A solid defensive effort against heavy Rugby League World Cup favourites Australia has given Lebanon fullback Anthony Layoun plenty of confidence his side can topple a rampaging Tonga.

The Cedars will take on Mate Ma’a in this weekend’s Cup quarter-final in Christchurch, having pipped France to third place in Pool A.

They rounded out their pool matches with a 34-0 loss to the Kangaroos on Sunday, but only after conceding late Dane Gagai and Tom Trbojevic tries.

As a result, the 20-year-old Layoun – plying his trade at youth level for Parramatta – felt his side was capable of holding Tonga out.

Armed with one of the Cup’s finest forward packs, the tier-two Mate Ma’a made history by downing the tier-one Kiwis 28-22 last week.

They’ve since been tipped to push for a World Cup final spot on December 2, but must still overcome an inexperienced halves pairing of Ata Hingano and Tuimoala Lolohea, as well as a flaky backline.

“We really ripped in and yeah, very disappointed with those last five minutes, those two tries, but it was a good defensive display before that,” Layoun said.

“We know (Tonga) is going to be tough, tough through the middle as well, but I think our boys are up to it and will handle it.

“The start is very important – we’ve got to hold them in the first 20 minutes.”

Layoun also admitted a partisan crowd – with New Zealand’s Tongan diaspora to descend in force upon Christchurch – would make matters difficult.

But the likes of Robbie Farah, Tim Mannah and Michael Lichaa would help steady the ship, as the two sides fight it out for a semi-final in Auckland next weekend against either England or Papua New Guinea.