom, Ireland & France (1991), South Africa (1995), Wales (1999), Australia (2003) and France (2007) staging the subsequent tournaments. The 2011 World Cup will be staged in New Zealand with England and Japan set to host the 2015 and 2019 events respectively. 

The All Blacks' sole Rugby World Cup title was won in their own backyard in 1987. Since then, they have crashed out three times in the semi-finals, once - most recently - in the quarter-finals and have also lost the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.

Chokers is the tag that now dogs rugby's most famous sons at every RWC they appear at.


While defeat to Tonga is more or less unthinkable, this opening match will set down a marker for the All Blacks to come out and play the kind of rugby their, by turns, adoring and hating public demands.

Graham Henry's boys will meet fire-with-fire when it comes to taking on the behemoth Tongan pack. Out back, the 1987 RWC winners will recycle ferociously in an attempt to eliminate the kind of broken field running play where Tonga can do their most damage.


The New Zealand line-up reads like an All-Star team of modern-day rugby and weaknesses are not readily apparent. The twin towers of the team are openside flanker Richie McCaw and out-half Dan Carter.


McCaw has been the most consistent forward in Test-match rugby for the last decade. Superb at gaining possession at the breakdown, fast in the loose, with a massive hand-off and a beastly tackle: he is the blueprint for the perfect loose forward.

Carter is the best out-half in the world. His tactical kicking is better than Ronan O'Gara's, his place-kicking is up there with Jonny Wilkinson's and his running rugby is as good as Quade Cooper's. There is no weakness to his game, and with him starting, New Zealand will always have a chance.


The rest of the team is similarly impressive, with the pack head and shoulders above every other pack in the world - including South Africa and England. Victor Vito starts at number 8 for the All Blacks in place of the injured Kieran Read - a man the All Blacks will no doubt miss.

An area Tonga may attempt to target is right wing, where the relatively inexperienced Richard Kahui will start. That could be the focus of Tongan attack in the hope they can put him under pressure early and force some mistakes under the high ball or with missed tackles.


Tonga coach Isitolo Maka has already stated that his side will not attempt to change their game plan before facing New Zealand and will continue with their cavalier approach.


Maka said: "I don't think we can compete with the All Blacks the way Australia and South Africa did. We have our own strengths and we're going to play to them."

The South Sea Islanders will hope to disrupt the All Blacks patterns by offloading at every opportunity and attempt to cut the shape of the game to pieces - in turn creating unexpected space to exploit.


They will also target the scrum as an area to win penalties and will hope to hammer their opponents in the set-piece every chance that they get.


While Finau Maka is the captain and talisman of this team, the real star for Tonga at the RWC is likely to be Soane Tonga'uiha.


The Northampton prop is coming off the back of a sensational season with his club. The prop was always like a raging bull when running at opposition defences, but he's added to his set-piece game of late and is now regarded as one of the best scrummagers in the world.


These two skills allow him to win penalties galore at scrum-time and score tries in the manner of an outside back. He will target this match as a chance to shine on the world stage.


Also, keep an eye out for 26-year-old Fetu'u Vainikolo. The former Highlanders winger is on the books at Connacht this year. Vainikolo is not included in the matchday squad for the New Zealand match, but will feature for Tonga later in the tournament.


Tonga have never made it out of the pool stages of a RWC and are highly unlikely to do it this time. But, they ran South Africa close in 2007, only losing 30-25, and only lost 27-20 to Wales in 2003. They will be attempting for a similar result against the All Blacks.


The teams first met in a RWC clash in Pool B in 1999, when New Zealand won 45-9. The sides met again in Pool D in 2003, with New Zealand prevailing far more easily 91-7.


Tonga will be boosted by the presence of a massive fan base in Auckland, who will no doubt roar on their men for the duration of their encounter with the RWC 2011 hosts.


Bear in mind that Tonga lost 102-0 to New Zealand in 2000 and you'll get an idea of how bad things have gone in the past. They'll never let that happen this time though and will battle as though their lives depended on it. However, realistically this will be a damage-limitation exercise for Tonga.
New Zealand - Player to Watch: It simply has to be Sonny Bill Williams. The former league star with the ridiculously soft hands is worth watching regardless of the setting and circumstances on account of his outrageous skills set, but in this, his first appearance on the biggest stage of all in union, you can be certain that he will be even more determined than usual to dazzle.


New Zealand - Team News: Williams has been preferred to Conrad Smith in the All Blacks midfield and that sees Ma'a Nonu switch to No.13 to accommodate the Canterbury ace at inside centre. Israel Dagg gets the nod at fullback over Mils Muliaina, while Richard Kahui and Isaia Toeava are preferred to Cory Jane and Zac Guildford on the right and left wings, respectively. Jimmy Cowan, meanwhile, is chosen ahead of Piri Weepu as Dan Carter's half-back partner. Up front, Tony Woodcock has been passed fit to start despite concerns over a hamstring strain so he takes up his usual berth at loose-head prop. He will be joined in the front-row by Andrew Hore and Owen Franks. Samuel Whitelock makes way for Ali Williams in the second-row, while the injury-enforced absences of blindside flanker Adam Thomson and No.8 Kieran Read mean that there are starts for Jerome Kaino and Victor Vito in the back-row alongside skipper Richie McCaw, who will be making his 99th Test appearance for his country.


Tonga - Player to Watch: When he was younger Finau Maka dreamt of following in the footsteps of older brother Isitolo, who was capped by the All Blacks, but after being overlooked by New Zealand, and subsequently France, for whom he qualified through residency, the powerful No.8 embraced the land of his birth and turned in a string of impressive performances for Tonga during the 2007 World Cup. As captain this time around, the 34-year-old Maka will doubtless bring even more aggression and passion to the party, particularly in this weekend's clash with the All Blacks.

Tonga - Team News: Tonga name Maka as captain with Soane Tonga'uiha heading up a strong front-row. He is partnered by Worcester's Aleki Lutui and Cardiff Blues' Tau Filise. Paino Hehea and Joseph Tuineau will provide the grunt in the second-row while Viliami Ma'afu and Sione Kalamafoni will line up alongside Maka in the back-row. Taniela Moa takes the scrum-half berth alongside Kurt Morath. On the wings the prolific Vili Iongi will hope to make an impact with Siale Piutau on the other flank. Vunga Lilo lines up at fullback with Sukanaivalu Hufanga and Andre Ma'ilei in the centres.

IN SHORT:

New Zealand

Team

15 FB

Israel Dagg

14 W

Richard Kahui

13 C

Ma'a Nonu

12 C

Sonny Bill Williams

11 W

Isaia Toeava

10 FH

Dan Carter

9 SH

Jimmy Cowan

1 P

Tony Woodcock

2 H

Andrew Hore

3 P

Owen Franks

4 L

Brad Thorn

5 L

Ali Williams

6 F

Jerome Kaino

7 F

Richie McCaw

8 N8

Victor Vito

 Replacements

16

Corey Flynn

17

Ben Franks

18

Anthony Boric

19

Sam Whitelock

20

Piri Weepu

21

Colin Slade

22

Cory Jane

Tonga

 Team

15 FB

Vunga Lilo

14 W

Viliami Iongi

13 C

Suka Hufanga

12 C

Andrew Mailei

11 W

Siale Piutau

10 FH

Kurt Morath

9 SH

Taniela Moa

1 P

Soane Tonga'uiha

2 H

Aleki Lutui

3 P

Tau Filise

4 L

Kele Hehea

5 L

Joe Tuineau

6 F

Sione Kalamafoni

7 F

Finau Maka

8 N8

Vili Ma'afu

  Replacements

16

Ephraim Taukafa

17

Sona Taumalolo

18

Kisi Pulu

19

Sione Timani

20

Samiu Vahafolau

21

Samisoni Fisilau

22

Alipate Fatafehi

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