Frustrated French target England next
Frustrated coach Jacques Brunel said France could only improve ahead of their blockbuster Pool C clash against England after surviving a big scare against Tonga to stumble into the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
Just as in their opener against Argentina, France held on for a nerve-jangling 23-21 win, having built a big lead in the first half before seeing it frittered away after the break at Kumamoto Stadium in Japan.
The result left France second in the pool behind unbeaten England, and the northern hemisphere rivals will play off for top spot Saturday in Yokohama.
Double-defending champions New Zealand lined up to face Namibia in what bookmakers rated the biggest mismatch in rugby history on Sunday — and duly justified the 1,000-1 odds by hammering the African part-timers 71-9.
The bookies might have been a tad nervous as the All Blacks led only 10-9 after 35 minutes, but the floodgates opened after that, with New Zealand scoring 11 tries in all.
The South Africans face one final hurdle in their bid for a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place but seem certain to brush aside the challenge of minnows Canada when the teams meet on Tuesday.
The Springboks need a bonus-point win to make sure of their place in the knockout stages, though a victory of any kind would do the trick unless the Italians produce the shock of the tournament and down New Zealand in their final pool match on Saturday.
New Zealand heads Pool B with 14 points from three games, with South Africa and Italy both on 10.
Canada and Namibia have yet to claim a point.
Canada has made six changes from the side that lost 63-0 to New Zealand last time out, with a new front row in props Hubert Buydens and Jake Ilnicki either side of hooker Andrew Quattrin, and the inclusion of lock Kyle Baillie, scrum-half Phil Mack and fullback Andrew Coe.
Wing DTH van der Merwe will make a Canadian record 15th World Cup appearance when he lines up against his native country.
The Boks and Canada have met twice before, including at the 1995 World Cup in what later became famously known as the Battle of Boet Erasmus.
In that game, Canadians Gareth Rees and Rod Snow, as well as South African James Dalton, were sent off after a mass brawl as the Boks won 20-0 on their way to lifting the trophy.