Tonga scare South Africa with narrow 30-25 result
22-Sep-2007
Continual strong play by the Tongans kept South Africa under pressure with the Springboks winning by just 5 points in their RWC 2007 pool A clash, allowing Tonga to gain a pool bonus point while South Africa's win has secured their spot at the top of pool A.
South Africa met a determined Tongan team that tackled hard and ran fast. Tonga scored the first points with Pierre Hola kicking a penalty in the 9th minute but South Africa's Ruan Pienaar scored the only try of the half a few minutes later. Several mistakes by the Springboks early on kept the match close, with the score just 7-3 at halftime.
Early into the second half Tonga scored a breakthrough as prop Kisi Pulu went over the line to add seven points and put the Ikale Tahi into the lead. It was ten minutes later before South Africa evened the score and then went on a short rampage, scoring three tries in the space of six minutes and looking to seal their victory. Both teams received a yellow card in this time and South Africa received another yellow in the 69th minute - opening up possibilities for the Tongans. Tonga replied with two tries in two minutes putting them right back into the game as they trailed by just five points. Despite some last minute attempts by Tonga, South Africa finised ahead - winning the match by 30-25.
The Tongans have reason to celebrate as they are the only team not to be annihilated by the Springboks so far in this Rugby World Cup. They also managed to pick up a vital pool A bonus point meaning that they're tied with England on 9 points with one match to go (as England subsequently defeated Samoa later in the day.) Their final pool match is against England on September 28 and the outcome of this match will determine which team will join South Africa in qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Related articles:
|
