KEY POINTS:
The danger for England was supposed to come from Samoa.
Now they are both under the cosh because of their own imperfections while Tonga, whose inhabitants struggle to watch World Cup games live because of the cost, could snatch an improbable quarter-final berth at their expense.
The giddying matches this weekend were supposed to be hosts France in their must-win match against Ireland and England doing their best to get past Samoa.
But in Montpellier yesterday Tonga, with two men sent off in the last five minutes, added some real spice to their group when they held out their Pacific Island neighbours 19-15.
Whether many in Tonga managed to watch a live broadcast was debatable as only 700 families subscribe to pay television, which has the exclusive right to show the tournament.
The local free station, Television Tonga, has not picked up subsidiary rights to screen the matches live because it cannot afford to pay about US$700 ($980) to broadcast one game.
Instead most Tongan fans have been tuning into their radios to pick up the coverage.
They have been rewarded for their patriotism with Tonga beating the United States then Samoa yesterday to match the two wins gained in four previous World Cup campaigns.
They have difficult assignments left against the Springboks and England, but if upsets keep occurring in their section, they could make the playoffs.
England have been slapped unmercifully since their limp defeat by the Springboks, with all sorts of dire predictions being made about their next match with Samoa.
Jamie Noon and Jason Robinson have joined the exit queue with injuries, while England's slump since winning the 2003 title has been blamed on everything from their diet to the coach to officials.
The latest shambles, when they failed to score a point, moved longtime All Black critic, Sunday Times writer Stephen Jones, to suggest that All Black supremo Graham Henry be signed as coach in a massive overhaul of the system.
Quite some turnaround from someone who was not a massive fan of Henry during his periods with Wales and the Lions.
Since winning the Webb Ellis Cup four years ago, England's win-loss ratio has dipped below 50 per cent, they have lost two coaches and suffered regular humiliation.
Jones said blame would be lumped on the self-serving clubs for exhausting the players and not producing enough English qualified players. He did not concur. Most of his rancour was aimed towards the ineptitude of the England Rugby Union and a lack of quality coaching.
Assistant All Black coach Steve Hansen offered the thought yesterday that England had enough useful forwards but clubs had relied on overseas backs to spark their attacks. That, he said, left England, short of firepower at international level.
One thing is for sure. Instead of one crisis against Samoa this weekend, England are facing a second in the shape of the red-jerseyed men from Tonga.
