The Springboks have moved one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup quarter-finals after claiming a 49-18 bonus-point victory against Tonga in Marseille on Sunday evening.
The Springboks have 15 points from four matches, but the pool winners and runners-up who advance to the quarter-finals will not be determined until Ireland plays Scotland in Paris on Saturday, with a number of permutations possible.
Following their defeat by the Irish, the Boks knew they needed to win against Tonga, preferably by a large margin, in order to improve their points differential.
It was a victory, with the Boks scoring seven tries, but the Tongans remained competitive throughout and scored three of their own.
Handre Pollard was back in charge of the Springboks for the first time in 13 months, the fly-half who booted 22 points in the 2019 World Cup final win over England, kicking four conversions from four attempts before leaving with the game already won on the 50-minute mark.
Tongan counterpart William Havili opened the scoring with an offside penalty in the third minute, but Pollard missed a shot himself as the Boks went for touch in search of tries.
Cobus Reinach tapped and went, with the scrum-half diving in at the corner.
The Boks were then subjected to a 10-minute period of intense pressure from the Pacific Islanders, with partisans yelling “Tonga! Tonga!” from the packed Stade Velodrome.
Willie Le Roux was fortunate that a Havili cross-field kick he spilled spiralled just out of Fine Inisi’s grasp, the full-back recovering with a tap tackle on the winger that arguably saved a try as the Tongans attacked the right flank again.
The green and gold machine moved confidently back up the pitch, and once in Tongan territory, Canan Moodie latched on to a loose ball that ricocheted off Vincent Koch’s head to scoot in under the posts.
A nagging Mexican wave was broken by cheers as Tonga repelled a rolling maul close to their line, but a series of infringements kept them from breaking free, and hooker Deon Fourie was driven over in a perfect display of clinical finishing with limited territorial dominance.
Tonga, on the other hand, got their just desserts when skipper Ben Tameifuna crashed, the man mountain of a prop using every ounce of his 150kg (23st 6lb) frame to dot down. Havili missed the extras, leaving the score at 21-8 at halftime.
The question was whether Tonga, who had lost 59-16 to Ireland and 45-17 to Scotland in their first two games, would run out of gas in the second period after such a tenacious defensive performance.
Jesse Kriel, who came on for Makazole Mapimpi, who was forced off after a collision with Augustine Pulu, sealed the bonus point for the Boks in the 50th minute, burrowing over after a series of forward charges.
Pollard converted for a perfect kicking record before being replaced by Manie Libbok.
Tonga, however, were not finished, with Inisi crossing for his team’s second try following a great miss-out pass from Havili.
When ex-Wallaby Adam Coleman came on, he immediately disrupted an attacking Bok line-out.
When Pita Akhi coughed up the ball in the ensuing scrum, the ball was quickly moved to the left wing, where Le Roux was waiting to crash in at the corner.
Libbok dispelled any doubts about his goal kicking by nailing the tricky conversion and then adding extras to Marco van Staden’s try.
Replacement for Tonga Patrick Pellegrini took advantage of a lucky bounce to cross for a well-deserved third try, while Kwagga Smith sealed the deal with the Boks’ seventh try.
Photo by Steve Haag Sports/INPHO/Shutterstock
