Boks survive frantic Samoa to reach quarters

Defending champions South Africa qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals but not after a desperate struggle to fight off Samoa 13-5 and stay unbeaten at North Harbour on Friday. The Springboks led 13-0 at halftime but failed to score for the last 53 minutes as they withstood a furious comeback from the Samoans, who finished a man down for the last 10 minutes after fullback Paul Williams was sent off.
Samoa needed to beat South Africa for the first time in seven encounters and hope Fiji downed Wales on Sunday and they put the Springboks under enormous pressure in the second half. South Africa will now face either Ireland, Australia or Italy in next weekend's quarter-finals, while the World Cup is over for the never-say-die Samoans.