France beat Tonga to reach Rugby World Cup's last eight

France secured their place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a 23-21 victory over Tonga at the Kumamoto Stadium.

Same old France? Not quite. Les Bleus survived a frantic Tonga fightback to grind into the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup yesterday with a nerve-jangling 23-21 win that only just banished the ghosts of their shock loss to the Pacific islanders at the 2011 tournament.The thriller at balmy Kumamoto Stadium saw France join Pool C rivals England in the knockout stages, sending Tonga crashing out of the tournament with three successive defeats while also knocking out Argentina and the United States.

In a dramatic finale, flanker Zane Kapeli collected a cross-kick for a last-gasp try, Latiume Fosita’s conversion then bringing the Tongans within two points with under a minute left. But France winger Damian Penaud, caught out of position for Tonga’s last try, soared high to tap back the re-start and allow France to hold on to the siren.