The Tonga Under 20s are expecting a fierce battle up front in tomorrow's top of the table clash with Canada at the World Rugby Junior Trophy.
Both teams are unbeaten in Group B but Tonga sit above their North American rivals thanks to a superior points differential.
A win or draw tomorrow would be enough to advance to Sunday's grand final, from which the winner will earn promotion to the elite Junior World Trophy.
Tonga's Strength and Conditioning coach Tavake Fangupo says their players have made strong progress since arriving in Lisbon and expects tomorrow's clash to be another step up.
"Our goal is to take one game at a time. Sunday is obviously a goal to get to that final but our main focus at the moment is to stick to our gameplan, just working on their set pieces, defence as well. Against Canada hopefully we can come out on top and make it through to the final on Sunday. They have a large forward pack - that's probably where their strength is - [but] we also have a pretty strong forward pack too so it's going to be a great battle up front".
Meanwhile Fiji need a big win against Uruguay in their final Pool A clash and hope that Georgia are tripped up by hosts Portugal, to have any chance of making the final.
The Tonga Under 20s train in Lisbon at the World Rugby Junior Trophy. Photo: Tonga Rugby Union
