Springboks coach Jake White was a relieved man after his senior players doused Tonga's fire for long enough to secure a surprisingly tight 30-25 victory in the World Cup on Saturday.

White was also full of praise for Tonga who, having fallen 27-10 behind, fought back with two late tries to secure a bonus point in the Pool A match at the Stade Felix Bollaert.

Tonga, who upset Samoa in their previous match, will still be looking to join South Africa in the last eight for the first time when they meet England in their final pool game.

"Obviously, I'm relieved... but all credit to the Tongan team, I thought they were outstanding, especially when they came back at us," White told a news conference.

"But this is a World Cup and all the teams want to do well... We've got three wins out of three."

White said he had fielded a second string side to give other players in the squad some World Cup experience but the pressure had led to them missing points in the first half that would have steadied their nerves.

TONGA LEAD

South Africa led 7-3 at the interval and were 10-7 down early in the second half when Tonga scored the first of their three tries, prompting White to send on several of his big name players.

"I think the substitutes saved me... This was a test and although we have not done as well as well as we would have liked, we passed it," White said as justification for his selection.

The Tongans felt that White had been unaware of how big a threat they could be, coach Quddus Fielea saying: "Seeing most of their first team players on bench, we knew that they didn't know what was going to happen in this game."

Tonga's captain, flanker Nili Latu said that the team's discipline has improved and their confidence in their own game.

"I'm really proud of my boys. Tonga used to concentrate on their opponents, now we concentrate on ourselves and our game plan and if we execute we have a good chance of winning.

"We had been watching South Africa's power and speed and saw the only way to beat them was by being smart.

"We knew the forwards were going to bash us up front. We said if we can tackle low and get in their face they won't like it... Little mistakes cost us the game today."

South Africa flanker Danie Rossouw was carried off wrapped into a stretcher during the second half but White said he was not badly hurt.

"The feedback from the doctor is he's all right, much better than what it looked like when he was carried off. He's gone for a scan but we think he will be okay," he said.

Reuters