Rassie: Springboks can't afford to take dangerous Tonga lightly

The Boks must beat Tonga on Sunday to make sure of their place in the knock-out stages, after last weekend's defeat against Ireland left them in second place in Pool B, four points adrift of leaders Ireland.

After securing victories in their opening clashes against Romania and Scotland, the Springboks are set to take on Tonga this Sunday night. Meanwhile, Ireland and Scotland are gearing up for a showdown on the subsequent Saturday, October 7th.

Tonga haven't set the world alight against Ireland and Scotland, shipping over 100 points in the two fixtures, but Erasmus has warned that, unlike Romania, they have the personnel to cause a potential upset.

"We know Romania are a tier-two team who don't have a lot of opportunities and don't have a lot of full-time professional players," said South Africa's Director of Rugby. "Even though World Rugby is trying to support them and they are on the up, they are still a bit off the pace when it comes to tier-one nations.

"But Tonga have players who have played at the highest level for various countries and there are quite a few names there that scare you. They have individual threats, individual brilliance and are well coached. I know [Tonga head coach] Toutai Kefu really well. I played against him in my playing days and he was good at scrumming and mauling and lineouts.

"Although we know the Tonga game will be a tough one, as the Scotland game will be for Ireland, that will probably determine who will be number one or two or three in the pool. I thought Scotland was always going to be a slippery game and it might be a tough one for Ireland as well, and so can Tonga be for us."

Should all go according to plan, the Boks are likely to face France in the quarter-finals, but Erasmus refuses to see that as a fait accompli as New Zealand and France's pool has not yet been decided.

"I still think that pool is not sorted out yet and not 100% determined," he added. "A lot of people will say France are favourites but you never know on the day, Italy might have a great day. On our side, as coaches we have no idea who we prefer to play, it would be so disrespectful.

"I don't think playing Japan [four years ago] will really benefit us. Japan were ranked eight, nine, 10 in the world when we played them, a developing country that hosted a wonderful tournament. But France are always in the top four in the world and I don't think that will help us against a quality French team playing at home with a passionate crowd, where rugby is like a religion."

The Springboks are likely to name their team on Wednesday, when Handre Pollard is expected to make a return in the flyhalf jersey.