Only Fiji now stand between Wales and quarter-final qualification - but coach Gareth Jenkins was still not entirely happy with the 72-18 demolition of Japan in Cardiff on Thursday.

The dragons scored 11 tries to put last weekend’s defeat by Australia behind them and Jenkins said after the game: "It was a job well done tonight. There were a lot of pleasing things ... but there are still areas we are going to look at tomorrow."

Handling errors allowed Japan to counter-attack and score two tries and Wales might well have been punished more for their mistakes by a better side. Stephen Jones, captain in the absence of the injured Gareth Thomas, admitted there were problem areas that needed to be addressed before the Fiji match.

''We are here to win, there's no doubt about that'' - Tonga centre Epeli Taione on the South Africa game


"I thought we were played a very good attacking game, he said, adding: ’’Yes, in the first half we made a few errors. There are areas to work on.’’

Ospreys wing Shane Williams, now 30, marked his 50th cap with two tries and won praise from Jenkins. ‘’He's getting better with age. It's great for him and it's great for us," he said.

Fiji are still very much in the shake-up after bonus-point wins over Canada and Japan. The have 10 points, the same as Australia and Wales - though the Welsh have played a game more. But the reality is that the Fijians just scraped home 35-31 against Japan - a result that suggests they are not in Wales’s class. And it would be a brave person who predicts anything but a drubbing by the Wallabies on September 23, six days before their showdown with Jenkins’s men.

Meanwhile, Japan's only remaining target is to register a victory against Canada before they go home next week. Coach John Kirwan said: "It's very important we finish this World Cup on a high. We've seen a big improvement."

Tonga are aiming to make next week’s big game against England academic - by beating a weakened South Africa side in Lens on Sunday. The Springboks are fielding just four of the players who started the 36-0 rout of England in Paris last weekend and the Tongans - their confidence soaring after winning their first two games against the USA and Samoa - sense that they might just be there for the taking.

Centre Epeli Taione said the South Sea islanders felt they have a chance of causing an upset against the red-hot Pool A favourites. "We are going to enjoy this game. If anything the pressure is on South Africa," he said. "If you were a bookmaker you would probably put all your money on South Africa to win, but when we came here our realistic target was to beat United States and Samoa and we have achieved that.

"Now it's a matter of enjoying the game and we are here to win, there's no doubt about that. As players we always want to test ourselves against the best and we are looking forward to it.  We are expecting to play a full professional side and that's what we are playing for. The challenge for ourselves as players is to perform against the best."

Assistant coach Ellis Meachen said there would be no question of his players being any less physical against South Africa despite being shown a red and two yellow cards in the Pacific Island derby against Samoa.  "We've addressed some problems there this week. But the Tonga-Samoa game was very special to us," he said. "The fact that it was at the World Cup made it even more special and so therefore the intensity was at its highest.

"We won't be telling our players to back off, that's not the way the Tongans play rugby. We will be going out there to compete for every ball, whether it be on the ground or in the air, and I'm sure South Africa will be doing the same.’’

Meanwhile Samoa coach Michael Jones believes Rugby World Cup disciplinary chiefs are knocking the stuffing out of the tournament - by over-reacting to physical play.

Former All Blacks star Jones - considered one of the game’s greatest-ever flankers - told the Daily Telegraph: "There's a danger the game is becoming too sanitised. It's getting to the point where I'd think about telling my son to go play Rugby League. It's getting to the point where I might well have opted to play Rugby League myself."

Jones, whose team play England on Saturday, is particularly concerned that there have been several citings for dangerous tackles. "We're all on eggshells at the moment," he said.

The Samoans knew before the tournament that there would be a crackdown on excesses and Jones - a devout Christian who would never play on a Sunday - added: "We've had to tone down things and that goes against the grain. Tackling hard is part of our DNA, it's part of who we are. We're wired up for it.

‘’We can't afford to tackle too hard now, we've had to train the boys out of it, get them to aim for the bread-basket [stomach] and not higher because a slip or a dip there, and suddenly you're too high.

‘’Of course, you must not allow brutality and ill-discipline. But if you break it all down, it's hard to see what the big deal is. It's been an inner battle for me to coach this."