Casualty Ward: Tonga ace makes history but it comes at a cost, England star in doubt for remainder of test series
Tonga perform the Sipi Tau ahead of the opening test match against England - Alamy
There are injury updates from both the England and Tonga camps following yesterday’s test series opener at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Tonga ace makes history, but it comes at a cost
Newcastle Knights star Tyson Frizell made his Tonga debut yesterday, marking the occasion with a try in the first half as he became the first player in the history of the game to represent three different countries, following on from appearances for both Australia and Wales.
It would appear that his history-making appearance came at a cost though, forced off with an injury in the second half which may well rule him out of at least the second test on Saturday (October 28) at Huddersfield Giants’ John Smith’s Stadium.
Tonga boss Kristian Woolf provided an update on the forward post-match, adding: “Tyson Frizell came off with an ankle injury.
“Our physios are pretty positive about that at the moment, but he’s a tough bugger and the fact he’s had to come off the field says that he’s got a problem there.
“With the short turnaround, we’ll just have to see how it is.”
England flier in doubt for remainder of test series
One man who comes up against many of the Tongan pack over in the NRL is England winger Dom Young, who was named in Shaun Wane’s 24-man squad but missed out on matchday one.
Reports emerged in the lead up to the St Helens clash that the Dewsbury-born speedster had been hospitalised with an infection, and it would appear that may well see him miss out in both of the remaining tests.
Catalans Dragons winger Tom Johnstone replaced him in the 13, scoring the two second half tries which proved to be the game-winning moments five years after his last international cap.
And after Young missed out on the 22-18 victory, boss Wane confirmed it wasn’t looking good for him post-match. Not wanting to go into detail, he said: “We’ll check in on him early this week, but it’s looking doubtful.”