Coach Jacques Nienaber and skipper Siya Kolisi praised the Springboks’ efforts to beat Tonga on Sunday with a bonus point and remain in the running to defend the World Cup.
South Africa withstood the physicality of the Pacific Islanders in Marseille to earn a 49-18 victory. The Boks currently lead Pool B with 15 points, although have played one more match than Ireland (in second place with 14 points) and Scotland (third, 10 points), with those teams yet to face one another in their final pool match on Saturday.
All three nations are still in the quarter-final race, with one set to drop out of the competition at the conclusion of the group stages.
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Speaking post-match at Stade de Marseille, Nienaber told reporters: “The key for us was to win first and then get the bonus point and we managed to get that early in the second half, then we chased points as much as we could.
“As things stand now, one of South Africa, Ireland and Scotland will miss out on the quarter-final, but all three can still make it. The pool will only be decided on Saturday.”
The Boks scored seven tries to three and given the physicality of the match, Nienaber was pleased with his charges’ defensive effort.
“From a defensive point of view, I’m proud,” he added. “We don’t see it as a negative. The team showed great attitude on defence against a Tongan team that got better as the tournament progressed, and I feel the guys put in a great shift in their physicality on defence.”
Such was the physicality of the match and the importance of earning a bonus-point victory, Kolisi said earning his 50th cap as bok captain was the last thing on his mind.
“The only thing I was thinking about was the physicality of the match,” said Kolisi. “They were tough.
“We knew they would run hard at us, and they never stopped. I applaud the boys for sticking to the plan. We got the bonus point, and we accumulated as many points as we could.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
