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Defending champions South Africa saw off Tonga 49-18 to pick up a bonus-point win in Marseille which moved them temporarily top of Rugby World Cup Pool B.<\/p>\n
Ireland could have been sure of a quarter-final place before their final pool match against Scotland had the Springboks failed to beat Tonga, who had lost both previous games.<\/p>\n
Andy Farrell\u2019s men, though, can guarantee top spot if they avoid defeat by Scotland, whose own qualification hopes are slim.<\/p>\n
Tonga got the first points on the board at the Stade Velodrome through an early penalty from William Havili.<\/p>\n
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South Africa moved top of Pool B with dominant victory over Tonga <\/p>\n
Siya Kolisi said to ITV: \u201cThey\u2019re a great team, they\u2019re really hard to play against, we knew it was going to be a tough game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so grateful for all our fans and supporters who have come out today.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to fight for it, we knew Tonga was going to come out and fight for it, a few penalties that we gave away.<\/p>\n
On getting his 50th cap: \u201cIt\u2019s always special, it doesn\u2019t matter about the milestone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a special group and hopefully we can go all the way.<\/p>\n
Deon Fourie said to ITV after the game: \u201cIt was a good game. We expected a tough game, but we played well today and I\u2019m glad.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur motto in the Bok camp is we train hard like we play and that worked today.<\/p>\n
South Africa are not quite in the quarter-finals, they still need some things from other results, but they have all but reached the knockout stages.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no missing that, and Libbok\u2019s conversion takes them to their final total of 49 points.<\/p>\n
It was an incredible way to finish and a good Sprinboks performance, but that takes nothing away from Tonga and how hard they\u2019ve worked for everything today.<\/p>\n
South Africa go out with a bang and a try! Smith has the ball down right under the posts.<\/p>\n
South Africa might just have one more chance to add to their total here as they edge into Tonga\u2019s 22.<\/p>\n
That final drive has taken a lot out of Tonga and they\u2019re getting slightly sloppy here when it comes to giving the ball away.<\/p>\n
The crowd have made their mind up about who they\u2019re supporting…boos ring out as the decision goes against Tonga and the ball is awarded back to South Africa.<\/p>\n
Just a penalty there for holding on.<\/p>\n
Tonga are not giving up at all here, they are finishing strong and are within metres of yet another try!<\/p>\n