Tonga hunt huge World Cup upset over Kiwis

Hooker Sione Katoa says Tonga are focused on keeping things simple as they chase a Rugby League World Cup upset over New Zealand.

Tonga's rugby league team are embracing the challenge as they chase the biggest upset in World Cup history when they face New Zealand in Hamilton on Saturday.

No tier two nation has ever defeated a tier one team at the competition, but Tongan hooker Sione Katoa believes they have what it takes to succeed.

"We're just worried about ourselves, as we know the Kiwis are going to come out firing," he said.

"It's just a case of treating it like every other match, because if you go in trying to change your game plan that's when you start to make errors.

"For us we've got to keep it simple and focus on what we do best and the points will come."

The Penrith Panthers player admits they're going have to keep the intensity up for the entire match to have any chance of winning.

"We've had spots in the last 20 minutes of halves where we've been pretty passive and not executing our plays.

"That's something we're working hard on and if we let that happen against the Kiwis they could get us in the back end," Katoa said.

The 22-year-old, who was born in Wellington, admits he could still switch back to the New Zealand side in the future, having played for the Junior Kiwis in the past.

"It's everyone's dream to play for the Kiwis but it's also an honour to play for my heritage as well as represent my family," he said.

However for now he's purely focused on leading the Red and Whites to victory in a classic David versus Goliath battle.

"It would mean a lot to our country because we're a small nation trying to prove a point."


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Source: AAP


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