Pool A/England 36 Tonga 20: The ovation the Tongan players received at the final whistle and on their subsequent lap of honour was heartfelt recognition for a team that had entertained and played the better rugby on the night. Unfortunately it was only in snatches and to their credit England toughed this one out, albeit with the help of some Tongan naivety at crucial stages. So to Tonga the plaudits at the Parc des Princes, but for England the satisfaction of a place in the knock-out stages of the World Cup in defence of their title.
The tiny Pacific Island produced some marvellous fare, much better than their opponents, but sadly the physicality of the contest coupled with the Islanders' crucial lack of composure at times allowed England a more comfortable passage than seemed likely early on.
Tonga were left to rue three errors in the last six minutes of the first half that gifted England 11 points and a cushion they did not merit. Six of those points came from the left foot of Jonny Wilkinson - with a smartly taken drop-goal and a 36 metre penalty - but most calamitous was Pierre Hola's pass that went to ground in the England 22.
Sackey scooped it up and the genuine foot race lasted 40 of the 80 metres the England wing ran; he was allowed cruise to the finish.
Wilkinson couldn't improve upon the score, the second time he had failed with a conversion in the opening 40 minutes; both were from difficult angles.
On the first occasion he was aiming to embellish another Sackey try. It was down to Wilkinson's quick thinking and beautifully weighted cross-kick - after it had looked likely he would opt to kick the penalty at goal - which Sackey collected and grounded before he slid over the deadball line.
Referee Alain Rolland went to the television match official, Mark Lawrence, and he correctly ruled in England's favour.
Tonga must have found it hard to reconcile how they trailed 19-10 at the interval; they had played most of the rugby in the first half and scored a brilliant try through centre Sukanaivalu Hufanga.
His midfield partner Epi Taoine careered straight through the surprisingly brittle tackle of Wilkinson and offloaded to Tufanga, who stepped inside Sackey and Mark Cueto, his momentum even though tackled allowing him to skid across the wet surface and ground the ball.
Hola, who had earlier given the Tongans the lead with a penalty - Wilkinson had levelled with a similar strike - posted the conversion and Tonga led 10-3.
Taoine was proving a real handful for the England midfield, twice bouncing Olly Barkley, who went too high. Much to his chagrin, the Englishman also missed a 15-metre drop goal attempt from in front of the posts.
England's tactics might charitably be described as limited, electing to kick deep or box-kick or, when given the platform of a lineout, looking to maul.
Tonga though defended with tremendous resolve, none more so than captain Nili Latu, though his head-high tackle on Lewis Moody at the start of the second half could have led to an enforced rest. Wilkinson fluffed the penalty, his third miss from five attempts.
England coach Brian Ashton set about rectifying his side's porous midfield by introducing Andy Farrell for the hapless Barkley and given their staid attacking patterns, it was a reasonable switch. Tonga did strike back with a Hola penalty to reduce the deficit to 19-13.
But the Pacific Islanders began to tire, the gaps appeared, and on 59 minutes Matthew Tait crossed for a try after Cueto had run a great line.
Wilkinson converted and tagged on another when Farrell ran a cut-back line through a defence that had drifted too quickly. The English outhalf tagged on another drop goal as the game ceased to be a contest.
Tonga's tremendous attitude has made them hugely appreciated in this World Cup and they kept trying up until the end: Hale T Pole's richly deserved try was converted from the touchline by Hola.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 10 mins: Hola pen, 3-0; 13: Wilkinson pen, 3-3; 18: Hufanga try, Hola con, 10-3; 28: Sackey try, 10-8; 35: Wilkinson drop-goal, 10-11; 38: Wilkinson pen, 10-14; (40)+1: Sackey try, 10-19 (half-time 10-19); 57: Hola pen, 13-19; 59: Tait try, Wilkinson con, 13-26; 70: Farrell try, Wilkinson con, 13-33; 75: Wilkinson drop-goal, 13-36; 85: Pole try, Hola con, 20-36.
ENGLAND: J Lewsey; P Sackey, M Tait, O Barkley, M Cueto; J Wilkinson, A Gomarsall; A Sheridan, G Chuter, M Stevens; B Kay, S Borthwick; M Corry (capt), L Moody, N Easter. Replacements: A Farrell for Barkley (55 mins0; P Vickery for Stevens (61 mins); L Dallaglio for Corry (67 mins); L Mears for Chuter (71 mins); D Hipkiss for Sackey (73 mins); P Richards for Gomarsall (76 mins).
TONGA: V Lilo; T Tu'ifua, S Hufanga, E Taione, J Vaka; P Hola, S Tu'ipulotu; S Tonga'uiha, A Lutui, K Pulu; V Vaki, L Fa'aoso; H T Pole, N Latu (capt), F Maka. Replacements: T Filise for Tonga'uiha (48 mins); Hudson Tonga'uiha for Hufanga (62 mins); M Molitika for Vaki (64 mins); E Taukafa for Lutui (68 mins); I Afeaki for Fa'aoso, A Havili for Vaka (71 mins); P Hehea for Tu'ipulotu (72 mins).
Referee: A Rolland (Ireland).
