Elwood hails battling display as Irish rally to outlast Tonga

Ireland 45 Tonga 27

Ireland trailed 17-10 at the interval and were on course to complete a humiliating Pool A whitewash in Cardiff following defeats to Argentina and New Zealand.

But two tries from both wing Chris Cochrane and full-back Niall Morris along with 20 points from the boot of Ian Porter sealed an emphatic victory which sets up a play off tie with Italy on Wednesday. Ireland coach Elwood said: “The second half performance was fantastic. We had a chat at half-time and a few harsh words were said because we didn’t turn up at all and we were second fiddle.