KEY POINTS:
When the world champions talk of their huge respect for a team they put 100 points on last time out it sounds a little hollow, but such has been Tonga's improvement that England are right to take them seriously.
Tomorrow's game at the Parc des Princes will decide who finishes second in Pool A behind South Africa to earn a Marseille quarter-final with Australia.
England and Samoa were supposed to be fighting that out but Tonga have upset the status quo in handsome style and believe they can make the last eight for the first time.
Their upset victory over Samoa was one thing but the way they pushed South Africa all the way in defeat, particularly the way they finished the game full of running, was quite another.
Traditionally Tonga spent the first hour of their games crashing their huge bodies into tackles, before falling away alarmingly and generally leaking a hatful of points.
When they played England in the 1999 pool stage at Twickenham the hosts won 101-10 while New Zealand beat them 91-7 four years ago.
Before this tournament Tonga had won two of their 13 World Cup matches, against the Ivory Coast in 1995 and Italy four years later, but matched that tally in four days here by beating United States and, for the first time in seven years, Samoa.
"Tonga are no longer the surprise team, they've played pretty well throughout and we have enormous respect for them and what they've done here," England coach Brian Ashton said .
"They have massive enthusiasm, cohesion up front and an ability to stay in the game for 80 minutes, which has not always been the case. Any momentary lapse in concentration could cause us lots of problems."
The Tongan back rowers Nili Latu, Finau Maka, Hale T Pole and Viliami Vaki have been superb, while powerhouse centre Epeli Taione has lived up to the awesome reputation he forged in the English Premiership playing alongside Jonny Wilkinson for Newcastle.
"This is the best Tonga team we have ever put out," said captain Latu. "It's do-or-die."
England, however, after showing huge improvement against Samoa, are not about to blow their chances with complacency.
"If we don't impose our physicality on these opponents and put our mark on the game, we'll find it bloody tough going," recalled flanker Lewis Moody said.
The world champions certainly stood their ground in the tackle against Samoa but also began to show signs of a better understanding between forwards and backs that helped earn four tries.
Much of the tension has eased and England have been able to spend the week sharpening their moves without the fear-factor that engulfed the camp after the Springbok debacle.
They will need a major improvement in their tactical kicking game to take best advantage of their lineout superiority and still need their midfield to start going through some holes.
But this is a team on the rise and, for all Tonga's virtues, one that can expect to advance to another Australian showdown.
- Reuters
