21 Aug 2015

Sport: Tonga close to confirming final Rugby World Cup spot

11:40 am on 21 August 2015

Tonga rugby coach Mana Otai hopes to confirm the final berth in the country's Rugby World Cup squad in the coming days.

The 'Ikale Tahi named a 30-man squad earlier this week, leaving one position still to be decided.

Mana Otai says four props were ruled out of contetion through injury, including Paea Fa'anunu, and he needed more time to consider his options.

"It was a last minute change in terms of the notification we got that our sixth prop was injured so that's basically what happened. We picked originally three loosehead props and three tighthead props so at the moment we have three looseheads and two tighthead props. We're looking at next week to make that final choice and we're just looking at where we most need the position at the moment".

The Tongan squad in currently in camp in Surrey in the UK, with final squads needing to be confirmed by the end of the month.