Scotland face Tonga in must-win Rugby World Cup clash

NICE – Scotland are facing a “tough” must-win Pool B clash with Tonga in Nice on Sunday to stay in contention for a spot in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

The Scots, ranked fifth in the world, went down to a disappointing 18-3 defeat by champions South Africa in their tournament opener, while Tonga were pummelled 59-16 by world No. 1 Ireland in their first match.

Only the pool winners and runners-up advance to the knockout phase, meaning both Scotland and Tonga – both with zero point so far behind Ireland (10) and South Africa (nine) – must win Sunday’s fixture.

“Coming into the tournament, we knew that we’d have to perform in every game to have a chance of getting out of this group, which we knew was going to be tough,” said Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie.

“We need to be on it for every game.”

Tonga, Ritchie added, “have got some extremely good players”, notably a handful capped by New Zealand and Australia who have reverted, under World Rugby rules, to play for their country of heritage.

“They are a very physical side and, coming into the World Cup, they have had an extended period of time together which is something where they usually struggle going into Test matches,” he said.

“With that extended period of time together, they have got used to how each other plays, they’ve had time to put in systems. They have some dangerous players out there.”

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend said the inclusion of the likes of fullback Salesi Piutau, capped 17 times by the All Blacks, and centre Malakai Fekitoa, who won 24 caps for New Zealand, could only improve Tonga.

“They bring their own individual quality but also the experience of playing top-level Test matches and at World Cups, and that will spread throughout the team,” he said.

“When you’ve got players like them on the field, they can score a try out of anything.”

With a large contingent of Scottish fans expected at the Stade de Nice, Townsend, who has made four changes to his line-up, was focused on only one thing.

“We need to get our World Cup started with our first win. It’s our knockout stage now. If we lose a game, we’re out and we need to go out with that mentality,” he added.

Tonga coach Toutai Kefu, who was part of the Australia side who won the 1999 World Cup, named an unchanged starting XV from the loss to Ireland.

“They are our best players and I think last week’s performance probably wasn’t our best version of us. They deserved another chance. We are desperate to win. Last week wasn’t us, so we want to fix that,” he said, of not changing his team.

Tonga scrum-half Augustine Pulu, another with All Blacks experience having competed in the Rio Olympics in 2016 for the country of his birth, added: “It’s knockout footie this week... We will put our best foot forward.

“Last week, we didn’t fire our shots, so we are going to redeem ourselves by going out there and doing our best.” AFP