Samoa and Tonga are the Pacific’s great rugby league rivals. They first met at the 1986 Pacific Cup in Rarotonga, when Samoa still played as Western Samoa, and have since played each other in Pacific Cups, Pacific Tests and five World Cup campaigns. Most of those meetings have been played far from either island, in front of the Samoan and Tongan communities of Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and England. This page sets out the all-time record, the record in each competition, the World Cup meetings, where the matches have been played and every result.

Figures are complete to the most recent meeting: Tonga 20–18 Samoa in the World Cup at CommBank Stadium, Sydney, on 1 November 2026.

All-time record

After 40 years the rivalry is dead level: 11 wins each and one draw from 23 full internationals. Samoa are 21 points ahead, 489 to 468. Tonga’s 20–18 World Cup win in November 2026 levelled the record for the seventh time. Neither side has ever been more than four wins clear. Samoa reached that lead after winning the 1992 Pacific Cup final, and Tonga’s biggest lead has been two, after the 2006 World Cup qualifier in Leeds.

Record by competition

Competition	Played	Samoa wins	Drawn	Tonga wins	Samoa points	Tonga points
Pacific Cup (1986–1994)	7	5	0	2	198	136
Tests and Pacific Tests (1996–2018)	10	3	1	6	171	226
World Cup and qualifying (2006–2026)	5	2	0	3	86	100
Pacific Championships (2025)	1	1	0	0	34	6
Total	23	11	1	11	489	468

Samoa had the better of the early Pacific Cups, winning five of the seven meetings, including the 1986 play-off and the 1992 final. Tonga have had the better of the one-off Tests, six wins to three with the 1998 draw.

World Cup meetings

Date	Match	Result	Venue	Crowd
22 Oct 2006	Qualifier	Tonga 18–10 Samoa	Headingley, Leeds	5,547
31 Oct 2008	Group match	Samoa 20–12 Tonga	Penrith Stadium, Sydney	11,787
4 Nov 2017	Group match	Tonga 32–18 Samoa	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	18,156
6 Nov 2022	Group match	Samoa 20–18 Tonga	Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington	12,674
1 Nov 2026	Group match	Tonga 20–18 Samoa	CommBank Stadium, Sydney	29,411

The World Cup meetings have been settled by small margins. Samoa won 20–18 at Warrington in 2022, and Tonga won by the same score in Sydney in 2026, which also sent them to the semi-finals.

Where they have played

Country	Played	Samoa wins	Drawn	Tonga wins	Samoa points	Tonga points
Tonga	4	1	1	2	87	74
Samoa	2	1	0	1	62	54
Australia	9	5	0	4	176	174
New Zealand	3	2	0	1	56	58
England	2	1	0	1	30	36
Cook Islands	2	1	0	1	62	38
Fiji	1	0	0	1	16	34

Only six of the 23 meetings have been played in Tonga or Samoa, the last in 1998. Since then every meeting has been in Australia, New Zealand or England. Australia has hosted nine, all since 2005: seven in Sydney, one on the Gold Coast and one in Brisbane. On neutral ground the rivalry could hardly be closer: Samoa 9 wins, Tonga 8, and 340 points each.

Venue	City	Years	Played	Samoa wins	Drawn	Tonga wins
Teufaiva Stadium	Nuku’alofa	1990–1998	4	1	1	2
National Stadium	Avarua	1986–1994	3	1	0	2
Apia Park	Apia	1988–1998	2	1	0	1
Campbelltown Stadium	Sydney	2005–2018	2	0	0	2
Carlaw Park	Auckland	1992	2	2	0	0
Parramatta Stadium	Sydney	2010–2016	2	2	0	0
Penrith Stadium	Sydney	2008–2013	2	1	0	1
Cbus Super Stadium	Gold Coast	2015	1	1	0	0
CommBank Stadium	Sydney	2026	1	0	0	1
Halliwell Jones Stadium	Warrington	2022	1	1	0	0
Headingley	Leeds	2006	1	0	0	1
Suncorp Stadium	Brisbane	2025	1	1	0	0
Waikato Stadium	Hamilton	2017	1	0	0	1

Wins by decade

No decade has been one-sided. Samoa edged the 1980s and the 2020s so far; Tonga edged the 1990s and 2000s; the 2010s were shared three apiece.

Decade	Played	Samoa wins	Drawn	Tonga wins	Samoa points	Tonga points
1980s	3	2	0	1	102	68
1990s	8	3	1	4	163	158
2000s	3	1	0	2	50	64
2010s	6	3	0	3	102	134
2020s	3	2	0	1	72	44

Streaks, margins and crowds

Samoa’s best run is five straight wins, from the 1986 Pacific Cup play-off to the 1992 final. Tonga’s is four, from June 1998 to the 2006 World Cup qualifier. Five meetings have been decided by two points or fewer, including the 20–20 draw in Nuku’alofa in 1998 and both of the last two World Cup meetings.

The biggest win is Western Samoa’s 46–4 in the 1986 Pacific Cup play-off in Rarotonga, a 42-point margin. Tonga’s biggest is 36–4 at Penrith Stadium in 2013. The highest-scoring meeting is Western Samoa’s 40–30 win at Apia Park in 1988 (70 points); the lowest is Samoa’s 18–6 win at Parramatta in 2016.

The record crowd is 44,682 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, for the 2025 Pacific Championships match, which Samoa won 34–6. The 2026 World Cup meeting drew 29,411 to CommBank Stadium. Crowds are recorded for only 14 of the 23 meetings, and for only one of the six played in Tonga or Samoa.

Every meeting

Date	Competition	Result	Venue	Crowd
30 Oct 1986	Pacific Cup	Tonga 34–16 Western Samoa	National Stadium, Avarua	–
5 Nov 1986	Pacific Cup (play-off)	Western Samoa 46–4 Tonga	National Stadium, Avarua	–
4 Oct 1988	Pacific Cup	Western Samoa 40–30 Tonga	Apia Park, Apia	–
27 Oct 1990	Pacific Cup	Western Samoa 42–8 Tonga	Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku’alofa	–
20 Oct 1992	Pacific Cup	Western Samoa 20–12 Tonga	Carlaw Park, Auckland	–
31 Oct 1992	Pacific Cup (final)	Western Samoa 18–14 Tonga	Carlaw Park, Auckland	6,000
9 Nov 1994	Pacific Cup	Tonga 34–16 Western Samoa	National Stadium, Suva	–
10 Jul 1996	Pacific Challenge	Tonga 22–17 Western Samoa	Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku’alofa	–
7 Jun 1998	Test	Samoa 20–20 Tonga (draw)	Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku’alofa	5,000
30 Jun 1998	Test	Tonga 24–8 Samoa	Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku’alofa	–
4 Jul 1998	Test	Tonga 24–22 Samoa	Apia Park, Apia	–
7 Oct 2005	Test	Tonga 34–20 Samoa	Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney	2,500
22 Oct 2006	Federation Shield	Tonga 18–10 Samoa	Headingley, Leeds	5,547
31 Oct 2008	World Cup	Samoa 20–12 Tonga	Penrith Stadium, Sydney	11,787
24 Oct 2010	Test	Samoa 22–6 Tonga	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	11,308
20 Apr 2013	Pacific Test	Tonga 36–4 Samoa	Penrith Stadium, Sydney	10,143
2 May 2015	Pacific Test	Samoa 18–16 Tonga	Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast	12,336
7 May 2016	Pacific Test	Samoa 18–6 Tonga	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	15,225
4 Nov 2017	World Cup	Tonga 32–18 Samoa	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	18,156
23 Jun 2018	Pacific Test	Tonga 38–22 Samoa	Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney	17,802
6 Nov 2022	World Cup	Samoa 20–18 Tonga	Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington	12,674
26 Oct 2025	Pacific Championships	Samoa 34–6 Tonga	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane	44,682
1 Nov 2026	World Cup	Tonga 20–18 Samoa	CommBank Stadium, Sydney	29,411

About these figures

Results, dates, venues and crowds come from Rugby League Project, and the totals match its first-class head-to-head summary, points included. Only matches between the two national teams count, the same rule the Ledger uses for the international shields. That leaves out one match Rugby League Project lists among other internationals: Samoa’s 40–6 win over Tonga at Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, on 20 August 2016, which was played between residents’ sides. Counting it, Samoa would lead 12–11. Women’s matches are not included. Where Rugby League Project omits a month from a date, it has been taken from the match before. Teams are listed alphabetically throughout.