12 Feb 2007

Tonga breezes through World Cup qualifying match against Korea

11:56 am on 12 February 2007

The Tongan rugby union side has qualified for the Rugby World Cup after beating Korea 85-3 in a qualifier at Waitemata Park in Auckland.

They'll now be in the same world cup pool as England, South Africa, the USA and Samoa.

The assistant coach, Ellis Meachen, says he's confident Tonga can progress, especially as they play England and South Africa once both teams have been softened up by physical games against Samoa.

But he says there's still opportunities to increase their player base before the World Cup.

"We've got a Pacific Six Nations competition coming up in May and June, and we'll obviously use that to have a look at some more players, and to trial players that are coming back from overseas who want to make themselves available for Kaletahi this year."