New Zealand have produced a stunning first-half demolition of Tonga in their Pacific Championships clash at Eden Park, racing to a 26-0 lead after a near-flawless 40 minutes of rugby league.
After a cagey opening quarter, the Kiwis exploded in the 19th minute when Keano Kini and Casey McLean combined for one of the tries of the tournament.
From inside their own 20, Kini found McLean streaking up the left touchline, before the winger drew the cover and passed back inside for Kini to finish off the 80-metre effort under the posts.
New Zealand weren't done there.
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Kiwis blitz Tonga with four tries in 19 minutes
Just five minutes later, Dylan Brown took full control.
The five-eighth shaped to pass but dummied through from five metres out, slicing past a tired Tongan pack that had been under siege for repeat sets on their own line.
In the 29th minute, Brown was at it again - this time with a perfectly placed cross-field kick that found McLean, who soared above the defence to grab his second and push the score to 18-0.
The onslaught continued when Kieran Foran and Briton Nikora combined beautifully down the right edge.
Nikora broke a tackle and offloaded to Matt Timoko, who burst through two defenders to make it 24 points in just 19 minutes.
To compound Tonga’s woes, a late penalty goal on the siren stretched the score to 26-0 - a near-perfect half of rugby league from the Kiwis.
Tonga in trouble, but small glimmer of hope remains
After being thrashed by Toa Samoa last weekend, Tonga now face another mountain to climb.
They’ll need a miracle second half - and one hell of a team talk - to avoid back-to-back blowouts.
A faint glimmer of hope came right before the break, with New Zealand’s Erin Clark sent to the sin bin for a professional foul.
But with the Kiwis playing at full throttle and Tonga struggling to hold the ball, even a one-man advantage might not be enough to stop the rout.