Filed under: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Internationals, Australia Rugby, France Rugby
At least France had their wobbly moment in a game with little consequence. The French were shambolic and chaotic against Tonga yet they still sneak through to the quarter finals.Tonga, despite the shock result, still head home and they will leave the tournament ruing their 25-20 loss to Canada earlier in Pool A.
Meanwhile France finish runners-up - and the conspiracy theorists will be raging as to whether they engineered the 14-19 result in order to avoid the Tri-Nations portion of the draw in the semi-finals.
FanHouse is not suggesting for a minute that France threw the game, but if they had then the defeat may have been easier to stomach for fans of Les Bleus, so dismal was their performance.
Kurt Morath kicked 12 of Tonga's points, while Sukanaivalu Hufanga's first-half try helped them to a 13-6 half-time lead. Vincent Clerc's late try ensured a losing bonus point, which was enough for France to go through.
And it could have been worse for France, as Morath also missed three penalties in the second half, as well as a drop goal.
In Pool C Australia sealed their passage to the quarter finals with a ten-try 68-22 win over Russia. The Wallabies' opponents managed three tries of their own, which considering the fact this is their first World Cup, is commendable.
Australia had sealed the bonus point by half time, as they raced to a 47-5 lead at the break. But the victory may have come at a cost for Australia, as they had winger Drew Mitchell hobble off with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.
Coach Robbie Deans, who is already dealing with a long injury list, said: "It doesn't look good. It looks like it will end his tournament."
Australia top Pool C ahead of Ireland's match with Italy and Declan Kidney's men only need a draw against the Azzurri to replace the Wallabies at the summit of Pool C - and avoid South Africa in the quarter finals.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/10/01/world-cup-round-up-tonga-stun-france-australia-through-to-quar/
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