England rallied in the second half of a hard-fought match to defeat Scotland 16-12 Saturday and ensure a place in the World Cup quarterfinals after the first game on neutral territory between rugby union's oldest rivals. A Chris Ashton try, his sixth of the tournament, near the end of the Pool B clash on a wet and windy night at Eden Park set England up for a quarterfinal against France next Saturday. France limped into the knockout stages despite losing 19-14 to Tonga in Wellington, its second loss on successive Saturdays, while twice champion Australia took its place in the last eight with a 68-22 victory over Russia. The Scots, which needed to win by eight points to reach the knockout stages, dominated the forward exchanges to lead 12-3 after 56 minutes. But it then messed up the kickoff and turned over possession to England. Jonny Wilkinson, who had endured another indifferent day with the boot, dropped a goal to spark the revival which preserved the 2003 champions' unbeaten record. Tonga celebrated the biggest upset of the tournament and the greatest day in the Pacific islanders' rugby history while at the same time lamenting the 25-20 loss to Canada which has ultimately cost it a quarterfinal place. The Tongans squandered the opportunity to score at least five tries against the twice finalists, who needed an injury time try to Vincent Clerc to capture a losing bonus point. Their victory followed Samoa's 13-5 loss to defending champion South Africa Friday and underlined the wealth of rugby talent in the Pacific Islands.
