Australia’s world champion Kangaroos and Jillaroos restored pride after losing last year’s Pacific Cup finals but not without a massive fright from Tonga and the Kiwi Ferns at a heaving CommBank Stadium.
With Tom Dearden and Isaah Yeo playing leading roles, the Kangaroos kicked out to a 20-4 lead after 43 minutes before withstanding a powerful finish from a proud Tonga side spurred on by a red tidal wave of support.
The Jillaroos, meanwhile, always looked to have their arch-rivals at arm’s length, saluting 24-4 on the back of the playmaking brilliance of Tarryn Aiken and Ali Brigginshaw and a committed defence that only yielded with 90 seconds to remaining in the match.
Joining the Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns in next year’s Pacific Cup will be Fetu Samoa, who capped a fabulous fortnight by beating PNG Orchids 34-12 to earn promotion to the top tier.
Having already qualified for the 2026 World Cup courtesy of their win over Fiji Bulikula in week two, the Jamie Soward-coached Samoa put the icing on the cake with Sunday’s impressive victory.
The Orchids will be relegated to the Pacific Bowl in 2025 but had already safely qualified for the World Cup after making the semi-finals of the last tournament in 2022.
In the men’s tournament, the Kiwis’ big win over the Kumuls in Sunday’s promotion-relegation clash ensured that Stacey Jones’ team would remain in the top tier in 2025, where they could be pitched against Tonga and Samoa, with the Kangaroos possibly headed to England for a Test series against the old enemy.
After coming out of retirement in his country’s hour of need, superstar halfback Shaun Johnson got the perfect send-off in his 35th and final Test match for the Kiwis, coming up with five try assists and three line break assists.
