Wallabies win Pool of Death

Australia claimed top spot in Rugby World Cup 2015's infamous Pool A thanks to a 15-6 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday.

The result means that Wales must now face South Africa in next Saturday's quarter-final while the Wallabies will take on Scotland next Sunday at the same venue.

It result also extends Wales' long losing streak against Australia to 11 matches, dating back to 2008.

Much has been made of Australia's attacking ability at this World Cup but their defensive effort was at the heart of this victory.  They were outstanding, even keeping Wales out with two men in the sin-bin for seven minutes in the second half.

A cagey first half ended with Australia leading 9-6, which was probably a fair reflection of the opening 40 minutes, with very little to choose between the sides.

Wales were first on the scoreboard via a Dan Biggar penalty after an excellent start that saw George North almost get over in the corner, only to be held up.

The Welsh fly-half was on the receiving end of a rib-tickler from Sean McMahon and Sekope Kepu won the Wallabies a scrum penalty to stave off the early pressure from the men in red.

Wales enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory to still lead 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Aussie scrum was in dominant form, earning a penalty for Bernard Foley to level the scores.

Australia were on top in the much-anticipated breakdown battle too — with Scott Fardy showing he too can be a threat on the deck — and Foley put them ahead on the half-hour mark, only for Biggar to reply from over 40 metres after Stephen Moore had conceded an extra ten — bringing the penalty within range — for preventing a quick tap.

Taulupe Faletau gave away a soft penalty, kicking the ball from Will Genia's hands, to allow Foley to put Australia back in front.

A second offside penalty against the Wallabies meant that Biggar could have again made it all square on the stroke of half-time, but his effort was just wide.

Matt Giteau's effort from inside own half after the hooter fell short, so the Wallabies led by three at the half-time break.

Foley doubled the gap early in the second half after Faletau was spotted taking Fardy around the neck, but the game reached a critical period when Genia was sent to the sin-bin for cynically killing the ball.

Dean Mumm soon joined him for playing the man in the air at a lineout, leaving the Wallabies with 13 men on the park.

Faletau had been denied a try by the TMO in between those cards and twice more the Welshmen were held up over the line in a brilliant defensive display by Australia, as the Wallabies held firm.

A counter-attack sparked by Israel Folau led to Foley slotting his fifth penalty, putting the Wallabies out of reach.

After that a yellow card to Alex Cuthbert for a deliberate knock down when Australia were threatening to score in the dying minutes killed off hopes of a Welsh comeback.

Foley missed the shot at goal, but the Wallabies sealed off the result in clinical fashion.

Man of the match:  A handful of candidates for both sides but we'll go for Scott Fardy, who was one of his team's top tacklers with 11, played a key role on the ground and provided a reliable option at lineout time.

Moment of the match:  Not so much one moment but an extended period when the 13-man Wallabies kept the Welsh at bay.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Foley 5
Yellow Cards:  Genia, Mumm

For Wales:
Pens:  Biggar 2
Yellow Card:  Cuthbert

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Sean McMahon, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c) 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Wales:  15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 George North, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Tom Francis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 James Hook

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Laidlaw steers Scotland to last eight

Scotland secured their place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a 36-33 win Samoa at St James' Park in Newcastle.

Greig Laidlaw kicked 19 points and clinched the win with Scotland's third try to go with scores from Tommy Seymour and John Hardie in the first half, as Scotland eventually edged an arm wrestle in the highest-scoring game of the tournament so far.

Win and Scotland knew they would be in the last eight ahead of Japan, but this was far from a cruise for Vern Cotter's men.

They only took the lead for the first time after 50 minutes and were regularly opened up by Samoa's elusive runners, relying on the boot of their captain Greig Laidlaw to punish Samoa's indiscipline in the second half.

Samoa's World Cup bit the dust against Japan last weekend, another low in what has been an disappointing tournament after plenty of hope.

Stephen Betham's side had nothing to play for but pride in potentially their coach's final game in charge.  If that proves to be the case then they have sent him off in , even if the result eluded them despite finishing with a bonus point try.

Tusi Pisi's penalty opened the scoring before Laidlaw quickly responded with three points of his own.

The Samoa fly-half though came up with the first try when he went over in the corner, grounding the ball with his fingertips with the score confirmed by the TMO.  A superb touchline conversion from Pisi made it 10-3.

Tim Nanai-Williams has added so much to Samoa's attacking play, but off the restart he shot himself in the foot with a wild pass inside his 22, gratefully gobbled up by Tommy Seymour for the easiest try he'll ever score as Scotland drew level.

Rather than that blunder knocking Samoa off their stride, the Islanders burst into life off the restart.

Zak Taulafo's straight line split the Scottish defence wide open and after David Denton was penalised at the ruck, Fotuali'i wasted no time — taking a tap penalty and sending the ball wide for Ma'atulimanu Leiataua to crash over, mobbed by his celebrating team-mates after their fast start.

Oozing confidence through their midfield partnership of Rey Lee-Lo and George Pisi, Samoa found space time and again in Scotland's increasingly narrow defence.

A blindside attack saw Fotuali'i move the ball wide, with Lee-Lo taking the final pass to score Samoa's third try inside 20 minutes for a 20-13 lead.

Laidlaw's second penalty closed the gap but they were sent down to 14 men after the red mist descended on Ryan Wilson.

The flanker's stamp on Maurie Fa'asvalau was born out of frustration at having his leg held off the ball, but he had to be shown a card and referee Jaco Peyper settled on yellow.

Losing a unit from their pack couldn't stop Scotland's rolling maul crashing over though from short-range, with John Hardie racking up his second try in four Tests since his debut.  Laidlaw's conversion made it 23-23.

Samoa thought they had a bonus-point try before the half was out, but George Pisi's pull on the arm of Laidlaw made the space for Taulafo to dive over the line.  It was cynical from the Samoa centre, but how likely Laidlaw would have been to stop Taulafo anyway from that distance was worth debating.

Samoa had to settle for a third penalty from Tusi Pisi to make it 26-23 and they should have taken three more points with a penalty ten metres out before half-time.  Fotuali'i, outstanding throughout the first half, instead opted to tap and the chance was lost.

Scotland had chances to counter through multiple rolling mauls at the start of the second half, turning down shots at goal, but after a succession of misfires Laidlaw opted for the posts to tie things up again at 26-26.

Another penalty from Laidlaw put Scotland ahead for the first time in the contest after 53 minutes but an attempt at a fifth strike fell wide, holding Scotland's lead at three points for the time being.

Samoa though were taking the brunt of a wave of penalties against them, with Laidlaw's next opportunity never far away.

A second straight miss though was uncharacteristic as Scotland failed to pull away, setting up a nervous finish.

Sean Lamont came off the bench to win his 100th cap as Scotland threw everything at Samoa's defence before Laidlaw found the breakthrough, darting down the blindside off a five-metre scrum and reaching out to ground the ball.

Samoa weren't done, striking back from close-range themselves through replacement hooker Motu Matu'u for their bonus point try with Patrick Fa'apale's conversion making it 33-36.

There was to be no fairytale though for Samoa as their final attack ended with a handling error — Scotland surviving to book their spot in the quarter-finals, also ensuring that Japan cannot get through regardless of their result against the USA on Sunday.

Man of the Match:  For his points haul of 26 it has to go to Greig Laidlaw, although Kahn Fotuali'i and Rey Lee-Lo were both outstanding for Samoa.

Moment of the Match:  Having missed two kicks Scotland had to score again to put them out of reach and Laidlaw's try by the posts came when it was needed most.

Villain of the Match:  While appreciating Ryan Wilson's frustration at having his leg held, his stamp was pretty reckless and could easily have seen him sent off.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  T Pisi, Leiataua, Lee-Lo, Matu'u
Cons:  T Pisi, Fa'apale
Pens:  T Pisi 3

For Scotland:
Tries:  Seymour, Hardie, Laidlaw
Cons:  Laidlaw 3
Pens:  Laidlaw 5
Yellow Card:  Wilson

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont.

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Paul Perez, 13 George Pisi, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Fa'atoina Autagavaia, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i (c), 8 Alafoti Faosiliva, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Maurie Faasavalu, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ma'atulimanu Leiataua, 1 Sakari Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Vavao Afemai, 22 Patrick Fa'apale, 23 Ken Pisi.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (England), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Nehe does it for New Zealand

It was far from classic All Black rugby but New Zealand turned on enough to overcome Tonga 47-9 at St James' Park in Newcastle on Friday.

New Zealand were only 14-6 in front after 48 minutes, which typified a somewhat laboured pool campaign, but then they turned on the in a bonus-point win.

Centurion Ma'a Nonu scored a late try to celebrate the occasion but it was the man who set him up, Nehe Milner-Skudder, who was the star of the show, scoring two tries to nail down a starting place for next weekend's quarter-final showdown.

Ben Smith, Tony Woodcock, Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Cane were New Zealand's other try-scorers, with Dan Carter kicking six from seven efforts.

Tonga, who stunned France in their pool finale four years ago, were hoping for a repeat result that would repair the damage of a poor Rugby World Cup.

While they started the fixture well, the Tongans eventually went behind on thirteen minutes when lovely handling down the right wing involving Ben Smith, Milner-Skudder and Cane led to the full-back diving over.  It oozed calmness before Carter added the extras for a 7-0 lead.

Tonga refused to go away though and were rightly rewarded with points on the board through Kurt Morath's boot.  It was a nerve-settling kick for the number ten after last week's dismal performance off the tee against Argentina.  Tony Woodcock it was who was penalised for not rolling away.

New Zealand, despite making a handful of uncharacteristic handling errors, did manage to cross for a second try on the half-hour mark thanks to Woodcock making amends for his earlier indiscretion.  Although he would be the first to thank Aaron Smith for a delicate pull-back pass assist.

Being 14-3 down did not deter Tonga, far from it, as they came back with real purpose and duly set up camp in the New Zealand 22 for the remainder of the first-half.  First captain Kieran Read went to the sin-bin for pulling down a maul and then three scrums tested the All Blacks' resolve.

Fortunately for Steve Hansen's men no further players saw yellow and the half would eventually end with the TMO adjudging no try from a close-range carry.

Hansen would have been livid with his side's error-strewn showing in the opening 40 minutes and things didn't improve after the interval, with centurion Nonu kicking straight out on his ten-metre line.  With Woodcock limping off with a leg injury, it was a very disappointing 45 minutes.

Tonga meanwhile were growing in confidence and after a second Morath penalty, the lead was reduced to eight points with half-an-hour remaining.

Cue the All Black onslaught as with a flick of the switch, they put the result beyond doubt with two tries in a six-minute spell that took the wind out of Tonga.  First it was a well weighted pass from Carter out to right wing Milner-Skudder and then replacement Beauden Barrett kicked through a lovely grubber that found the in-form finisher for his double.  After Carter's conversions, New Zealand were 28-9 up.

They were in full flow and when scrum-half Smith's no-look pass back inside found replacement Williams five metres out for a run-in, the doubters were silenced and Hansen could relax, especially with Tonga down to fourteen men after Paula Ngauamo saw yellow for a tip tackle.

New Zealand weren't done and as the holes opened in Tonga's defence, Cane capitalised before fittingly Nonu was given a free run to the line by Milner-Skudder to mark his 100th Test appearance with a try.  Not even Carter's first miss of the night could dampen that second-half performance as the All Blacks march on to Cardiff in positive mood.

Man of the match:  What a year it has been for Nehe Milner-Skudder.  Given a chance by the Hurricanes after strong ITM Cup campaign with Manawatu, he hasn't looked back.  The right wing crossed twice in the game to take his tournament tally to four.

Moment of the match:  Whatever was said at half-time by Steve Hansen certainly did the trick but a coach can only do so much.  New Zealand's players moved up two gears around the 50 minute mark, which Ireland or France have to be wary of.

Villain of the match:  A couple of let's say, risky tackles, but otherwise a clean game.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Smith, Woodcock, Milner-Skudder 2, Williams, Cane, Nonu
Con:  Carter 6
Yellow:  Read (pulling down maul — 38 mins)

For Tonga:
Pen:  Morath 3
Yellow:  Ngauamo (tip tackle — 68 mins)

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Waisake Naholo, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Telusa Veainu, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Latiume Fosita, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joseph Tuineau, 4 Tukulua Lokotui, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:  16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Sona Taumalolo, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Steve Mafi, 20 Jack Ram, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Viliami Tahitua, 23 Will Helu.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  JP Doyle (England), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Georgia hold off spirited Namibia

Georgia all but booked their place at the 2019 Rugby World Cup after edging out Namibia 17-16 at Sandy Park, despite trailing 0-6 at the interval.

Wednesday's contest was hardly a classic and credit must go to Namibia for how they performed.  However, Georgia's experience saw them home.

Tries from Mamuka Gorgodze and Lasha Malaguradze proved to be the difference as the Lelos now hope Tonga don't surprise New Zealand on Friday.

Namibia though, while disappointed to come so close and not win, made history in Exeter by claiming their first Rugby World Cup point.

It was a strange game in Exeter as the first-half action lasted 49 minutes — 68 in total — in what was a try-less opening period to the match.

The prize was big for Georgia as they looked to back up their win over Tonga with their second of the tournament, which would all but secure their place in the 2019 tournament.  However, there were plenty of nerves from the Lelos and the Namibians feasted on them for large periods.

It didn't take long for Namibia to open the scoring, inside the first minute in fact, when Georgia knocked on at the kick-off and then were caught offside.  Theuns Kotze made no mistake off the tee in front of a packed out Sandy Park faithful, who have loved their World Cup games.

However, it wasn't all good news for the Namibians early on as they lost their talismanic captain Jacques Burger to a head knock in the ninth minute.  Unfortunately his Head Injury Assessment wasn't given the all-clear and the Saracens man had his final RWC fixture prematurely ended.

Soon after Burger was off, it looked like Georgia had crossed through left wing Alexander Todua.  But television match official Shaun Veldsman adjudged pivot Malaguradze to have knocked on in the act of stripping the ball off a Namibian attacker.  It came as massive relief for Namibia.

Their relief would turn to joy when they doubled their lead on eighteen minutes again via the boot of Kotze, this time after Georgian flanker Viktor Kolelishvili made a high tackle on Namibia number eight Renaldo Bothma.  Were the African side heading towards a famous World Cup win?

Georgia, despite enjoying the majority of possession and territory leading up to the half-hour continued to be rattled and fragmented in their game.  That left Milton Haig venting in the coach's box and gave yet more confidence to Phil Davies' side that a first ever RWC victory was on.

Things wouldn't improve for Georgia when hooker Jaba Bregvadze was yellow carded for leading with the elbow on Heinrich Smit on 35 minutes, but in an extended half due to stoppages — from start to finish it was 68 minutes — it would be Georgia who went in with a man advantage when props Raoul Larson and Johannes Coetzee were also marched to the sin-bin by Irish referee George Clancy for a cynical and scrum offence respectively.

Importantly for Namibia though they kept their try-line intact.

Georgia were intent on changing that early in the second-half and with Merab Kvirikashvili and Todua combining well, it looked like happening sooner rather than later.  And sure enough it came from Gorgodze on 50 minutes before Kvirikashvili's extras moved the Georgians 7-6 in front.

To make that score worse for Namibia, number eight Bothma was carded for a high tackle in the lead-up to that try as Georgia had the momentum.

And they gleefully turned the screw before the 60 minute mark when fly-half Malaguradze found a hole off an offload which made it a 14-6 gap.

Georgia at this point were showing their superiority in terms of fitness and know-how as they enjoyed the majority of the territory and looked much more comfortable in possession.  With fifteen minutes remaining could they start to celebrate a likely automatic spot in 2019's showpiece?

Both sides traded penalties before the final ten minutes but then came the grandstand finish in Exeter as after a third Kotze penalty goal, the Namibian fly-half then crossed the line wide on the left before his fine conversion made it 17-16.  Suddenly the victory was up for grabs.

Georgia though held on as eyes now move to Newcastle on Friday.  For Namibia, a first World Cup losing bonus-point will come as some consolation.

Man of the match:  Namibia impressed in the first period with a workmanlike effort but in the second-half the quality of Georgia helped them turn the screw, with inside centre Merab Sharikadze standing out.  So strong in contact yet nimble on his feet, he was excellent.

Moment of the match:  Georgia needed their man mountain of a captain to inspire this turnaround and Mamuka Gorgodze of course did the job.  His powerful try from close-range on 50 minutes set the Lelos on their way to what looks like being a third-placed finish in the pool.

Villain of the match:  Although there were cards, it was hardly a dirty contest so nothing to see here.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Gorgodze, Malaguradze
Con:  Kvirikashvili 2
Pen:  Kvirikashvili
Yellow:  Bregvadze (leading with elbow — 35 mins)

For Namibia:
Try:  Kotze
Con:  Kotze
Pen:  Kotze 3
Yellow:  Larson (cynical offence — 40 mins), Coetzee (scrum offence — 40 mins), Bothma (high tackle — 50 mins)

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 13 Davit Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Lasha Malaguradze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Mamuka Gorgodze (c), 7 Viktor Kolelishvili, 6 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 5 Konstantin Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 Levan Datunashvili, 20 Lasha Lomidze, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Giorgi Aptsiauri, 23 Beka Tsiklauri.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 David Philander, 13 Danie Van Wyk, 12 Darryl de la Harpe, 11 Russel van Wyk, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Tinus du Plessis, 6 Jacques Burger (c), 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 PJ van Lill, 3 Raoul Larson, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld, 1 Johnny Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Johannes Coetzee, 19 Wian Conradie, 20 Rohan Kitshoff, 21 Johan Tromp, 22 Damian Stevens, 23 Heinrich Smit.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Springboks crush USA to win Pool B

South Africa qualified for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals thanks to a 64-0 demolition of the USA in London on Wednesday.

Veteran wing Bryan Habana was the star of the show as he scored three tries to draw level with Jonah Lomu's all-time RWC try-scoring record of 15.

The results sees the Springboks secure top spot in Pool B and sets up a clash with the losers of Saturday's showdown between Australia and Wales at Twickenham.  Meanwhile the USA will now look to their match with Japan on Sunday as they search for their first win of the tournament.

Off the platform of a totally dominant scrum, the Springboks scored ten unanswered tries, yet coach Heyneke Meyer will have mixed feelings about the performance of his strongest available side.

South Africa's total physical dominance was juxtaposed by their poor execution on attack in the first half.

Indeed, the Boks would have been disappointed by their first 40 minutes as a glut of unforced handling errors and below-par kicks left much to be desired.  There was a distinct lack of composure shown as the Boks threw loose passes and made overly-hasty decisions.

South Africa led 14-0 at the interval thanks to a try from Damian de Allende and a penalty try awarded against the American scrum.

The second-half was a different story however as the Eagles crumbled.

Habana sealed his hat-trick in the space of 20 minutes and Bismarck du Plessis, Francois Louw — who scored twice — Jesse Kriel and Lwazi Mvovo all followed him onto the scoresheet.

The Eagles had the first chance at points but Folau Niua's long-range penalty fell short.

The early signs were ominous for the Americans though as the Springbok pack rumbled forward at the first scrum.

The Boks were sloppy in the early minutes but the opening try wasn't long in coming.  Schalk Burger slapped a loose ball along the ground and De Allende took advantage of the unstructured situation, splitting the US defence open before handing off Danny Barrett to score.

Handre Pollard added the extras, meaning the Boks led by seven after as many minutes.

It was the Eagles however who dominated possession in the first quarter but Niku Kruger couldn't find the target from the kicking tee either, leaving the USA empty handed despite a promising opening 20 minutes.

An almighty clash in mid-air between Habana and Blaine Scully saw both men sent for concussion assessments.  In Habana's brief absence Kriel shifted to the wing and was stopped just short of the line after a break by Pollard.

A series of scrums ensued and the Boks were rewarded for their superiority at the set-piece with a penalty try.  Curiously though, referee Pascal Gauzere only raised his arm under the posts after Pollard had overcooked a crossfield kick.

Pollard added the inevitable conversion to take the lead to 14 points and the men in green should have had another try but Duane Vermeulen butchered a sure thing by knocking on with line in sight.

Fourie du Preez was the architect of a gem of a try almost immediately after the second-half restart, placing a glorious chip into space for Habana to run onto and finish untouched.  Pollard's conversion made it 21-0.

Du Plessis muscled his way over soon after from close range after Vermeulen was stopped short from a charge off the back of an attacking scrum.

The floodgates had opened and Louw got his first try at the back of an unstoppable rolling maul.  Pollard made it 33-0.

Habana scored his second thanks to an offload from De Allende with Morne Styen landing his first points of the tournament with the conversion.

The Eagles were out on their feet and another maul set up Habana's third try, an easy run in.  Steyn again hit the target.

Yet another maul took Louw over for his brace before Kriel used his pace to race home.

Habana fumbled in the act of going over for what would have been a record-breaking try but the Boks still had the last laugh as Mvovo pounced on a loose ball and raced home from his own 22.  Steyn took the score to 64 after the final hooter.

Man of the match:  Mentions must go to young locks Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth, who were at the heart of South Africa's physical dominance.  But you can't ignore the guy who scored a hat-trick, Bryan Habana.

Moment of the match:  The spark that started the fire was Fourie du Preez's great chip into space to create Habana's first try.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  De Allende, Penalty try, Habana 3, Du Plessis, Louw 2, Kriel, Mvovo
Cons:  Pollard 4, Steyn 3

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Schalk Brits, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein.

USA:  15 Blaine Scully, 14 Brett Thompson, 13 Folau Niua, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Zach Test, 10 Shalom Suniula, 9 Niku Kruger, 8 Samu Manoa (c), 7 John Quill, 6 Danny Barrett, 5 Matthew Trouville, 4 Louis Stanfill, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Oli Kilifi.
Replacements:  16 Joe Taufetee, 17 Zach Fenoglio, 18 Mate Moeakiola, 19 Titi Lamositele, 20 Cam Dolan, 21 Al McFarland, 22 Mike Petri, 23 Chris Wyles.

Venue:  Olympic Stadium, London
Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Fiji win scrap with 14-man Uruguay

Fiji ended their Rugby World Cup campaign on a high with a 47-15 win over 14-man Uruguay in Milton Keynes on Tuesday.

John McKee's men were determined to end the tournament on a positive note after coming in with such high hopes, and did so by scoring seven tries, including two penalty tries stemming from their dominant scrum.

Fiji were far from perfect and never really cut Uruguay open with ease, but this was a much-needed win after tough losses to England, Australia and Wales — wrapped up by Nemani Nadolo scoring their seventh try to take his tally to 17 points.

Uruguay though stole the show — mainly through their first World Cup tries in 12 years by Carlos Arboleya and Agustin Ormaechea.

The night ended on a sour note though when the influential Ormaechea was shown a red card by referee JP Doyle, after picking up his second yellow.

By doing so he made history, joining Fiji's Marika Vunibaka from 1999 in an exclusive club of players to score and receive a red card in a World Cup match.

Everything else about Wednesday's game was overwhelmingly positive.

We would never have expected Uruguay to still be within this game at half-time before the tournament started, but the 20th and final side to qualify for the World Cup backed up the outstanding performances from Tier Two nations in this World Cup with another impressive outing.

To top it off, a record 30,048 crowd packed into Stadium MK — another outstanding turnout.

Fiji started fast — Lepani Botia looking as though he'd scored in the corner only for the replays from the TMO to show that he'd knocked on.

However, Ormaechea's no-arms tackle to dislodge the ball meant that the referee awarded the penalty try, with Nadolo converting.

Nemia Kenatale was the next man to score, the scrum-half in for Niko Matawalu diving over in the corner as Fiji led 12-0 after ten minutes.

Alejo Duran's penalty put Uruguay on the board and all of a sudden los Teros had the wind in their sails.

Santiago Gibernau's touchline break put them behind the Fijian defence to set up an attack where Arboleya hit a great line into gaping hole, crashing over by the posts.

Such were the happy scenes as the Uruguayan players mobbed their hooker, you'd have thought they had won the World Cup.  It was their first World Cup try since 2003.  12-0 was now 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Fiji's scrum however was utterly dominant, with Alejo Corral struggling up against Leroy Atalifo and the pressure eventually forcing referee JP Doyle to award a second penalty try with Uruguay motoring backwards near their own line.

Leone Nakarawa made sure Fiji had their try bonus point before the break with a deserved score after his good tournament, leaving Fiji ahead 26-10 at half-time.

Uruguay's spirit though was outstanding.  As Fiji's attack plodded from left to right Sunia Koto was caught out by a loose pass and the South Americans hacked forward, outnumbering Fiji to the ball before Ormaechea scurried around the side of the ruck to send his coach's box into euphoria.

Duran couldn't convert, his effort coming back off the crossbar, but at 26-15 Uruguay were right in the contest.

Tevita Cavubati's try off the bench stopped any comeback in its tracks, a stray elbow from Rodrigo Silva after he scored sparking off the first of two scraps between both sides but he escaped a punishment.

The same couldn't be said after Kini Murimurivalu's try — taking Fiji to six — when Campese Ma'afu and Ormaechea scrapped off the ball.  Both were yellow carded by the referee, with Ormaechea's second yellow meaning he was sent off.

Nadolo still had time to dive over, bringing up seven tries, but the 47-15 scoreline didn't tell the true story — how Uruguay had battled away and won over the crowd, making history with their two tries.

They will go into Saturday's game against England full of confidence.

Man of the Match:  Credit must go to Fiji's scrum, but while he never got on the scoresheet Lepani Botia was a massive presence on attack with a number of carries and impressive offloads.

Moment of the Match:  The scenes were quite incredible when Carlos Arboleya crashed over, as he was mobbed by the Uruguayan replacements and made history.

Villain of the Match:  The off-the-ball niggle at the end was pretty unnecessary from both sides.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Penalty Try 2, Kentale, Nakarawa, Cavubati,
Cons:  Nadolo 6
Yellow Card:  Ma'afu

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Arboleya, Ormaechea
Con:  Duran
Pen:  Duran
Red Card:  Ormaechea

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Lepani Botia, 11 Nemani Nadolo, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 3 Leroy Atalifo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Taniela Koroi, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Netani Talei, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Timoci Nagusa,

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Alejo Duran, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Matias Beer, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 5 Jorge Zerbino, 4 Santiago Vilaseca (c), 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Carlos Arboleya, 1 Alejo Corral.
Replacements:  16 German Kessler, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Mateo Sanguinetti, 19 Mathias Palomeque, 20 Franco Lamanna, 21 Juan De Freitas, 22 Jeronimo Etcheverry, 23 Francisco Bulanti.

Referee:  JP Doyle (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (SARU), Leighton Hodges (WRU)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (RFU)

Romania fight back to edge Canada

Romania overturned a 15-point deficit to bag their first win at Rugby World Cup 2015 via a 17-15 victory over Pool D rivals Canada in Leicester on Tuesday.

Having trailed 15-0 early in the second half, Romania launched an impressive comeback, with the power of their forwards turning the tables on a Canadian side that had controlled the game for the first 50 minutes.

Tries from Canadian wingers DTH van der Merwe and Jeff Hassler either side of half-time looked to have secured the result in a game played in difficult conditions.

But Romanian skipper Mihai Macovei scored twice in the last half hour before Florin Vlaicu slotted a late, long-range penalty to snatch a thrilling win for the Oaks.

The result ends a eight-game RWC losing streak for Romania and leaves Canada to harbour a number of regrets after their narrow loss to Italy earlier in the tournament.

Heavy rain showers before kick-off and then intermittently during the match made running rugby tricky but Canada's more expansive approach nevertheless paid dividends as they built a handy lead.

Canada led 8-0 at the interval thanks to a well-taken try just before the break from Van der Merwe, who has now scored in four consecutive RWC games.

Despite the slippery surface the Canucks played with plenty of width with their back three especially prominent, but were met by a well-organised and resolute Romanian defence.

A soft yellow card for full-back Catalin Fercu after his mid-air collision with Nick Blevins didn't help the Romanian cause.

The Oaks used their powerful pack as their main weapon but crucially missed out on points after choosing a five-metre scrum only to be penalised.

Hassler stretched the lead early in the second half with a barnstorming run to score after a break by Nathan Hirayama put Canada on the attack.  Hirayama also provided the conversion to give Canada a 15-0 lead.

Romania didn't go down quietly though as a pushover try on the 50-minute mark kept the game alive with Macovei touching down and Florin Vlaicu adding the conversion.

There was late drama to come as Jebb Sinclair was sin-binned for coming into the side of maul and Romania used their extra man to lay the platform for Macovei to break off a wheeling scrum, stretching out an arm to score.

Vlaicu hit the conversion to cut the gap to single point and set up a grandstand finish.

Cruelly for Canada, long-time servant and skipper Jamie Cudmore was the man to give away the penalty that would cost them victory, as Vlaicu hit the target from 45 metres out in the 78th minute.

Man of the match:  Having scored both his team's tries, captain Mihai Macovei has to get the gong as he continued his impressive form in the World Cup.

Moment of the match:  It wasn't an easy kick, but Florin Vlaicu help his nerve to slot the winner after a couple of earlier misses.

Villain of the match:  Nothing rough enough to mention.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Van der Merwe, Hassler
Con:  Hirayama
Pen:  McRorie
Yellow Card:  Sinclair

For Romania:
Tries:  Macovei 2
Cons:  Vlaicu 2
Pen:  Vlaicu
Yellow Card:  Fercu

Canada:  15 Harry Jones, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Nathan Hirayama, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 John Moonlight, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Jamie Cudmore (c), 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Doug Wooldridge, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Kyle Gilmour, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Conor Trainor, 23 James Pritchard

Romania:  15 Catalin Fercu, 14 Madalin Lemnaru, 13 Paula Kinikinilau, 12 Florin Vlaicu, 11 Ionut Botezatu, 10 Michael Wiringi, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Valentin Ursache, 5 Johannes van Heerden, 4 Valentin Poparlan, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Andrei Ursache, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 Daniel Carpo, 20 Stelian Burcea, 21 Valentin Calafeteanu, 22 Adrian Apostol, 23 Csaba Gal.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Ireland knock gritty Italy out

Ireland booked a spot in the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday thanks to a hard-fought 16-9 victory over Italy at Olympic Park in London.

The result means that Ireland and France will qualify from Pool D, with their showndown next weekend set to decide who tops the group.

Over 53,000 mostly Irish fans turned up for what proved to be an absorbing clash as the Azzurri pushed the pool favourites right down to the wire.

Ireland led 10-6 at the interval thanks to a try from Keith Earls, with the centre becoming Ireland's leading try-scorer in RWC history in an evenly-contested first half.  It proved to be the only five-pointer of the game as Ireland failed to find any real rhythm.

Italy put in their best performance of the tournament but their ill-advised tactic of throwing long skip passes made it easy for the Irish defence to drift across.

Ireland on the other hand will frustrated by their error count.  They dominated the possession stats in the second period though, and Johnny Sexton's boot kept them in front.

Italy's wonky lineout didn't help their cause either, although they just edged the scrum battle.

Italy were dealt an injury blow inside the opening three minutes as centre Gonzalo Garcia limped off, but the Azzurri nevertheless made a bright start, probing on the Irish 22.

Ireland drew first blood, however, following a Sexton break.  Italy were caught offside and the Irish fly-half duly opened the scoring from the kicking tee.

But the big hits were raining down from Italy and the men in blue were looking comfortable in possession, earning a penalty for Tommaso Allan to slot home and level the scores.

Some very slick work from the Irish backs created the only try as Robbie Henshaw's excellent offload put Earls over, and Sexton had no trouble with the conversion, so Ireland led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter as the green-tinged crowd broke into song.

Italy kept working hard and Allan could cut the deficit with his second penalty.  Twice the Azzurri butchered overlaps with long passes out wide then fluffed a lineout five metres from the Irish line, having turned down three points.

Sexton hit the upright with a long-range shot at goal and Conor Murray knocked on with Ireland pressing, meaning the scores wouldn't change before the half-time break.

Italy were unlucky not to get a try early in the second half as Josh Furno's foot scraped the touchline in the act of going over, but Italy were clearly building in confidence.

Allan's third penalty cut the gap to a single point and Ireland were under pressure but Sexton replied, with interest, following back-to-back breakdown penalties to make it 16-9 as the game entered the final quarter.

Allan fell short with long-range effort but Italy were thrown a lifeline when Peter O'Mahony was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, meaning Ireland would finish the game a man down.

It was a nail-biting finale as Sexton missed a penalty from out wide but two key turnovers won by Jamie Heaslip kept the Italians at bay.

Man of the match:  A handful of candidates but once again it was Iain Henderson who stood out for Ireland, carrying powerfully and working hard on defence.

Moment of the match:  It must be Keith Earl's try which gave the Irish a gap that they never relinquished.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Earls
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 3
Yellow card:  O'Mahony

For Italy:
Pens:  Allan 3

Ireland:  15 Simon Zebo, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Nathan White, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Josh Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Mauro Bergamasco, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti.

Venue:  Olympic Stadium, London
Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Angus Gardner (Australia)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Five-try Pumas cruise past Tonga

Argentina moved one step closer to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after they showed their class to see off Tonga 45-16 in Leicester on Sunday.

In this kind of form they will be a match for anyone in the latter stages of the competition and it's worth noting this performance was put on without the quality of centres Juan Martin Hernandez and Marcelo Bosch.  Nicolas Sánchez was superb.

The fly-half scored a second-half try and ended with 25 points, with Joaquin Tuculet, Juan Imhoff, Julian Montoya and Santiago Cordero making it a five-try win.

Tonga laid a couple of early high tackles on their opponent, which gave referee Jaco Peyper a reason to warn them, but it was their attacking weapons that were the major talking point early on, with fly-half Kurt Morath finishing off on the right after some extremely lazy Pumas defence.

Returning to the line-up after missing their impressive win over Namibia, Morath unfortunately could not add the extras as he struck the post.

Argentina would make significant inroads by the seventeenth minute and it was scrum-half Martín Landajo who was the catalyst, spotting rather absent guards at the ruck and taking full advantage.  Consequently the back-tracking Tongans offended to give Sanchez a kick that made it 3-5.

It proved to be the beginning of a purple patch for los Pumas, with prop Ramiro Herrara's break into the Tongan 22 and setting up full-back Tuculet for their first try.  Sanchez slotted the tough conversion and suddenly the tournament dark horses were leading 10-5 after 20 minutes.

That swiftly became 17-5 two minutes later when a free-flowing move from the restart saw Imhoff crossing for his third try at this World Cup.

Sanchez, as he has throughout 2015, was kicking supremely well and landed a penalty to go with his conversion as the lead continued to grow.  Fortunately for Tonga a scrum penalty then went their way and Morath thumped over three points to stop the rot just after the half-hour mark.

They did more than that before the break though as dangerous running from Fetu'u Vainikolo gifted them front-foot ball with which fellow wing Telusa Veainu brilliantly set up loosehead prop Soane Tonga'uiha in the corner.  Morath's missed extras meant it was 20-13 to Argentina at the break.

Mana Otai's side should have been well onto the comeback trail early into the second-half but fly-half Morath could only successfully land two of three penalty attempts at goal.  His opposite number, Sanchez, was having no such trouble as his 44th and 53rd minute efforts made it 26-16.

The tries appeared to have dried up as the enormity of the price of victory possibly began to lay a little heavier on the minds of both teams.  It wasn't through lack of trying however as Tomás Lavanini did manage to get over the line but was found to have been held up under the posts.

One minute later they did have that third try and it came from man-of-the-match Sanchez, who found a hole five metres out for a 31-16 lead.  His missed conversion was a rare blot on his copybook as Argentina now looked to have the game sewn up.  The carrot of a bonus-point was dangling.

Roared on by their passionate supporters, it duly came and replacement hooker Montoya was the scorer before wing Cordero capped an impressive performance, as Argentina march on to face Namibia in what should be the smoothest of passages to the knockouts.

Man of the match:  What a performance from Argentina fly-half Nicolas Sánchez.  25 points and some lovely game management from the number ten emphasises how priceless he is to their hopes of making it deep into the business end.

Moment of the match:  We go for the three minute spell midway through the first-half when Argentina clicked into gear with ball in hand and were outstanding.  Excellent tries from Joaquin Tuculet and Juan Imhoff left Tonga shell-shocked and in all honesty they did not recover from that.

Villain of the match:  Nothing dirty to report.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Tuculet, Imhoff, Sanchez, Montoya, Cordero
Con:  Sanchez 4
Pen:  Sanchez 4

For Tonga:
Tries:  Morath, Tonga'uiha
Pen:  Morath 2

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Horacio Agulla.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Telusa Veainu, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joseph Tuineau, 4 Tukulua Lokotui, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:  16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Sona Taumalolo, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Latiume Fosita, 23 David Halaifonua.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Australia send England crashing out of RWC

England made history for all the wrong reasons by crashing out of the Rugby World Cup as Australia won 33-13 at Twickenham.

The Wallabies' sharper cutting edge in attack was on full display in both of their first-half tries, both finished by Bernard Foley who scored nearly all of their points in a classy performance from Michael Cheika's ever-improving side.

Anthony Watson's try just before the 60-minute mark gave England a lifeline but a yellow card for Owen Farrell with ten minutes meant their fightback was in vain, as two Foley penalties and a try from Matt Giteau in the final minute confirmed the result.

Much was made about the set-piece and breakdown beforehand and both areas went Australia's way — the scrum more than holding up, beating England at their own game, while they were rampant at the breakdown as David Pocock reigned supreme.

Twickenham has rarely felt so edgy before kick-off, with so much at stake for England as they looked to avoid disaster and the ignominy of being the first World Cup hosts to not make the knockout stage.

They will now have to live with that billing for the rest of their lives, after being outclassed in every area for the majority of the 80 minutes.

Off first-phase ball England always threatened but as soon as momentum was lost and Australia regrouped, Pocock was there to do what he does so well at the breakdown.  He more than delivered, assisted well as ever by Michael Hooper.

It was Hooper's big hit on Farrell that set the tone as English nerves were highlighted by basic errors from Ben Youngs and Mike Brown, the England full-back then redeeming himself with a try-saving tackle on Israel Folau in only the fourth minute.

With a man outside and only open grass in his way, it was a butchered chance.  Foley though made it 3-0 after England went offside.

A break from Watson on England's first real attack showed promise, culminating in a scrum penalty right in front of the posts which Farrell couldn't miss.

Australia's patience paid off with a try for Foley after multiple phases crashing into English tacklers, one of the highlights being a superb offload by Sekope Kepu before the Wallabies fly-half fixed up Ben Youngs and stepped through Brown's tackle to score.

Half-breaks and small moments offered the majority of Twickenham's 81,080 crowd some hope, but Australia were dominant at the breakdown.

A penalty against Joe Marler for angling in at the scrum set Australia for an attack and led to their second try — Waratahs team-mates Foley and Kurtley Beale combining brilliantly with a one-two pass to release the fly-half into space, carried out with a level of execution that England were sorely missing.

With the conversion Australia headed into half-time ahead 17-3, a huge advantage which base on the first half looked good enough to win it.

England's omens looked grim when Jonny May appeared to injure himself running out for the second half, forcing Joseph onto the wing at a time when they needed the ball in his hands the most.

A now dominant Australian scrum milked three more points for a 20-3 lead after 50 minutes.  It could have been more;  Foley inches away from an interception and a possible hat-trick as England desperately tried to shift the ball wide, before he was blocked by Dan Cole who arguably could have been penalised.

Never have England been so desperate for a score and it came through Watson.  England looked sharper with Ford in control at fly-half and the space was made for Watson to back himself and accelerate through the gap for a fine solo try, with Farrell converting to make it 20-10.

Three more points from Farrell and all of a sudden having been dead and buried, England were within a score.

Farrell's yellow card for a tackling a man without the ball on Giteau though was a killer, allowing Foley to add three more points taking his and Australia's tally to 23.

Appropriately the Wallaby scrum sealed the deal, forcing Kieran Brookes to collapse as Foley one final nail into England's coffin to make it 26-13.

England never responded as the noise was sucked out of Twickenham, the reality setting in that next weekend's game with Uruguay will mean absolutely nothing.

Australia, comfortably the better side, are now dreaming of the quarter-finals and look right in the hunt for the title — their magnificence capped off by a try for Giteau in the corner as England left the field booed by their disconsolate supporters.

The Pool of Death has chosen its victim, as England and their coach Stuart Lancaster prepare for the backlash.

Man of the Match:  Outstanding at the breakdown for Australia throughout, David Pocock was on another level.  Ever since his return from injury he has raised the bar of openside play.  England never stood a chance.

Moment of the Match:  With Twickenham starting to believe again Owen Farrell's yellow card put England adrift once more at more at ten points, and they never recovered.

Villain of the Match:  It highlights the pressure of the game, but the booing from the Twickenham crowd for every attempt by Foley was unnecessary.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Watson
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2
Yellow card:  Farrell

For Australia:
Tries:  Foley 2. Giteau
Cons:  Foley 3
Pens:  Foley 4

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 George Kruis, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 George Ford, 23 Sam Burgess

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

South Africa take control of Pool B

South Africa took a giant step towards the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday with a comprehensive 34-16 victory over Scotland in Newcastle.

The Springboks outscored Scotland three tries to one in front of almost 51,000 fans at St. James' Park, moving to the top of Pool B in the process.  The result also means that victory over the USA on Wednesday will secure Heyneke Mayer's team a place in the pay-off stages.

The shock defeat by Japan in the opening round seems well and truly a thing of the past now as the Boks backed up last week's impressive win over Samoa with another convincing display to restore their status as genuine contenders for the world title.

Vern Cotter picked a significantly heavier side than a week earlier but Scotland could not match the Springboks for pure grunt with the blue jerseys being driven back whenever they took on the Bok defensive wall.

South Africa were good value for their 20-3 lead at the interval with Schalk Burger and JP Pietersen both having scored tries.

Tommy Seymour touched down for Scotland early in the second half, against the run of play, but Handre Pollard's boot and a late try from Bryan Habana secured the spoils for South Africa.

The Boks ruled the possession stats, forcing Scotland to make a truckload of tackles.  South Africa also dominated territory in the first half and Scotland's shaky set-piece did not help their cause as they gave away possession at both lineout and scrum time.

The Springboks drew first blood as the power of their pack produced the opening try after a series of pick-and-drives saw Burger muscle his way over.  He needed some help from Bismarck du Plessis to get the ball onto the grass but the TMO was satisfied that the try was legitimate.

Pollard added the conversion and a penalty shortly thereafter as WP Nel was penalised for illegally trying to stop the Bok maul from rumbling any further forward, meaning South Africa held a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Scottish lineout made amends for their previous errors by stealing a Bok lineout five metres short of the try-line after the South Africans had opted to chase a try rather than three points from a penalty.

But some poor kicking from Scotland gave the Springbok back three chances to attack and the resultant pressure gave Pollard a chance to extend the lead after a ruck penalty.

The otherwise outstanding Lood de Jager was penalised for pulling a Scottish lineout jumper down and Greig Laidlaw stepped forward to open Scotland's account, making it 13-3 on the half-hour mark.

Jannie du Plessis threw Scotland a lifeline when he saw yellow for not using his arms when clearing out a ruck but Laidlaw's shot at goal fell short.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Boks would score their second try as Pietersen crossed from short range after a huge South African drive handed the Bok backs a chance to score on a platter.

Pollard added the extras to give South Africa a 17-point lead at the half-time break.  The writing was on the wall.

Scotland still had an extra man as the second half kicked off and they immediately backed themselves to score by kicking to the corner from a penalty.  The Bok defence stood firm however and Laidlaw opted for three points from a penalty against Duane Vermeulen.

Scotland's first try finally came from deep inside their own half after Duncan Weir intercepted a Pollard pass and bolted clear to set up the try for Seymour, with Tim Visser providing the link.

Laidlaw's conversion brought Scotland back within striking distance but Pollard immediately replied with a neat drop goal to stretch the lead to ten points.

Scotland skipper Laidlaw earned himself ten minutes in the sin-bin for pulling Habana down after the Bok wing had kicked ahead.

With Laidlaw still in the bin, Weir pulled three points back after Pollard was pinged for a side entry, but the South African fly-half made amends when he replied with a penalty from over 50m and then another from close range — both against Dave Denton.

Habana showed great strength to finished well in a tight situation in the corner in the dying minutes to put the result beyond doubt as South Africa walked away deserving winners.

Man of the match:  Victor Matfield's presence was hardly missed with Lood de Jager having a huge game.  One of South Africa's top tacklers, he was excellent at the defensive lineouts and made ground with every carry.

Moment of the match:  Scotland were always going to struggle to come back after Pietersen's try just before half-time.  Once the Boks had a decent lead, they could control the game.

Villain of the match:  Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg's ballerina dive has no place in rugby.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Burger, Pietersen, Habana
Cons:  Pollard 2
Pens:  Pollard 4
Drop:  Pollard
Yellow card:  J. du Plessis

For Scotland:
Try:  Seymour
Con:  Laidlaw
Pens:  Laidlaw 2, Weir
Yellow card:  Laidlaw

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Dave Denton, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 WP Nel, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Lamont

Venue:  St James' Park, Newcastle
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Japan knock out poor Samoa

Japan kept alive their hopes of making the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after they dominated Samoa, winning 26-5 at Stadium MK on Saturday.

The Brave Blossoms thoroughly deserved their four points as they dominated their pool rivals for large spells in an impressively calm showing.

However keen pool observers would have been perplexed to watch as Japan twice turned down chances to go for the bonus-point that could be key.

They scored two tries in total, though a penalty try and Akihito Yamada's effort, but one couldn't help but feel they had a big chance of four.

A record 29,019 supporters were packed into Stadium MK on Saturday but they witnessed a disappointed Samoan contingent, with only Paul Perez crossing.

Their World Cup hopes are now over after two defeats from three while Japan live to fight another day, facing USA in their final pool fixture.

Both these nations entered the match level on four points apiece, with Japan having beaten South Africa while Samoa were too good for the USA.

There was only one winner today though, as Japan outclassed the Islanders.

Of course much has been made of the rest periods given to the so-called minnows so it was refreshing to see both teams enjoying a decent break ahead of their third Rugby World Cup pool meeting — Japan last played nine days ago while Samoa came into this fixture with six days' recovery.

Japan seemed the most fresh and thought they had scored the opening try on eight minutes when Ayumu Goromaru crossed on the left wing.  However, assistant referee Wayne Barnes spotted a forward pass so the score was chalked off.  Consolation for Goromaru was a penalty goal to make it 3-0.

Goromaru would, however, miss the chance to double the lead on twelve minutes from a 40-metre penalty shot following a maul offence from Samoa.

At this point it was all Japan as Samoa could not get out of their 22.  Fortunately for them, crossing from the Brave Blossoms five metres out assisted in their escape but this came after Faifili Levave and Sakaria Taulafo were yellow carded for a late and mid-air tackle respectively.

Samoa were in a real hole that they didn't look like escaping from.

Japan meanwhile simply had to make their numerical advantage count and finally earned the seven points they were after on 24 minutes when Craig Joubert gave a penalty try for Samoa collapsing the scrum.  One silver lining for Samoa was that the score seemed to finally spark them to life.

Their reprieve only proved to be short-lived as back came Japan before the first half was done, with Goromaru's penalty on 33 minutes preceding a well-taken try on the right from Yamada, who slipped a tackle before diving over.  Goromaru added the gloss with the touchline extras for 20-0.

More of the same would have been the message from Eddie Jones and Japan continued their impressive form after the break, with another Goromaru three points.  That kick crucially put them more than three scores in front and even with 30 minutes to play, Samoa were looking dead and buried.

But then came the strange first decision from Japan to snub an attacking line-out on 58 minutes and instead opt for three points, which came as a surprise in a pool that is set to go down to the wire next week.

In contrast the prospect of being nilled ended for Samoa on 63 minutes and it was done in some , breaking from their own 22 before centre Perez finished strongly on the left wing.  Fly-half Tusi Pisi missed the conversion from wide out so it was a 26-5 deficit with time ticking on.

Once again Japan pointed to the uprights when Samoa came off their feet and this time Goromaru was off-target, with the game, like Samoa's last eight hopes at this Rugby World Cup, fizzling out with no change to the scoreline.

Man of the match:  It was a captain's performance from Michael Leitch as he led by example again.  Leitch has been a rock for Japan at this World Cup and will hope to finish the job against USA.

Moment of the match:  The finish from Akihito Yamada right on half-time was superb.  Samoa were 0-20 down after that score and looked deflated as they went into the changing rooms.  Power to shrug off the attempted tackle before awareness of his surroundings saw him squeeze over.

Villain of the match:  Samoa gave away needless penalties on Saturday and received three yellow cards in the game.  Faifili Levave, Sakaria Taulafo and Teofilo Paulo will feel they let their team-mates down.  The post mortem begins.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Penalty, Yamada
Cons:  Goromaru 2
Pens:  Goromaru 4

For Samoa:
Try:  Perez
Yellow Cards:  Levave (late tackle — 16 mins), Taulafo (tackle in the air — 19 mins), Paulo (offside — 79 mins)

Japan:  15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Male Sau, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Kotaro Matsushima, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 Hitoshi Ono, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki.
Replacements:  16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Justin Ives, 20 Amanaki Lelei Mafi, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Atsushi Hiwasa, 23 Karne Hesketh.

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Paul Perez, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Faifili Levave, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Ofisa Treviranus (c), 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Jack Lam, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Vavao Afemai, 22 Mike Stanley, 23 Rey Lee-Lo.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

All Blacks sloppy in Georgia win

New Zealand became the first team to officially qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals as they laboured past Georgia 43-10.

Julian Savea scored a hat-trick but it was far from the perfect performance, and Richie McCaw worryingly limped off after an hour, as New Zealand took their foot off the gas after picking up the bonus point inside 21 minutes.

After that there were far too many knock-ons and handling errors, with a mostly second string Georgian team managing to stay in touch, as well as dominating at scrum-time.

It had looked like a stroll in the park for the Kiwis early on, with Waisake Naholo sprinting through and scoring with his first touch.

Beka Tsiklauri hit back immediately with an opportunistic try for Georgia but they struggled to create anything in attack.

Savea chipped in with two more before Dane Coles went over for a fourth for the fastest bonus point of the tournament so far.

But after that innacuracy began to infiltrate the All Black game in arguably their most underwhelming dsiplay of the competition to date.

After half an hour without a try, they got their fifth through Kieran Read but lost McCaw with 20 minutes remaining.

Savea completed his hat-trick in the closing stages, before Malakai Fekitoa ran in New Zealand's seventh try to add some gloss to the final scoreline.

It had all started so well, with Naholo on the scoresheet with his very first touch of the tournament, collecting the ball in midfield, stepping round Tamaz Mchedlidze and then sprinting over from halfway.  Dan Carter added the conversion from in front to make it 7-0 almost immediately.

However Georgia drew level almost immediately in remarkable fashion through Tsiklauri.  After Naholo lost the ball in midfield, Giorgi Begadze made a half-break.  His pass didn't go to hand, but Tsiklauri hacked through and then had the pace to get away from Brodie Retallick, collect the ball and go under the posts.  Lasha Malaguradze converted from in front.

Tackling seemed to be optional in the opening exchanges, and New Zealand were in for their second after just seven minutes.  A half-break from Sam Whitelock had the Georgians scrambling, and when the ball went wide, Savea was the man over, crossing for the simple try despite a last-gasp effort from Tsiklauri.

Carter missed the conversion for the touchline, and Georgia were soon back to within two points when Malaguradze nailed a long-range penalty from just inside the All Black half.

A knock-on in midfield ruined the next New Zealand opportunity, but they didn't have to wait long for their third try.  Georgia failed to number up in defence from a scrum ten metres out and New Zealand wheeled the scrum before spreading the ball for Savea's second simple run-in.  Again Carter was just off-target with his conversion.

The bonus point took just 21 minutes, with New Zealand taking a quick lineout and stretching the Georgian defence.  A couple of lovely offloads from Sonny Bill Williams and Conrad Smith had the Lelos scrambling, and when the ball came back to the right, Richie McCaw cut in before feeding Coles outside him for the try.  From the other side, Carter pulled his conversion but New Zealand led 22-10.

While Georgia were completely overmatched in open play, they did at least have the upper hand in the scrum.  When Read knocked on five metres out, they were able to earn a penalty to clear their lines, at least temporarily.

Having looked almost unstoppable with ball in hand for the opening quarter, New Zealand then proceeded to make countless handling errors, as they struggled to build on their lead before half-time.

New Zealand's troubles continued early in the second half, with Naholo missing out on his second try when he was pushed into touch, while handling errors allowed Georgia to continue their dominance at the set-piece.

Georgia were struggling at the lineout though, and when they dummy jumped at one ten metres out, New Zealand took advantage to send Read over from close range.  From in front Carter converted his second try of the game.

The introduction of New Zealand's first choice props, combined with the departure of Levan Chilachava appeared to turn the tide at scrum-time, depriving Georgia of their only real weapon.

Carter's miserable night of kicking was capped off when he kicked a penalty dead with ten minutes to go, symbolic of a desperate performance from the world champions.

With six minutes remaining, New Zealand finally scored their sixth try, turning a sloppy lineout into a try for Savea out wide with Georgia caught out of position.  Carter converted from the touchline with his best kick of the night.

Georgian heads began to drop and New Zealand had another a couple of minutes later when Fekitoa spotted a gap in midfield and sprinted through.

Man of the match:  He won't score many easier hat-tricks, but on a night of very stellar displays, Julian Savea gets the nod.  Three times he was in the right place at the right time, as he continued his recent revival against the minnows in the pool.

Moment of the match:  Waisake Naholo has waited a long time to make his first appearance in this tournament, but he wasted no time once he got on the pitch.  Collecting the ball in midfield, he rounded the outside centre before showing his pace to race over from halfway for the opening try after just two minutes.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Naholo, Savea 3, Coles, Read, Fekitoa
Cons:  Carter 4

For Georgia:
Try:  Tsiklauri
Con:  Malaguradze
Pen:  Malaguradze

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw(c) 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Owen Franks, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 TJ Perenara, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Georgia:  15 Beka Tsiklauri, 14 Giorgi Aptsiauri, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 11 Alexandr Todua, 10 Lasha Malaguradze, 9 Giorgi Begadze, 8 Lasha Lomidze, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze (c), 6 Shalva Sutiashvili, 5 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 4 Levan Datunashvili, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Karlen Asieshvili
Replacements:  16 Simon Maisuradze, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 Konstantin Mikautadze, 20 Viktor Kolelishvili, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Merab Sharikadze, 23 Murazi Giorgadze

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

France made to work by Canada

France were the second team in a week to find Canada a tough pool opponent before they came through to win 41-18 at Stadium MK on Thursday.

28,145 fans were packed into the venue for a record crowd and they were treated to another entertaining 80 minutes as the underdog once again stood up tall.

But France's power would eventually tell as they won thanks to tries from Wesley Fofana, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani, Pascal Papé and Rémy Grosso.

In reply Canada's try-scorers were the in-form DTH van der Merwe and Aaron Carpenter and they can take plenty of confidence into facing Romania next week.

Conditions were perfect and it didn't take long for France to break the Canadian defence and the architect was man of the match Frédéric Michalak, as he stepped through some weak tackling from scrum-half Phil Mack before sending out a back-handed offload to his centre Fofana for the score.  Michalak's conversion made it a 7-0 buffer.

Canada settled admirably after that error on three minutes and would enjoy a decent slice of territory for ten minutes until les Bleus struck again, this time from the boot of Michalak after Canada were pinged for illegal scrummaging.  Michalak looked full of confidence at this point.

In contrast Canada lost their inspirational captain Tyler Ardron to a knee injury before the 20-minute mark and they will hope he recovers in time for Tuesday's fixture against Romania in Leicester, a game targeted as must-win as they look to finish fourth in what's been a tough pool.

Back to the action and France sensed blood and flexed their muscle but it was again the class of Michalak coming to the fore, as he rolled back the years with another break before chipping inside for Fofana.  Unfortunately for the duo this time their combination did not bear another try.

The second try wasn't too far in coming and this time it was the power of France that created it, with Guirado at the back of a maul for 17-0.

Canada however showed real fighting spirit and hit back from the restart as Ciaran Hearn leapt highest before recycled ball found Van der Merwe wide on the left.  The wing ran closer to the posts in the in-goal to hand Nathan Hirayama a simpler conversion, which he made to make it 17-7.

On 34 minutes, it was game on as Canada further reduced the deficit to just five points as hooker Carpenter powered over from five metres out, with Stadium MK rocking as the tries kept coming, this time from France tighthead prop Slimani from another maul to make it a 24-12 advantage.

Canada would not go away after the break and were wise to the take the points on 42 minutes after a scrum offence from France, Hirayama cutting the gap to 24-15, before they kept France well out of striking range for a long spell.  In fact, it was they who were in the opposition red zone.

France looked out of sorts and it mirrored Michalak's performance as being starved of decent ball meant les Bleus were a shadow of their first-half showing, with Canada continuing to chip away at the scoreline.  This time their points came following an offside, with Hirayama on target.

Michalak finally managed to open his side's second-half account off the tee on the hour mark after a breakdown offence, with that decision to kick for posts instead of the corner a clear sign from captain Thierry Dusautoir that he feared that Canada might just pull off a major shock.

At 27-18 he wasn't quite so conservative and with seventeen minutes remaining the French looked to apply the squeeze in the Canadian 22.  Kieran Crowley's men were tenacious in defence however and spirited tackling on their try-line denied centre Mathieu Bastareaud the bonus-point score.

It only delayed the inevitable.  Brute force from France won through and it was second-row Papé reaching out to complete the job before Grosso went over wide out ahead of facing Ireland at Millennium Stadium in what is likely to be the pool decider.  French supporters will hope they have saved plenty in the tank for that one.

Man of the match:  The first-half performance of Frédéric Michalak sees him edge this ahead of his centre colleague Wesley Fofana, who looks sharp ahead of that Irish showdown.  Michalak was in top form in that opening stanza before, like his team, taking a dip in their form in the second-half.

Moment of the match:  The game's first try was something special.  Frédéric Michalak set up Wesley Fofana for a lovely score that set France on their way.  When he plays like that, France are a different beast.

Villain of the match:  Another World Cup game with little needle.  It was played hard but fair.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Fofana, Guirado, Slimani, Pape, Grosso
Cons:  Michalak 4, Parra
Pens:  Michalak 2

For Canada:
Tries:  Van der Merwe, Carpenter
Con:  Hirayama
Pens:  Hirayama 2
Yellow Card:  Dala

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Rémy Grosso, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin.

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Phil Mackenzie, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Nathan Hirayama, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Kyle Gilmour, 5 Jamie Cudmore, 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Doug Wooldridge, 2 Aaron Carpenter, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements:  16 Ray Barkwill, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Andrew Tiedemann, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Gordon McRorie, 22 Harry Jones, 23 Conor Trainor.

Referee:  JP Doyle (England)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Wales escape Fiji trap

Wales took a step closer to the World Cup quarter-finals before their final match against Australia after a 23-13 win over Fiji.

Gareth Davies had Wales on the board after only six minutes with Scott Baldwin scoring their second in an open, entertaining first half that Wales dominated to lead 17-6.

However the second half was much closer, with Fiji's poor goal-kicking hindering their hopes of an upset, although Wales failed to pick up what could have been a crucial bonus point.

After the break, Vereniki Goneva finished off the try of the tournament so far, only for Dan Biggar to put Wales beyond reach with a couple of important penalties.

But despite Davies coming close to a second they had to settle for a four points, which will give both Australia and England hope ahead of their key game at Twickenham on Saturday.

Wales flew out of the blocks with an early break from George North and while he was eventually hauled down, Fiji crept offside in defence from close range.

Knowing they needed a bonus point, Wales kicked for the corner, earning a second penalty from a strong driving maul and although they weren't able to score immediately, they didn't have to wait long.

Having turned the ball over, Fiji got themselves into trouble when trying to run the ball out of their own in-goal area after a good chase from Davies.  The scrum-half then took full advantage of a five-metre scrum, dummying and diving under the posts.  Biggar converted and Wales were on their way, leading 7-0.

While Fiji were slow out of the blocks, they were clearly up for it, and their scrum was particularly dominant.  After getting the nudge on in the first scrum, they obliterated Wales in the second, earning a penalty that Ben Volavola slotted from 45 metres out on the left.

Fiji should have got back to within a point when they earned a penalty from a lineout infringement by Taulupe Faletau, but Volavola pushed a much easier kick wide.

And they were made to pay on 20 minutes when Davies took a quick tap and broke through.  He was caught but when the ball rebounded into the hands of Sunia Koto, the Fijiian forward was penalised for offside and Biggar pushed the lead back to seven with the easy penalty.

Wales almost had their second try just before the hour when Davies sniped down the blindside, however the TMO spotted a dangerous neck roll from Bradley Davies in the build-up for which the lock was fortunate to escape a card.

Back in the ascendancy, Wales got their second a few minutes later, with Biggar delaying a pass beautifully to get Alun Wyn Jones away.  Tyler Morgan was then stopped fractionally short of the line and Scott Baldwin popped up to barrel over, with the TMO deeming he had just kept hold of the ball as he dotted down.  Biggar's conversion made it 17-3 to the home side.

Fiji needed a spark, and they almost got it when Aseli Tikoirotuma produced a stunning break, stepping inside George North and then outside Matthew Morgan, but the move broke down when Volavola knocked.  The Fijian scrum was on top though and earned another penalty, with Volavola doing the honours to cut the deficit to 11 at the break.

The Welsh scrum continued to suffer early in the second half, and after one magical break from Tikoirotuma with great support, Fiji should have cut their deficit even further but Volavola missed a simple shot at goal following an intentional knock-on.

Fiji had their try on 48 minutes, with Tikoirotuma again the instigator.  He went clean through in his own 22 and and then found Timoci Nagusa in support.  The winger had Goneva on his shoulder to finish off the try of the tournament so far.  Volavola converted to make it 17-13.

The momentum was with the visitors, but they weren't helped out when Akapusi Qera was penalised for what looked like a textbook steal at a breakdown, referee John Lacey deciding he had gone off his feet.  Biggar didn't mind, continuing his stellar tournament by nailing the long-range penalty from out wide.

The game was opening up, just as the Fijians had hoped, and they could have drawn level on the hour when they again broke through in space, this time through Leone Nakarawa.  The Welsh defence just about held though, despite a couple of cracking offloads.

Fiji were playing with fire though as they struggled to get out of their own 22, and after a Volavola kick was charged down they were penalised for piling over the top despite a dominant scrum.  Biggar slotted the resulting penalty to make the game safe.

Man of the Match:  Aseli Tikoirotuma was unstoppable for Fiji and Gareth Davies scored one try and almost had two more but Wales' matchwinner was Dan Biggar. The best fly-half in the tournament so far nailed some crucial penalties and played a key role in Wales' second try.  His late withdrawal will be a concern for Warren Gatland.

Moment of the Match:  There's no question that it was the Vereniki Goneva try.  Tikoirotuma started it in his own half, supported by Timoci Nagusa on his shoulder.  Goneva then popped up to finish off a simply magical move.

Villain of the Match:  It was generally a clean game but Bradley Davies appeared fortunate to escape with just a penalty for a dangerous neck roll in the first half.  What was supposedly a focus for referees coming into the tournament has been largely considered worthy of just a penalty.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  G Davies, Baldwin
Cons:  Biggar 2
Pens:  Biggar 3

For Fiji:
Try:  Goneva
Con:  Volavola
Pens:  Volavola 2

The teams:

Wales:  15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 James Hook.

Fiji:  15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Lepani Botia, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Maafu.
Replacements:  16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Peni Ravia, 18 Leeroy Atalifo, 19 Nemia Soqeta, 20 Malakai Ravulo, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Joshua Matavesi, 23 Kini Murimurivalu.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Tonga win Sandy Park thriller

Telusa Veainu and Jack Ram scored two tries apiece as Tonga saw off Namibia 35-21 in an entertaining game at Sandy Park on Tuesday.

Coming in at the last minute, Veainu got Tonga off the mark after just five minutes, with Ram following that up inside the first 15 minutes.

Johan Tromp pulled one back for Namibia but Tonga were in control at half-time leading 22-7 after a try from Latiume Fosita.

Ram's second gave them the bonus point early in the second half, before two Jacques Burger tries, either side of Veainu's second, in an exciting encounter in Exeter.

The win takes Tonga up to second in the group, although with the games to come against Argentina and New Zealand, they remain long shots to reach the quarter-finals.

Namibia, meanwhile, are still chasing their first-ever World Cup win, but will have taken heart from a second impressive display in quick succession, following Thursday's valiant loss to the All Blacks.

The game started at a frantic pace, and Tonga took full advantage with an opening try after just five minutes from Veainu.  Only included the last minute due to the withdrawal of Fetu'u Vainikolo, the Rebels winger collecting Fosita's inside ball before slicing through and showing his power to race over from halfway.  Vunga Lilo converted to make it 7-0.

They quickly had their second, earning a couple of penalties at scrum-time before kicking into the 22 for an attacking lineout.  Spotting some weak maul defence, Ram peeled off and sprinted over despite the attentions of Renaldo Bothma.

Despite Lilo's missed conversion, it looked like a stroll in the park for Tonga, but Namibia came straight back into it, benefiting from some nonchalance from their opponents.  After Fosita was charged down from the restart, Sila Puafisi then knocked the ball on just outside his own 22, with Tjiuee Uanivi collecting and delivering the scoring pass for Tromp.  Theuns Kotzè added the simple conversion.

Tonga were soon over again though, with Fosita showing sensational hands to finish from close range.  After a clever move off the back of a lineout, Joe Tuineau's pass rolled across the ground but Fosita collected on the run and dotted down for the try.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first, as Veainu produced a searing break, this time setting up Ram for his second try.  After collecting Kotzè's deep kick, Veainu spotted a gap in the chasing defence and went straight through before finding Ram outside him for the easy finish.

With that try, the bonus point was sewn up but Namibia fought back and scored their second try through their skipper Burger, just managing to get over the line after a strong maul.  Kotzè slotted the touchline conversion to make it a two-score game once more.

Still, in Veainu, Tonga had the most dangerous player on the pitch, and after some good work from Siale Piutau, Ram turned provider with a wide pass to the winger, who showed his pace to get away on the left and score his second.  Lilo missed the conversion but Tonga led 32-14.

Namibia weren't done yet though, and with quarter of an hour remaining Burger added his second, again off the back of a rolling maul, with Tonga nowhere in defence on this occasion.

Kotzè's conversion made it 32-21, but Kurt Morath, off the bench, slotted a penalty with eight minutes to go to push the lead back to 14 points, becoming his country's record points scorer in the process.

Namibia had their chances to score again, but couldn't find a way through, with a couple of knock-ons at the lineout late on, and it was Tonga who held on for the win.

Man of the match:  Jack Ram was outstanding, but Telusa Veainu was in a different class.  Almost unstoppable when he got the ball in space, he scored two and made another for Ram in a brilliant display.

Moment of the match:  There were some cracking tries, but the best of the lot was Veainu's effort that was disallowed just before half-time.  With no space to work in, Veainu put in an acrobatic dive and dotted down as the rest of his body was being bundled into touch.  Unfortunately he used his left hand to keep his balance and just clipped the touchline with it as the ball was placed on the try-line.

Villain of the match:  No nasty business to report.

The scorers:

For Namibia:
Tries:  Tromp, Burger 2
Cons:  Kotze 3

For Tonga:
Tries:  Veainu 2, Ram 2, Fosita
Cons:  Lilo 2
Pens:  Lilo, Morath

The teams:

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Johan Tromp, 13 Danie Van Wyk, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Russel Van Wyk, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eneill Buitendag, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Rohan Kitshoff, 6 Jacques Burger (c), 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 Janco Venter, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld, 1 Casper Viviers.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Johnny Redelinghuys, 18 AJ De Klerk, 19 Tinus Du Plessis, 20 PJ Van Lill, 21 Damian Stevens, 22 Darryl De La Harpe, 23 David Philander.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 David Halaifonua, 13 Siale Piutau (co-captain), 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Telusa Veainu, 10 Latiume Fosita, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Viliami Ma'afu (co-captain), 7 Jack Ram, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joseph Tuineau, 4 Hale T Pole, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:  16 Paula Ngauamo, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Tukulua Lokotui, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Kurt Morath, 23 Will Helu.

Venue:  Sandy Park, Exeter
Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)