Betfair Official Blog

Tonga on a high after being matched at 30 to beat Samoa

Samoa done at 1.02 in shock World Cup result

SAMOA went into the match against Tonga as the heavily-backed 1.08 favourites on Betfair, and all looked to going according to plan when they led 12-3 in the first half.

In the driving seat, if not playing with their normal verve and aggression, Samoa were backed at 1.02 on Betfair, with Tonga drifting to 30.

However, Tonga would not lie down and took a 19-12 lead in the second half courtesy of former Newcastle player Epi Taione's try and successful penalty kicking.

And that is when the Betfair betting got interesting.

Samoa kicked a penalty to pull the scores back to 19-15 late on, and then the Tongans had a man sent off for and a further dismissed to the sin bin minutes later.

Playing the final four minutes against just 13 men, Samoa went odds-on favourites once again but they blew chance after chance in open play, and the Tongans held on for a memorable win.