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Subscribe to RSS FeedMonty`s Tongan warning
Percy Montgomery (right) and Jike White
South African fullback Percy Montgomery admits he will not be surprised if Tonga send England spinning out of the World Cup when they meet in a Pool A decider in Paris on Friday.
The defending World Cup champions, England, meet the Tongans in a winner-takes-all match and Montgomery is perfectly placed to judge their relative merits.
The Sharks full-back booted 18 points in the Springboks' 36-0 thrashing of Brian Ashton's men a week and a half ago.
At the weekend he came off the bench, along with a number of other South African big guns, to help rescue his team and secure a hard-fought 30-25 win over plucky Polynesians.
There is no question which of the two Pool A teams gave the Springboks the bigger test.
And even though England go into the crunch clash as favourites, Montgomery believes Tonga have every chance of causing an upset.
"You can never write off the big teams like England because they have so much experience and they have the back-up," Montgomery said.
"I think it will tough for them. The Tongan team have got some good momentum at the moment, they've got some really good players.
"It wouldn't surprise me at all if they were to win. They have had a great World Cup, they are playing attractive rugby and it's a strange game.
"We needed all our composure to beat them and England will find it hard."
The Springboks were 10-7 down to Tonga heading into the final 30 minutes of Saturday's pulsating clash in Lens, and it was only then that coach Jake White brought his cavalry off the bench.
John Smit, BJ Botha, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana and Francois Steyn all came on, with Montgomery joining the field soon after.
They helped turn the tide South Africa's way and when Ruan Pienaar went over for his second try of the day, in the 65th minute, they had a 27-10 advantage.
The Pacific Islanders, whose tough tackling and charging runs caused their opponents problems all game, fought back manfully and came to within five points of the 1995 World Cup champions with eight minutes left thanks to tries by Sukanaivalu Hufanga and Viliami Vaki.
A final, match-winning score eluded them, despite South Africa being down to 13 men at one point, but Tonga left the field after the final whistle to vibrant applause from the crowd.
"Playing against the Islanders is always tough," Montgomery added.
"A lot of the Tongan team play overseas. They played with passion, they defended very well and attacked very well.
"We played with 13 men at one stage and it was quite difficult. The guys came off the bench and we managed to win and we got five points."
Montgomery admitted the end result could be a timely wake-up call and could prove the perfect launchpad for a second World Cup crown.
"It is always good to have a Test like this, it brings you back down to earth a bit.
"Obviously we wanted a bigger score but this is Test-match rugby. The days of beating teams by 70 points... I mean it doesn't work like that any more."
The bonus-point win capped a perfect day for Montgomery, who came on to claim his 90th cap and break the national appearances record he had been sharing with legendary scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen.
"It felt good. It was a special day for me," added the full-back, who kicked five points after coming on.
Montgomery, now the record Springboks international caps holder with 90 appearances, replaced the hapless Andre Pretorius who had missed four kicks at goal on an error-torn afternoon.
He said he intends to keep playing at the top level after the World Cup even as he takes up a club contract with French side Perpignan.
"There's a lot of things to look forward to. I don't think I'll be retiring after the World Cup. I'll be keeping my options open," he said.
