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Samoa edge past Tonga

Nagoya - Scrumhalf Galuefa Falamoe touched down early in the second half to lead Samoa to a 20-18 win over Tonga in the opener of the Pacific Nations Cup rugby tournament on Tuesday.

Samoan stand-off Ki Anufe scored two penalties while Tonga's Kurt Morath had three as Tonga led 9-6 at half time.

The Samoans got off to a flying start after the break with Falamoe scoring a try only two minutes into the second half to take the lead 11-9. Anufe made it 13-9 with a conversion.

Morath closed the gap to only one point with another penalty two minutes later but skipper David Lemi consolidated Samoa's lead with a try in the 49th minute for 18-12 and Anufe completed the scoring with a conversion.

Morath, who added two more penalties, had a chance to catch up with Samoa towards the end of the second half, but his attempts at a penalty and a drop goal went wide.

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