Tonga 92 Cook Islands 10: Mate Ma'a explode into life as World Cup arrives in Middlesbrough

Kristian Woolf's men arrived on Teesside protecting a perfect record but they were scratchy in the wins over Papua New Guinea and Wales.

In the final group game against the Cook Islands on Sunday afternoon, Tonga looked more like the team that reached the semi-finals in 2017 and beat Great Britain and Australia two years later.

Mate Ma'a were at their rampant best in front of a crowd of 8,342, running in nine first-half tries and adding another seven after the interval in a record 92-10 victory.

As good as Tonga were, it was little more than an opposed training session against a Cook Islands outfit devoid of enthusiasm or fight.

Tony Iro was left shocked by his team's lack of effort.

"I didn't see that performance coming," said Iro, who saw the Cook Islands beat Wales before competing hard against PNG on Tuesday.

"We competed well in our last two matches. It was a short turnaround but I certainly didn't expect that. It wasn't good enough for our standards.

"We've certainly played Tonga into some form and they should get a bit of confidence out of that. I'm pretty sure they've got some tougher challenges ahead."

The first-ever rugby league game at the Riverside Stadium was remarkably one-sided.

The Cook Islands had been based locally throughout the tournament but there were no home comforts for Iro's side in Middlesbrough.

The writing was on the wall inside the opening minute when Daniel Tupou touched down and the Kukis completely lost their way after seeing Paul Ulberg's try ruled out.

Powerful loose forward Jason Taumalolo marked his return from suspension with a quickfire double and Tonga were 34-0 up inside 30 minutes thanks to two tries from Tesi Niu either side of Will Penisini's effort.

There was still plenty of time for Huddersfield Giants full-back Tui Lolohea and Felise Kaufusi to cross on the back of a penalty try to bring up the half-century before the break.

Isaiya Katoa went over for Tonga's 10th try four minutes after the interval and Niu completed his hat-trick from deep after a break by Mosese Suli.

Australia's World Cup record 110-4 victory over Russia appeared to be under threat but Woolf's side ran out of time.

Lolohea scored his second from dummy-half after a try-saver by Brendan Piakura and turned provider to send Penisini over for another.

Tupou became the latest player to complete his double before the Cook Islands belatedly came to life with 11 minutes left to open their account courtesy of a strong finish by Steven Marsters.

Penisini made it four – including the penalty try – and Talatau Amone got in on the act to bring up 90.

Wakefield Trinity forward Tinirau Arona enjoyed a moment to savour in his last professional outing after being gifted a try over the line by Brad Takairangi – but the afternoon will be remembered for the true arrival of Tonga at the 2021 World Cup.

Next up for Mate Ma'a is a last-eight date with Pacific rivals Samoa.

“What that performance gives us is a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum going into what we know is going to be a really tough quarter-final,” said Woolf.