Captained by Martin Corry, England scored four tries as they overcame an early deficit to gain the victory that guaranteed a last-eight showdown with 2003 World Cup Final rivals Australia next Saturday.
Ben Kay and Lewis Moody - despite an early blow to the face while trying to charge down a Tongan kick - played the full 80 minutes, while George Chuter made a strong impression at hooker before giving way to Lee Mears for the last 10 minutes. Centre Dan Hipkiss came off the bench for the last quarter of an hour, replacing Paul Sackey who had scored two tries.
Mathew Tait and replacement Andy Farrell scored England's other tries, while Jonny Wilkinson kicked two conversions, two penalties and two drop goals.
Saturday's Rugby World Cup action starts with Aaron Mauger lining up at centre for New Zealand knowing that a place in the last eight is secure even before the match against Romania.
But there is a lot more at stake for Leicester's other internationals.
Seru Rabeni starts at centre for Fiji as they face Wales. The winners of that game will go into the last eight, with the losers heading home.
The same scenario applies in St Etienne where James Hamilton lines up in Scotland's second row and Martin Castrogiovanni is at tighthead prop for Italy.
On Sunday, Tigers supporters will pay special attention to Ireland's fortunes against Argentina. Geordan Murphy gains his first start of the tournament as the Irish need a big win, but coach Marcelo Loffreda will be looking to guide the Pumas to a fourth successive victory and retain top spot in Pool D.
