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The New Zealand national rugby union team will host Tonga at FMG Stadium in Hamilton as both sides prepare for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Though the match will take place on Saturday at 2:35 p.m. local time, in the United States it will start on Friday night at 10:35 p.m. ET/7:35 p.m. PT.
For those in the US looking to watch the match, it won’t be on regular TV, but can watch the game live on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of dozens of live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and other original content for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of New Zealand vs Tonga on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
New Zealand vs Tonga Preview
The All Blacks are coming off their 17th consecutive victorious Bledisloe Cup. They blasted the Australians 36-0 in the August 17 finale in Auckland a week after suffering a 47-26 defeat in Perth.
“It’s great to get the squad together and start preparing for what will be a great match against Tonga,” head coach Steven Hansen said, according to The New Zealand Herald. “We know the Rugby World Cup is just around the corner, but we are focusing on ‘right here, right now.'”
“The players have brought real energy into our preparations here in Hamilton and the key will be to harness that excitement and put in a skillful and clinical performance on Saturday.
“Tonga will be targeting this game in a bid to build momentum into their Rugby World Cup campaign, and so are we, as it’s going to be important for both teams to head into the Tournament with confidence.”
All Blacks regulars Richie Mo’unga, Jack Goodhue, Sonny Bill Williams, Sam Cane, and Rieko Ioane, all dealing with minor injuries, were left off the roster.
“The key to this game is that we want to give as many people that we think we’ll use against South Africa game time,” Hansen said, per the Herald. “Obviously there are some guys we didn’t want to use because they’ve got slight niggles, but the rest of them, we think they’re in the frame for selection against South Africa.”
Tonga took fifth place in the Pacific Nations Cup earlier this summer, besting Canada 33-23 for their lone victory. The ‘Ikale Tahi have qualified for seven consecutive Rugby World Cups, but have yet to advance past the pool stage.
Siua Maile, a 22-year-old roofer, will make his test debut against New Zealand.
“It’s exciting to be giving Siua an opportunity and really important for him to build his minutes and get that test experience before we head to Japan,” head coach Toutai Kefu said, according to Radio New Zealand.
“He was our third-choice hooker that we were going to take to the World Cup and we didn’t envisage him taking any part in the World Cup, so we brought him along basically for experience and because we identified that he’s got a massive potential and maybe a player of the future.
“Three weeks ago he was nailing tin roofs to houses so this is a great opportunity for him. I think he’s still a bit shell-shocked to tell you the truth but what a wonderful opportunity.”