Rugby World Cup: Tonga beat France 19-14 in the biggest upset of this Rugby World Cup to send its opponent into the quarterfinals on a run of two straight losses. England and Australia also advanced to the last eight with victories.
Tonga, ranked 13 by the International Rugby Board, secured the win with Sukanaivalu Hufanga's try and 14 points from the boot of Kurt Morath. Vincent Clerc touched down for fifth-ranked France in the final seconds in Wellington to secure a losing bonus point and the Pool A runner-up spot.
France, who lost to tournament host New Zealand last week, joined the All Blacks in the quarterfinals and will face Pool B winner England in Auckland on Ocober 8th.
Fiji, at the inaugural World Cup in 1987, is the only other team to have advanced to the quarterfinals after two pool phase defeats.
"Never has qualification tasted as bitter as this," France coach Marc Lievremont said in a news conference. "I trust my players. I trust them to fight back."
Elsewhere, England beat Scotland 16-12 in Auckland to lock up first place in their pool and put the Scots on the brink of elimination, while Australia routed Russia 68-22 in Nelson to move atop Pool C.
Tonga, who needed to score at least four tries to have any chance of advancing at the tournament, led France 13-6 at halftime and extended its lead to 19-9 with two Morath penalties before Clerc's late score in the corner.
The victory margin could have been greater had Morath not missed four of his eight penalties and Samiu Vahafolau not squandered a clear try-scoring opportunity.
"I have a lot of respect for the French team, but tonight they didn't really turn up," Tonga coach Isitolo Maka said in a news conference. "For us to beat France is very special."
Australia's 10-try rout of Russia in Nelson came at a cost as Drew Mitchell, who touched down twice, suffered a hamstring injury that Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said was likely to end the winger's tournament.
"Obviously he's bitterly disappointed," Australia captain James Horwill said in a news conference. "He wants us to go on and do the job we're here to do."
Berrick Barnes and David Pocock also crossed the line twice for Australia, which ran in seven first-half tries to lead 47-5 at the break before being pegged back by Russia.
The Bears, playing in their first World Cup, outscored Australia in the second-half until Barnes went over for his second try with two minutes remaining. James O'Connor kicked his ninth conversion from 10 attempts to complete the scoring.
The win lifted Australia atop Pool C with 15 points from four games as Russia ended its campaign with a fourth straight defeat. The Wallabies will finish atop the group if Ireland loses to Italy and fails to gain two bonus points.
Should Ireland top the pool, then Australia will face defending champion South Africa in the quarterfinals on October 9th in Wellington.
Bloomberg
