Tonga at the Rugby World Cup
The Tonga national rugby union team has played in all Rugby World Cup tournaments, except in 1991, when they did not qualify. Their best performances were in the 2007 and 2011 tournaments, when they won two matches. Their best single match win was an upset victory in 2011 over eventual finalists France.
| Nation | Number of appearances | First appearance | Most recent appearance | Streak | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tonga |
7 | 1987 | 2015 | 6 | Two wins, 2007, 2011 |
By position
- 1987 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
- 1991 Rugby World Cup Did not qualify.
- 1995 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
- 1999 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
- 2003 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
- 2007 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
- 2011 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
- 2015 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in pool stages.
By match
1987 Rugby World Cup
Pool 2 games -
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wales
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 31 | 6 |
 Ireland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 41 | 4 |
 Canada
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 90 | 2 |
| Tonga
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 98 | 0 |
| 1987-05-24 |
| Canada | 37 – 4 | Tonga |
| Tries: Palmer (2) Vaesen (2) Stuart Frame Penalty try Con: Wyatt (2) Gareth Rees Pen: Rees | Try: Valu |
| McLean Park, Napier Referee: Clive Norling |
| 1987-05-29 |
| Tonga | 16 – 29 | Wales |
| Tries: Fielea Fifita Con: Liava'a Pen: Liava'a Amone | Tries: Webbe (3) Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2) Drop: Davies |
| Showgrounds Oval, Palmerston North Referee: David Bishop  |
| 1987-06-03 |
| Ireland | 32 – 9 | Tonga |
| Tries: Mullin (3) MacNeill (2) Con: Ward (3) Pen: Ward (2) | Pen: Amone (3) |
| Ballymore, Brisbane Referee: Guy Maurette  |
1991 Rugby World Cup
Did not qualify
1995 Rugby World Cup
Pool D games -
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 
France
3 0 0 114 47 9 
Scotland
2 0 1 149 27 7 
Tonga
1 0 2 44 90 5 
Ivory Coast
0 0 3 29 172 3
| 1995-05-26 |
| France | 38 – 10 | Tonga |
| Tries: Thierry Lacroix (2), Aubin Hueber, Philippe Saint-André Con: Thierry Lacroix (3) Pen: Thierry Lacroix (3) Drop: Yann Delaigue | Tries: Tevita Va'enuku Con: Sateki Tu'ipulotu Pen: Sateki Tu'ipulotu |
| Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Attendance: 25 000 Referee: Steve Lander  |
| 1995-05-30 |
Scotland  | 41 – 5 | Tonga |
| Tries: Scott Hastings, Eric Peters, Gavin Hastings Con: Gavin Hastings Pen: Gavin Hastings (8) | Tries: Ipolito Fenukitau |
| Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria Attendance: 21 000 Referee: Barry Leask  |
| 1995-06-03 |
Ivory Coast  | 11 – 29 | Tonga |
| Tries: Alfred Okou Pen: Athanase Dali (2) | Tries: Mana Otai, Sateki Tu'ipulotu, Pouvalu Latukefu Con: Sateki Tu'ipulotu (3) Pen: Sateki Tu'ipulotu |
| Olympia Park, Rustenburg Attendance: 16 000 Referee: Don Reordan  |
1999 Rugby World Cup
Pool 2 games -
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 
New Zealand
3 0 0 176 28 6 
England
2 0 1 184 47 4 Tonga
1 0 2 48 171 2 
Italy
0 0 3 35 196 0
| 1999-10-03 |
| New Zealand | 45 – 9 | Tonga |
| Tries: Jonah Lomu (2), Byron Kelleher, Norm Maxwell, Josh Kronfeld Con: Andrew Mehrtens (4) Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4) | Pen: Siua Taumalolo (3) |
| Ashton Gate, Bristol Attendance: 21,000 Referee: Derek Bevan |
| 1999-10-10 |
Italy  | 25 – 28 | Tonga |
| Tries: Alessandro Moscardi Con: Diego Dominguez Pen: Diego Dominguez (6) | Tries: Taunaholo Taufahema, 'Isileli Fatani, Sateki Tuipulotu Con: Sateki Tuipulotu (2) Pen: Sateki Tuipulotu (2) Drop: Sateki Tuipulotu |
| Welford Road, Leicester Referee: David McHugh  |
| 1999-10-15 |
| England | 101 – 10 | Tonga |
| Tries: Jeremy Guscott (2), Phil Greening (2), Dan Luger (2), Austin Healey (2), Will Greenwood (2), Matt Dawson, Matt Perry, Richard Hill Con: Paul Grayson (12) Pen: Paul Grayson (4) | Tries: Tevita Tiueti Con: Sateki Tuipulotu Pen: Sateki Tuipulotu |
| Twickenham, London Attendance: 72,485 Referee: Wayne Erickson |
2003 Rugby World Cup
Group D games-
| Team | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | BP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 282 | 57 | 4 | 20 |
| Wales
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 98 | 2 | 14 |
| Italy
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 123 | 0 | 8 |
| Canada
|
1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 135 | 1 | 5 |
| Tonga
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 178 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003-10-15 |
| Italy | 36 – 12 | Tonga |
| Tries: M. Dallan, D. Dallan (2) Con: Wakarua (3) Pen: Wakarua (5) | Tries: Payne, Tu'ifua Con: Tu'ipulotu |
| Canberra Stadium Attendance: 18,967 Referee: Steve Walsh |
| 2003-10-19 |
| Wales | 27 – 20 | Tonga |
| Tries: Cooper, M. Williams Con: S. Jones Pen: S. Jones (4) Drop: M. Williams | Tries: Hola, Kivalu, Lavaka Con: Hola Pen: Hola |
| Canberra Stadium Attendance: 19,806 Referee: Paul Honiss |
| 2003-10-24 |
| New Zealand | 91 – 7 | Tonga |
| Tries: Braid, Carter, Flynn, Ralph (2), Spencer, Meeuws, Penalty try, Muliaina (2), MacDonald, Howlett (2) Con: MacDonald (12), Spencer | Tries: Hola Con: Tu'ipulotu |
| Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 47,588 Referee: Pablo De Luca  |
| 2003-10-29 |
| Canada | 24 – 7 | Tonga |
| Tries: Fauth, Abrams Con: Pritchard Pen: Ross (4) | Tries: Kivalu Con: Hola |
| WIN Stadium, Wollongong Attendance: 15,630 Referee: Alain Rolland |
2007 Rugby World Cup
Pool A matches -
|
|
2011 Rugby World Cup
Tonga played in Pool A. After losing to New Zealand and Canada, they beat Japan and then had an upset victory over eventual finalists France, their greatest World Cup match result to date.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 49 | +191 | 36 | 4 | 20 | Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup |
| 2 |  France
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 96 | +28 | 13 | 3 | 11 | |
| 3 | Tonga
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 98 | −18 | 7 | 1 | 9 | Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup |
| 4 | Canada
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 82 | 168 | −86 | 9 | 0 | 6 | |
| 5 |  Japan
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 69 | 184 | −115 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
Source: [citation needed]
| 9 September 2011 | New Zealand |
41–10 | Tonga |
Eden Park, Auckland |
| 14 September 2011 | Tonga |
20–25 | Canada |
Northland Events Centre, Whangarei |
| 21 September 2011 | Tonga |
31–18 | Japan |
Northland Events Centre, Whangarei |
| 1 October 2011 | France |
14–19 | Tonga |
Regional Stadium, Wellington |
2015 Rugby World Cup
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 49 | +125 | 25 | 3 | 19 | Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup |
| 2 | Argentina
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 179 | 70 | +109 | 22 | 3 | 15 | |
| 3 |  Georgia
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 123 | −70 | 5 | 0 | 8 | Eliminated but qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup |
| 4 | Tonga
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 70 | 130 | −60 | 8 | 2 | 6 | |
| 5 |  Namibia
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 174 | −104 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
Source: [citation needed]
| 19 September 2015 | Tonga |
10–17 | Georgia |
Kingsholm, Gloucester |
| 29 September 2015 | Tonga |
35–21 | Namibia |
Sandy Park, Exeter |
| 4 October 2015 | Argentina |
45–16 | Tonga |
Leicester City Stadium, Leicester |
| 9 October 2015 | New Zealand |
47–9 | Tonga |
St. James' Park, Newcastle |
Hosting
So far Tonga has not hosted any World Cup games, and has not put in bids for future tournaments. Due to the lack of facilities, and the small size of the island nation, it is unlikely it will do so in the future.
References
- Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
- Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)