The day Tonga almost shocked the Springboks at Rugby World Cup

The Springboks will enter Sunday's Rugby World Cup Pool B encounter against Tonga knowing they can't afford to underestimate the Pacific Island nation.

Bok fans have fond memories of the 2007 World Cup in France when their team emerged as champions after beating England 15-6 in the final.

The Boks had also thumped England 36-0 in the pool stages but almost came unstuck against a determined Tonga in Lens a week later.

Not many pundits expected Tonga to run the Boks close - the South Africans had crushed Samoa 59-7, while the Tongans barely scraped past the Samoans 19-15. Tonga also struggled to subdue the United States, winning 25-15.

However, Tonga produced a highly determined performance that almost saw them pull off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history.

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Springbok coach Jake White didn't pick his strongest team for this outing but named several of his frontline stars who had smashed England on the bench.

It was long before the term "Bomb Squad" was made famous, but having the likes of John Smit, Victor Matfield, Juan Smith, Bryan Habana, Frans Steyn, and Percy Montgomery on the bench proved vital.

In the one previous encounter between the two nations, at Newlands in 1997, South Africa emerged 74-10 winners, but the early stages in Lens suggested matters would be more even. 

The Tongans came out the blocks flying, with their high-octane style and brutal physicality appearing to rattle the Boks.

Flyhalf Pierre Hola put Tonga 3-0 ahead when he slotted a ninth-minute penalty. Bok starting flyhalf Andre Pretorius then missed a sitter to level matters, before again missing a relatively easy shot a few minutes later.

The Boks did get on the