World Cup overnight: Tonga into quarter-finals; Tui, Jolliffe face bans

Tonga were well below their best but had enough strike power to outlast Wales 32-6 in St Helens on Tuesday morning (AEDT).

After Test debutant Kyle Evans got Wales on the board first it was Roosters star Daniel Tupou who got Tonga back into the game midway through the opening half before going on to finish with a hat-trick. 

Two tries in three minutes just before the break through David Fifita and Keaon Koloamatangi gave Tonga some breathing space and they went on with the job in the second half to register their second win of the tournament.

In other news, Fiji forward Tui Kamikamica and Ireland props Jaimin Jolliffe and Liam Byrne are set to miss this weekend's final round of pool matches after being charged by the match review committee.

Kamikamica and Jolliffe face one-match bans, while Byrne has been hit with two charges that each carry a one-match suspension from incidents in the Wolfhounds' loss to Lebanon.

Kamikamica, Jolliffe and Byrne have until 9pm Tuesday night (AEST) to decide if they want to contest the charges at a judiciary hearing.

The main takeaways

• Tonga look set to top Pool D which sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against Samoa in Warrington on November 6.
• Wales haven't won a World Cup game since 2000 but this performance will give them the belief they need to break that drought against the Kumuls next week in Doncaster.
• A piece of history for Aussie whistleblower Kasey Badger, who became the first female to referee a men's World Cup match.

Star performers

Daniel Tupou's tryscoring feats are legendary in the NRL, where he has chalked up 133 tries in 223 games for the Roosters. The 31-year-old grabbed a hat-trick in tonight's game and could have had a couple more it not for an obstruction play by Siosifa Talakai and some gutsy defence by Wales' outside backs. The Welsh had plenty of heroes as they took the fight up their more fancied rivals, with rugby union convert Kyle Evans, St George Illawara lock Bailey Antrobus and Bradford prop Anthony Walker all standing tall for the Dragons.

What the result means

The win leaves Tonga on top of Pool D with a points differental of +32. Cook Islands (+6) can join them on top if they can defeat Papua New Guinea tomorrow in the final game of round two. Should the Cook Islands beat the Kumuls then next week's clash between Mate Ma's and the Kukis would decide top spot in the pool.

Recap

• Match report: Tupou's triple takes Tonga past brave Wales outfit
• Key injuries: Ollie Olds (shoulder)