Tonga, despite losing first-choice lock forward Paino Hehea to injury, remain adamant they can "gatecrash" England's World Cup party and knock the defending champions out when they meet in a winner-take-all encounter at Parc des Princes, Paris, on Friday.
Hehea has been ruled out of action for four weeks with a small fracture in his shoulder, which brings to a dramatic end his participation in the Pacific Islanders' successful run - which includes victories over the United State and Samoa, as well as a narrow five-point (25-30) loss to the tournament's second favourites South Africa.
The Tongans have called up Maama Molitika as his replacement.
Coach Quddus Fielea is convinced Molitika will not let the team down.
"He can play any position in the back row. Lock is his specialist position. He's a good player, very mobile, good in defence," the coach said.
Despite the setback veteran second row forward Inoke Afeaki said his side are capable of knocking England out of the World Cup.
The winner of Friday's match will qualify second in Pool A and book themselves a quarter-final showdown against Australia in Marseilles on 6 October. The losers will pack their bags and head home.
Afeaki, who is playing in his third World Cup, described the current Tongan as the best his country had ever assembled.
"I think they [England] will be nervous, they should be," Afeaki said.
"We've got more firepower, a good game plan and if they don't turn up and play as best as they can, they know they'll be on the back foot."
Afeaki said the Tongans were riding a wave of confidence after beating Pacific Island rivals Samoa 19-15, and narrowly losing to South Africa.
He said the match against England was the type of rugby Tonga thrived on.
"It's good for us, it's an all-or-nothing situation, as it should be at a World Cup.
"We're here, we're playing well and I think our chances are better than England's. We'll do our homework on what we need to put in place," Afeaki said.
Hehea has been ruled out of action for four weeks with a small fracture in his shoulder, which brings to a dramatic end his participation in the Pacific Islanders' successful run - which includes victories over the United State and Samoa, as well as a narrow five-point (25-30) loss to the tournament's second favourites South Africa.
The Tongans have called up Maama Molitika as his replacement.
Coach Quddus Fielea is convinced Molitika will not let the team down.
"He can play any position in the back row. Lock is his specialist position. He's a good player, very mobile, good in defence," the coach said.
Despite the setback veteran second row forward Inoke Afeaki said his side are capable of knocking England out of the World Cup.
The winner of Friday's match will qualify second in Pool A and book themselves a quarter-final showdown against Australia in Marseilles on 6 October. The losers will pack their bags and head home.
Afeaki, who is playing in his third World Cup, described the current Tongan as the best his country had ever assembled.
"I think they [England] will be nervous, they should be," Afeaki said.
"We've got more firepower, a good game plan and if they don't turn up and play as best as they can, they know they'll be on the back foot."
Afeaki said the Tongans were riding a wave of confidence after beating Pacific Island rivals Samoa 19-15, and narrowly losing to South Africa.
He said the match against England was the type of rugby Tonga thrived on.
"It's good for us, it's an all-or-nothing situation, as it should be at a World Cup.
"We're here, we're playing well and I think our chances are better than England's. We'll do our homework on what we need to put in place," Afeaki said.
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