Tonga have suffered an agonising 26-24 loss to Scotland in their opening match at the Rugby League World Cup.
The Mate Ma'a opened the scoring through Glen Fisi'iahi but poor defence saw them enter the half-time break trailing 20-4.
Man of the match Sika Manu started a second half fight-back, scoring twice as Tonga wiped out a 16 point deficit to take the lead with 18 minutes remaining.
However Matt Russell crossed to put the Bravehearts back in front 26-24, which is how it ended.
Tonga did cross the line on full-time but the video referee ruled no try.
Next up the Mate Ma'a will take on the Cook Islands, who begin their tournament against the USA on Thursday morning.
