Five takeaways from Boks’ 49-18 win against Tonga

The Springboks managed to defeat Tonga 49-18 in their final Rugby World Cup Pool B encounter in Marseille on Sunday night.

The Boks ran in seven tries courtesy of Cobus Reinach, Canan Moodie, Deon Fourie, Jesse Kriel, Willie le Roux, Marco van Staden, and Kwagga Smith. Flyhalves Handre Pollard and Manie Libbok were successful with four and three conversions respectively.

The world champions needed to get a bonus point win to secure their chances of making it to the knockout stages. The win takes them to the top of Pool B with 15 points and should be enough to see them through, regardless of the result between Ireland and Scotland in Paris on Saturday.

The Citizen looks at five talking points from the clash against Tonga.

Big match temperament

Although the Springboks were favourites to win the match, the players needed to show their big match temperament in this clash as the stakes were high. They needed a bonus point win to ensure they reached the knockout stages and made it out of Pool B.

This sort of high-pressure match is what the players needed as a dress rehearsal ahead of a quarter-final clash against either France or New Zealand. The world champions have often fallen short in big matches in the last year and they will now head to the knockout stages with a quality outing behind them.

Superior defence

Despite having their tryline breached on three occasions over thee 80 minutes, the Bok’s defence was as impressive as ever, especially in the opening 15 minutes of the game, when Tonga asked many questions with ball in hand.

The Boks’ defence had shades of the 2019 version, as they doubled down when they were put under pressure by Tonga’s big men.

Coach Jacques Nienaber, whose defence system is credited for the 2019 Webb Ellis Cup win, will want more of this going forward.

Fourie channels inner Marx

Deon Fourie, in his first start at hooker in international rugby, won the man of the match gong; it was probably the best showing he’s had in a green and gold jersey. The performance from Fourie justified the Boks management’s decision not to call up Stormers team-mate Joseph Dweba to replace Malcolm Marx.

The veteran showed he could close the gap left by Marx as he nailed his lineout throws, contributed well in defence, was excellent at the breakdown and even scored a trademark Marx try from the back of the maul.

Solid return for Pollard

South Africa will be relieved after seeing flyhalf Handre Pollard return to international rugby.

Pollard played his first Boks match in 13 months, and he delivered a clinical display. He kicked four conversions, had good hands, was competitive in the collisions and kicked well across the board.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup winner didn’t show any rustiness in his play but still needs to work towards match fitness. It was also great to see the impact Manie Libbok had on the game after he replaced Pollard, kicking three conversions.

Ben Tameifuna and Tonga’s physicality

The sheer physicality brought by Tonga in the match is one that shocked the Springboks and their fans. Their skipper Ben Tameifuna, who weighs 150kg, led from the front and took the challenge to the Boks.

His presence and huge frame were a concern for the Boks supporters as he proved hard to handle, and even the Boks’ big men could not get a hold of him.

The Boks were tested physically by Tonga; there will be a few players with sore bodies on Monday, but credit must go to the Boks for generally dealing well with the physical test.