South Africa won 18–3 courtesy of tries from Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kurt-Lee Arendse, along with two successful penalties from Manie Libbok.
[8] After a six day break, action in the pool returned as Tonga played their first match against Ireland, where the Irish continued their impressive start with a 59–16 victory, including eight tries.
[9] The next day, South Africa continued their strong start with an emphatic victory over Romania, in a 76–0 win with twelve tries, including a hat-trick of tries from Cobus Reinach and Makazole Mapimpi.
Ireland emerged victorious with a scoreline of 13–8 in a low-scoring and brutal affair in Saint-Denis, putting the Irish in pole position to top the pool.
The result was crucial for Scotland in keeping their hopes of progression from the pool alive, and it left them only trailing South Africa in the standings from the head-to-head tiebreaker.
[13] The next day, South Africa played their final match of the pool as they moved to the brink of qualification to the quarter-finals after securing a 49–18 bonus-point victory over Tonga, a result that officially saw the elimination of the Sea Eagles from the tournament.
Ahead of the final matchweek, Ireland vs Scotland would be the deciding match as to who would finish in the top two and progress to the knockout stage.