Pollard will make his first Bok appearance since playing against Australia in Adelaide before being forced to miss the next 16 Tests due to injury.
Pollard scored 25 points in the quarter-finals against Japan and the semi-finals against Wales before leading South Africa to a 32-12 victory against England in the World Cup final four years ago.
The 29-year-old was previously ruled out of this tournament but returned to competitive play with his side Leicester a week ago before being called up to replace injured hooker Malcolm Marx.
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He did not play in South Africa’s 13-8 loss to Ireland on Saturday. Still, the failure of South Africa’s two goalkickers Manie Libbok and scrum-half Faf de Klerk in that encounter intensified calls for Pollard’s return to the team.
Libbok’s goalkicking has been questioned despite his dynamic displays with the ball in hand. In the first game, he missed three penalties against Scotland, and he also missed a conversion and a penalty against Ireland on Saturday.
As coach Jacques Nienaber makes 12 changes to the starting lineup that traveled to Ireland, Libbok is named to the bench.
Forwards Siya Kolisi, who will lead the squad for the 50th time, Eben Etzebeth and Jasper Wiese have been retained for the must-win game, which will determine which two teams from Pool B advance to the quarter-finals and who they will face in the top-eight playoffs.
“This is a strong and physical team, which is exactly what we need against a side like Tonga that plays with passion and force,” said Nienaber.
“Each one of us understands the importance of this match with an eye on qualifying for the quarter-final, so accurate execution, physicality and doing our basics right will be vital to get the desired result.”
Pollard plays halfback with Cobus Reinach, while Andre Esterhuizen and Canan Moodie play midfield. Willie le Roux takes the field as fullback, with Makazole Mapimpi and Grant Williams on the wings.
Deon Fourie will make his Springbok debut as a hooker in the front row alongside props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch, while Etzebeth and Marvin Orie will pack down in the second row.
Nienaber’s sole alteration among the loose forwards was at flanker, where regular No. 8 Duane Vermeulen will wear No. 7.
Marco Van Staden has been named as a substitute hooker, with prop replacements Steven Kitshoff and Trevor Nyakane, as well as the versatile Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith, all on the bench. Scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse, center Jesse Kriel, and Libbok are the three backline players on the bench.
Nienaber added that Tonga “will enter with the mindset that they have nothing to lose after going down in their opening two matches of the tournament, so they won’t hold back”.
“They had impressive moments in their matches against Scotland and Ireland, so this will require a full 80-minute effort. The emphasis for us will be on doing what we need to do to progress out of the pool stages and to bounce back from last week and build momentum.
“We are still in the World Cup, and we know we have the players and skills to defend our title. We now need to transfer all the hard work at training into producing a top-quality performance.”
South Africa (15-1)
Willie le Roux; Grant Williams, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Jasper Wiese, Duane Vermeulen, Siya Kolisi (capt); Marvin Orie, Eben Etzebeth; Vincent Koch, Deon Fourie, Ox Nche
Replacements: Marco van Staden, Steven Kitshoff, Trevor Nyakane, Franco Mostert, Kwagga Smith, Jaden Hendrikse, Jesse Kriel, Manie Libbok
Coach: Jacques Nienaber (RSA)
