Ponga's Brave Comeback Powers Kiwis Past Tonga 34-10 Into First World Cup Final Since 2013

Three weeks ago Kalyn Ponga was sitting out the tournament with a broken left forearm, wondering if his World Cup was over. On Saturday night in Newcastle he was the best player on the field, and New Zealand are going to a World Cup final. The Kiwis beat Tonga 34-10 in the first semi-final at McDonald Jones Stadium, and for the first 40 minutes it was anything but comfortable. Ponga needed less than four minutes to announce himself, digging into the line and slipping a short pass to Briton Nikora for the opening try. But Tonga, roared on by a crowd of 29,712 overwhelmingly draped in red, hit back with power and daring. Jojo Fifita finished a sweeping move in the corner to put Tonga 10-6 in front late in the half, after he had finished one of the tries of the tournament earlier on, collecting a last-tackle bomb that had been allowed to bounce and swerving through a broken defensive line. Between those two scores came the moment that may define Ponga's comeback. Tongan prop Demetric Vaimauga broke clean through and had only the fullback to beat metres from the line. Ponga threw himself at the hulking forward and brought him down short. It was, as one report put it, as brave as you will see. New Zealand still led 12-10 at the break, after Dane Gagai pounced on a loose ball from a grubber Hopoate could not deal with and Isaako converted. Then heavy rain swept across the ground, and the second half belonged entirely to the Kiwis. Casey McLean spotted a gap and blasted through for his 18th Test try in the 48th minute, and five minutes later Hughes dummied and crashed over himself to make it 24-10. From there Tonga, kicking into a wind gusting past 60 kilometres an hour, had no way back. Xavier Willison came off the interchange to crash over in the 70th minute, and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad gathered an Erin Clark cross-field chip on the buzzer to complete a 22-point second half without reply. The numbers tell the story of Ponga's night: three try assists, 193 metres from 18 carries, and the man-of-the-match award. He had fractured his forearm in the tournament opener against Australia and undergone surgery not long after, so even naming him in the starting side was a gamble. He justified it inside the first set. His combination with Hughes, Kodi Nikorima and Jeremy Marshall-King through the spine was the difference once the game opened up, and he barely looked like a man who had missed a fortnight. There was a cost: prop Naufahu Whyte left early in the second half with an ankle injury and did not return, and captain James Fisher-Harris was placed on report for lifting his knee in a hit-up. For Tonga, the exit is likely to mark the end of the road for Jason Taumalolo at World Cups, the man who more than anyone built this team's modern identity. They gave as good as they got for a half, but the second half showed the gap between a very good side and one peaking at the right time. New Zealand now wait for Sunday's second semi-final between defending champions Australia and Samoa in Sydney. The final is at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, November 15. The Kiwis, world champions in 2008, have not played in a World Cup final since 2013, when Australia beat them heavily. Thirteen years on, with Ponga fit and Hughes pulling the strings, they will believe this one can end differently.