World Series

The Kingdom competed at the Hamilton and Sydney legs of the World Series earlier this year, where they managed notable wins against France, Japan and Kenya.

Team manager Richard Weightman said Tonga's first World Series tournaments in five years were a big learning experience, with just about the whole team having never played at that level before.

The Blitzboks beat England 24-14 in the cup final to finish two points clear of Fiji in the overall standings.

Captain Philip Snyman was full of praise for South Africa's performance.

"In the beginning of the tournament we said listen, we're not going to focus on the result, we want to go out and play some fantastic rugby and it's out of our hands," he said.

"We can only control the controllable and we made it so difficult for us but that's day one and we put it behind us.