Wallabies to face All Blacks in final

Australia set up a World Cup final against New Zealand as an Adam Ashley-Cooper hat-trick helped them edge past Argentina 29-15 at Twickenham on Sunday.

The Wallabies went over three times in the first half and despite the excellent goal-kicking of Nicolás Sánchez, Ashley-Cooper's third, following a magnificent break from Drew Mitchell, sealed the win.

Australia will have to be better to beat the All Blacks, with their discipline a real issue, but in Bernard Foley and Matt Giteau they have two distributors of the highest order, while David Pocock was back to his incomparable best as he ruled at the breakdown.

A disastrous first half for the Pumas began with an intercept try after barely a minute, Rob Simmons grabbing Sánchez's inside pass before showing his pace to run in from the 22.

After a Sánchez penalty cut the deficit, Australia went over again through Ashley-Cooper, with a wide pass from Foley carving up the Pumas.

Argentina lost a wobbly Juan Imhoff to injury, closely followed by Tomás Lavanini to a marginal yellow card.  Skipper Agustín Creevy joined them on the sidelines, clearly not 100 per cent having only just been passed fit this week.

Against 14 men, Australia were clinical, Giteau putting Ashley-Cooper over for his second, and despite a third penalty from Sánchez, the Wallabies led 19-9 at the break.

Two more penalties from Sánchez, to one from Foley made it a one-score game heading into the last ten minutes, but Mitchell then produced a moment of magic as he shrugged off a succession of tackles from his left wing, and delivered a scrappy final pass to create Ashley-Cooper's third and kill off the Puma challenge.

With just a minute on the board Australia were 7-0 up as Argentina paid the price for too much adventure in their own half.  After Mitchell had narrowly failed to hang on to one interception, Simmons showed his handling skills to stick out a mitt and collect Sánchez's inside ball before racing over from the 22.  Foley converted from in front to give the Wallabies a dream start.

Argentina came straight back when Juan Martín Hernández perfectly delayed his pass to send Marcelo Bosch clean through.  For a second it looked like he might have the pace to cross but Foley came across to make the cover tackle.  The Wallabies infringed, allowing Sánchez to get his team on the board with a penalty, but Hernández was shaken up in the move after a big hit as he passed.

Australia had clearly done their homework though and scored a simple try from a perfect training ground move.  Spotting that the Pumas keep their wingers narrow in defence, Foley threw a perfect wide pass that sent Ashley-Cooper over on the right after a scrum opposite the posts in the Argentinian 22.  Foley converted from the touchline and Australia led 14-3 after just ten minutes.

It could have been even worse for Argentina when another fantastic wide pass from Foley opened up the Pumas again.  Israel Folau fed Tevita Kuridrani, who burst through, but Santiago Cordero brought him down and the support was too far away to deliver the final pass.

Argentina were trying to play too much rugby in their own half, while Pocock showed his worth for the Wallabies with a number of a turnovers at the breakdown.

The Pumas lost Imhoff to injury with barely quarter of an hour gone, their top scorer clearly knocked out in a huge collision and replaced by Lucas González Amorosino.

Midway through the half they looked to have an opportunity to get back in contention, but a five-metre lineout and maul was easily dealt with by the Wallabies.  From the resulting scrum, Argentina earned a penalty which Sánchez converted from out wide to cut the deficit to eight.

Having been overwhelmed early, Argentina really needed to build on that penalty, but instead they were reduced to 14 men when Lavanini was sin-binned for a no-arms tackle on Israel Folau, Wayne Barnes earning jeers from the Pumas-dominated crowd for his decision.

Australia turned down a shot at goal a minute later as they went to their maul, but Argentina defended it well and earned a scrum.

Still, things weren't going to plan for Argentina and it got worse when Creevy, who had been a doubt this week, had to leave his teammates after half an hour, replaced by Julián Montoya.

A minute later Australia were in again, taking advantage of their extra man to send Ashley-Cooper over once more.  A couple of missed tackles on Folau allowed him to get in behind.  Argentina held initially but Australia showed their class with Giteau's long miss-pass giving the winger the easy finish, on the left this time.  Foley pulled the conversion wide but Australia led 19-6.

An offside from Sekope Kepu with five minutes left in the half allowed Sánchez to knock over his third penalty of the afternoon and make it a ten-point deficit.

And they could have been back to within a score on the stroke of half-time when Cordero went clean through.  He managed to find Hernández outside him, but the centre's pass didn't go to hand.

The second half could have started perfectly for Australia, but Foley was off-target with a penalty after Fardy had stolen the ball at the restart.

Hernández, who had been struggling since the early Bosch break, finally left the field three minutes into the half, but Argentina took advantage of a big scrum to cut the deficit to seven with Sánchez's fourth penalty.

It was quickly cancelled out by Foley, making no mistake this time after Fernández Lobbe couldn't resist and handled in a ruck.

The game was really opening up, with Argentina looking dangerous, particularly thanks to one break from Joaquín Tuculet.  After Australia were penalised at a maul, Sánchez cut the deficit to seven once again.

Another break from Amorosino almost had Argentina in, with Tuculet on his shoulder, but Australia held firm before the ball went loose in a ruck.

When a poor kick from Tuculet gave Australia a shot at goal from 45 metres out with 15 minutes to go, they curiously turned it down, and a loose lineout allowed the Pumas to clear.

The game was still on a knife-edge, but that changed when Mitchell intervened and ended the game as a contest setting up Ashley-Cooper's treble.  Foley converted and there was no way back for Argentina.

Man of the match:  Australia comprehensively won the breakdown battle, and it was in large part thanks to the returning David Pocock.  Back from injury, he made turnover after turnover and took advantage of Argentinian naïvety in the first half.  Hat tip to Ashley-Cooper for his well-taken hat-trick.

Moment of the match:  Argentina were somehow still in it with ten minutes to go.  Drew Mitchell then stepped up, broke down the left, cut inside and found Adam Ashley-Cooper for his hat-trick.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Pens:  Sanchez 5
Yellow Card:  Lavanini

For Australia:
Tries:  Simmons, Ashley-Cooper 3
Cons:  Foley 3
Pen:  Foley

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino

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 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Venue:  Twickenham Stadium, London
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

All Blacks book fourth final

Defending champions New Zealand booked their place in the Rugby World Cup Final thanks to a 20-18 win over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

The All Blacks are still on track to become the first team to defend the world title as they will now face the winners of Sunday's second semi-final between Argentina and Australia.

In a nail-biting encounter, the two-time champions and tournament favourites outscored their fiercest rivals two tries to none to advance to their first RWC Final in the northern hemisphere.  But it didn't come easily.

South Africa led 12-7 at the interval thanks to four penalties from the boot of Handré Pollard while Jerome Kaino scored the only try of the first half for New Zealand.

The All Blacks ruled both the territory and possession stats in the first 40 minutes but the Springboks held the edge in the physical arm wrestle, especially at the breakdown while also enjoying the upper hand at the rare scrums.

It was the classic clash of s we had all expected as New Zealand constantly probed with ball in hand while the Boks turned defence into attack.

The Springbok lineout was under pressure however and four stolen lineouts over the course of the game robbed them of vital momentum.

The half-time break also signaled a change in conditions as steady rain began to fall, which should have worked in South Africa's favour, but a Dan Carter drop goal and a Beauden Barrett try put New Zealand back in front for good.

South Africa made an excellent start with Jesse Kriel given a chance to stretch his legs in the opening minutes.  And the Boks were first on the scoreboard when Pollard split the uprights after Kieran Read came in from the side of a maul.

The All Blacks' response was typically clinical as they scored the opening try with their first attack.  Richie McCaw found Kaino out wide on the overlap and the flanker shrugged off the challenge of Lood de Jager to cross in the corner.  Dan Carter was crucially given a second chance at the conversion after Bryan Habana started his run too soon and the Kiwi fly-half coolly made it 7-3.

Pollard landed his second penalty to cut the gap to a single point after McCaw jumped the gun at a lineout and was penalised for offside around the ten-minute mark.

The All Blacks were clearly targeting Willie le Roux under the high ball but the Bok full-back was up to the early tests while Nehe Milner-Skudder was the target of a few kicks by the Boks.  Habana beat the young New Zealander in the air before Ma'a Nonu was caught offside as he chased back, which allowed Pollard to give South Africa the lead (9-7) at the end of the first quarter.

It took 25 minutes for the first scrum as the South African defence was made to do a lot of work by New Zealand's phase play.  The men in black were rewarded for their pressure as Schalk Burger was pinged for a no-arms tackle but Carter's shot at goal bounced off the upright.

With half-time looming large, Kaino was sent to the sin bin for a silly kick of a loose ball from an offside position.  Pollard made no mistake and stretched to the lead to five points as the teams headed for the changing rooms.

There was a slight change of script early in the second stanza as Carter slotted a cheeky drop goal, meaning that when Kaino returned from the bin the gap was the same three points as when he saw yellow.

The game turned on its head when first New Zealand's scrum shoved the Boks and then Carter ripped the ball from Burger's hands.  A few phases later, Nonu's pass wide found Barrett (on for Milner-Skudder) out wide for a well-taken try.

The Boks suffered a double whammy as Habana saw yellow for knocking the ball from Aaron Smith's hands in the build-up and Carter slotted the conversion to make it 17-12.

A handful of changes to the respective front rows restored South Africa's scrum dominance as Charlie Faumuina conceded three points to Pollard for dropping his bind but Carter replied almost immediately when Eben Etzebeth went off his feet.

Habana returned with New Zealand leading 20-15 as the game entered it's final quarter with Sonny Bill Williams proving a danger with every touch of the ball and the Boks looking dead on their feet.

Read was again penalised for coming in from the side of a maul — his fourth penalty — and Pat Lambie hit the mark from long range to reduce the gap to two points and set up a grandstand finish.

Crucially, Damian de Allende lost the ball in contact with South Africa pressing hard and yet another stolen lineout gave New Zealand field position in the dying minutes.

With the rain driving down, the Boks tried to run their way out of their 22, but to no avail.

Man of the match:  A tough call to make considering he was shown a yellow card, but Jerome Kaino was New Zealand's best player, scoring a try, carrying like a monster and even making a lineout steal.  Mentions too for Ben Smith and Sam Whitelock.

Moment of the match:  The writing was on the wall when Barrett scored New Zealand's second try.  The Boks could have cleared quickly, but instead saw the ball ripped from Schalk Burger's hands as the tried to force a better position.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty enough to mention.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Pens:  Pollard 5, Lambie
Yellow card:  Habana

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Kaino, Barrett
Cons:  Carter 2
Pen:  Carter
Drop:  Carter
Yellow card:  Kaino

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré 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 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 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 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.

Venue:  Twickenham, London
Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Johnny Lacey (Ireland)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Australia edge brave Scotland

Australia outscored Scotland five tries to three to ensure it will be a set of all-Southern Hemisphere semi-finals next weekend after a 35-34 win at Twickenham on Sunday.

Scotland were outstanding and went desperately close as Mark Bennett's interception score looked to have clinched an enormous upset, after opportunist tries from Peter Horne and Tommy Seymour kept them in the hunt.

But the Wallabies' attack was too dangerous as Drew Mitchell crossed twice along with Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani and Michael Hooper, before Bernard Foley snatched back the lead in the 78th minute with a penalty to win the game.

If Australia play with this much width and quick ball at the breakdown next week, then their semi-final with Argentina could be a classic.

Never has Twickenham been so loud for the men in blue from north of the border.  Vern Cotter's team were willed on by the top half of the earth to make sure a northern hemisphere side made the final four, but now no sides from the north are left in the competition.

The Six Nations wooden-spooners though are undeniably on an upward curve and while this was a step too far for now, they should not be too downhearted after leaving everything on the pitch.

Every time Australia entered the Scottish 22 they looked certain to score and the number of chances that went begging were minimal.

However even with that try-scoring threat they were never comfortably out of reach, as Scotland doggedly battled away, backed by a roaring Twickenham crowd.

The Wallabies' ability to recycle the ball at the ruck quicker than Will Genia can click his fingers has made them a nightmare to contain throughout this tournament, and it was the same again early on.

Scotland's defence was put to work in the opening exchanges, with Mitchell unable to gather an inside pass from Foley from two metres out, but it wasn't long before the Wallabies crossed the whitewash.

Tommy Seymour burst out of the line to try and stop Kuridrani early only to miss his tackle, allowing the big centre through to release Ashley-Cooper into the space that Seymour had left behind.

Scotland though are not a side who mope on mistakes and they deservedly scored three points through a Laidlaw penalty after a patient attack inside Australia's 22, making it 5-3.

Peter Horne's try soon followed, the centre smartly spotting no Wallaby tacklers behind the ruck before scooping the ball up and darting behind the defence from five metres out.  Laidlaw's conversion gave them a 10-5 lead.

Australia's scrum has been the talk of the World Cup but it buckled to give Laidlaw a penalty shot from 47 metres out, the Scotland captain making no mistake as he side extended their lead.

The Wallabies remained eager to go wide and a penalty for hands in the ruck, despite Sean Maitland's smart cover tackle, set Australia up in Scotland's 22 from which they eventually scored in the corner through Mitchell after sucking in the Scottish defence.  Foley again missed the conversion from out wide.

Another penalty though against the Australian scrum, after Scott Sio collapsed, allowed Laidlaw another shot at the posts to make it 16-10.

Runs from Maitland, Mark Bennett and Blair Cowan meant Scotland were always asking questions of Australia, but back-to-back penalties set the Wallabies up for a driving maul five metres out for Michael Hooper to score the third try.

Again Foley missed going for the extra two, leaving him zero from three by half-time as Scotland went in ahead 16-15.

Scotland needed everything to go their way to pull off a shock, so an extremely harsh yellow card on Maitland was the worst possible start.

After the success of their maul earlier on the Wallabies understandably returned to the corner, except this time Genia darted down the blindside and released Mitchell for his second try in the corner.

A fourth Laidlaw penalty kept Scotland right in the contest at 22-19 but a huge loss of composure from the restart led to Seymour being bundled into touch five metres from his own line.

It appeared that Ashley-Cooper had matched Mitchell with a second try of his own after the Wallabies whipped the ball wide, but a small knock-on from Genia at the ruck brought the play back to keep Scotland alive.

Foley's first penalty after 52 minutes gave Australia a six-point cushion as the error counts rose on either side, with Foley committing the biggest of all.

An undercooked chip kick was charged down by Finn Russell and despite Genia tracking back to bring the fly-half down, his offload off the ground released Seymour to score as Twickenham erupted.  Laidlaw however couldn't add the crucial conversion, leaving Australia ahead 25-24.

Kuridrani responded for Australia after a timely steal at the lineout from Rob Simmons had Scotland on the rack again before the outside centre powered his way over.

Scotland were now more than a score behind but pressed on, adding another Laidlaw penalty to make it 32-27 heading into the final ten minutes.

Bennett looked to have snatched a famous win with a well-taken interception that sent the crowd crazy but a fiercely debated call for accidental offside deep in Scottish territory set Foley up with a penalty for the win.

He didn't miss, ending the hopes of Scotland and those north of the equator.  Heartbreak for Cotter's side.  The Wallabies slip through.

Man of the Match:  Greig Laidlaw, Richie Gray and Mark Bennett deserve huge credit but Adam Ashley-Cooper was a massive threat throughout.

Moment of the Match:  If Twickenham had a roof it would be blown off when Mark Bennett broke away for the line and a huge upset looked on the cards.

Villain of the Match:  An absurd call for a deliberate knock-on saw Sean Maitland yellow carded by TMO Ben Skeen, with Drew Mitchell then scoring in his corner.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Ashley-Cooper, Mitchell 2, Hooper, Kuridrani
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Foley 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Horne, Seymour, Bennett
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pens:  Laidlaw 5
Yellow Card:  Maitland

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 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 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Quade Cooper

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

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Pascal Gauzere (France)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Pumas charge into semi-finals

Argentina booked their place in the 2015 Rugby World Cup semi-finals after stunning Ireland 43-20 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.

Fully refreshed from a game's rest in their final pool match, los Pumas' first XV won the physical battle and fully deserved their passage into the last four, showing a great deal of attacking prowess to prove they are an ever-evolving outfit.

Tries were scored by Matías Moroni, Juan Imhoff (2) and Joaquin Tuculet while Nicolás Sánchez landed 23 points as Ireland had no answer to a side that cannot be taken lightly.  In this form, they are capable of going all the way.

The loss of Paul O'Connell, Jonathan Sexton and Peter O'Mahony was clearly felt by Ireland early on but maybe that's doing a disservice to los Pumas, who were outstanding in the first quarter.  During that passage they scored 20 points via two converted tries and a couple of penalties.

Moroni, in for the suspended Marcelo Bosch at outside centre, got the ball rolling inside three minutes following a powerful carry from Pablo Matera.  The recycled ball came right to where the in-form Santiago Cordero ghosted round Dave Kearney before setting up Moroni for the opener.

Fly-half Sánchez continued his excellent recent form off the tee with the touchline conversion before adding the two from Imhoff's try only six minutes later.  That try — his fifth of the competition — double Argentina's lead as he grounded Cordero's kick ahead just before it went dead.

Ireland were shell-shocked and wouldn't feel much better when Sánchez landed a penalty on 14 minutes.  They desperately needed an in in the game, especially after adding Tommy Bowe to their already weighty injury list.  He left the action with a knee injury, with Luke Fitzgerald coming on.

That came via Pumas prop Ramiro Herrera being yellow carded for a late tackle on Keith Earls, which lifted both Ireland players and supporters.

Madigan and Ireland's first points of the game soon followed before Sánchez struck back to make it 20-3 with 18 minutes remaining in the half.

One sensed from an Irish point of view they needed something more to cling to and fortunately for them it came 13 minutes before the turnaround from an opportunistic break-out.  Sánchez's penalty hit the post and Ireland pounced on it, with replacement Fitzgerald crossing down the left.

The first score after the interval was always going to be critical and it went the way of the Irish, whose comeback continued thanks to Murphy popping up on the shoulder of Fitzgerald after the wing's bust into the 22.  Madigan landed the extras and suddenly it was 20-17 to Argentina.

The momentum had well-and-truly swung in favour of the Irish at this point and they set about not letting it go to waste.  Argentina though were steadfast and soaked up the pressure before making a break-out of their own through Cordero and Imhoff, which resulted in three points from Sánchez.

Argentina's six-point buffer was short-lived as on 51 minutes Herrera was penalised for a ruck clearout and Madigan made no mistake for 23-20.

He was not so fortunate from 45 metres out on the hour mark as his penalty attempt to level drifted wide, with both sides now having utilised their respective benches.  The final quarter was all set up to be as fascinating as the opening three as a place in the semi-final was looming.

Los Pumas took a firmer grip on proceedings in the 64th minute when Devin Toner was punished for a high tackle on Sánchez, who made no mistake from the tee.

Cue an increase in tempo from Argentina as they ran in a further two tries in the closing stages through full-back Tuculet and a second from Imhoff before Sánchez rubbed salt into Irish wounds for 43-20 as the Pumas march on semi-final date against either Australia or Scotland next Sunday.

Man of the match:  Pablo Matera deserves a special mention for his bruising opening half-hour but for another faultless 80 minute performance in blue and white, Nicolás Sánchez wins this award.  23 points from the Pumas maestro.  Such an assured player.

Moment of the match:  It was the perfect start from Argentina and while Ireland recovered to get within three points, los Pumas had landed crucial early body blows which they then exploited late on.  An excellent opening 20 minutes from Agustin Creevy's men.

Villain of the match:  Nothing overly untoward to report.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Fitzgerald, Murphy
Con:  Madigan 2
Pen:  Madigan 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Moroni, Imhoff 2, Tuculet
Con:  Sánchez 4
Pen:  Sánchez 5
Yellow:  Herrera (late, no arm tackle — 17 mins)

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Chris Henry, 6 Jordi Murphy, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Nathan White, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolás 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 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo De La Fuente, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks humiliate France in Cardiff

New Zealand laid to rest the ghosts of 1999 and 2007 as they embarrassed France 62-13 with a dominant performance at the Millennium Stadium.

The All Blacks set up a mouthwatering semi-final thanks to a hat-trick from Julian Savea, never giving France a sniff of a third World Cup upset as they claimed the biggest win in World Cup knock-out history.

The Philippe Saint-André era came to the most shuddering of ends against a clinical All Black side that ran in four first-half tries to end the game as a contest in their best performance of the tournament to date.

The boos rang out for the French, but on this form New Zealand will rightfully be restored as World Cup favourites after adding five more tries in the second half.  They will face better opposition next week and potentially in the final, but they will take some stopping if they can recreate performances like this.

Brodie Retallick got them started with a chargedown score which also proved to be Frédéric Michalak's last contribution, injuring his leg in the process.

Nehe Milner-Skudder then added a second and when Savea ran in his first, the All Blacks were cruising at 24-6.

Louis Picamoles pulled one back for France but any thoughts of a comeback were quickly dismissed as Savea crashed his way through for a Jonah Lomu-esque second to make it 29-13 at the break, equalling the great man's 37 Test tries before overtaking it in the second half.

France weren't actually playing that poorly in the first half, but the All Blacks punished any errors before cutting loose in the second 40 minutes.

Their job got harder early in the second half when Picamoles was sin-binned for a shove to Richie McCaw's face on the ground, and in his absence Jerome Kaino scored New Zealand's fifth.

As if to underline their dominance, Savea raced in for an easy third when Noa Nakaitaci was stripped in midfield and the ball was delivered to the winger to race in from halfway.

The seventh came from Kieran Read before Tawera Kerr-Barlow scored two as France completely collapsed, although Brice Dulin at least came back to deny Ma'a Nonu the tenth try with a fantastic cover tackle on the final play.

The signs were ominous early on, with New Zealand making ground with every carry, stealing the first French lineout and generally looking a step-up from their performances to date in the competition.

France meanwhile saw Yoann Maestri turned over on his first carry, while Thierry Dusautoir, on what was likely a sorry goodbye to Test rugby, missed two tackles in the first five minutes, having famously not missed one in the corresponding fixture eight years ago.

And yet France could have had the first try as Wesley Fofana, France's best player by a country mile, pounced on messy ruck ball on halfway and was in the clear.  Nigel Owens had spotted a French infringement though, and it was Carter who slotted the first points for the All Blacks.

France hadn't been in the New Zealand half, but they levelled the scores with a long-range penalty from Scott Spedding after New Zealand had slowed the ball down in a ruck.

That didn't last long though as Retallick charged down Michalak from a dreadfully slow clearance kick, with the ball popping up for the simplest stroll in.  Literally adding insult to injury, Michalak appeared to pull his groin in the process of kicking, and had to leave the field after just 11 minutes.

Rémi Talès replaced him, but after Carter converted les Bleus, playing in red, pulled three points back through a Morgan Parra penalty.

They should have been back to within a point thanks but Parra missed a sitter after France nearly scored.  Conrad Smith was brilliantly scragged in midfield by Picamoles before inexplicably chucking the ball backwards and Nakaitaci was first onto it as Savea dallied.  The winger did enough to stop Nakaitaci but the All Blacks were offside and Parra should have knocked over his second penalty, only to pull it to the right.

France were starting to get into the game, with New Zealand looking a little rattled but on 23 minutes, Milner-Skudder showed why he had been selected with a trademark step.  After a Carter drop goal was charged down New Zealand scrambled back, but calmly recycled before Milner-Skudder stepped back off his right past Brice Dulin and raced away for the try.  Carter converted and New Zealand 17-6.

That try appeared to kill off any French hopes, and New Zealand were soon in again, this time thanks to some magic from Carter.  The All Black fly-half spotted a mismatch in midfield and handed off Pascal Papé before a delightful backhand flick for the easy finish for Savea.  Carter again added the extras and the game was over as a contest, New Zealand leading 24-6.

France needed a try before half-time to have any hope and they got it with their first real period of sustained possession.  Regularly making ground with ball in hand, they worked their way into the 22.  When a pass was missed by Bernard le Roux, Picamoles pounced and then had the strength to barge his way over from ten metres out.  Parra converted to cut the deficit to 11 with four minutes left in the half.

The doubts could have crept in, but instead New Zealand fired straight back with a brutal, bludgeoning second from Savea.  Ben Smith got up highest to beat Picamoles to a Carter bomb and with France in disarray, Savea bounced off both Nakaitaci and Spedding for the try.  Carter missed the conversion but New Zealand led 29-13 at the break.

France started the second half the stronger and set up camp in the New Zealand 22.  When McCaw pulled down a French maul and then refused to release the ball as Parra tried to take it quickly, Picamoles reacted with a push to the face, causing the penalty to be overturned and earning ten minutes in the sin-bin.

Down to 14, France were up against it, and New Zealand had their fifth on 50 minutes.  Beauden Barrett, on at half-time for Milner-Skudder delivered the final pass to Kaino after an initial break on the right by Ben Smith.

Savea completed his hat-trick with a turnover score and New Zealand were in cruise control, with every offload going to hand, and Read and then Kerr-Barlow popping up in support following line breaks to finish off more tries.

Back to their very best, this All Black team will be big favourites against South Africa next week.  For France a miserable four years comes to an end in embarrassing fashion, Saint-André appearing to a chorus of boos at the final whistle.

Man of the match:  For a man who is seemingly out of form, Julian Savea was excellent once more, overtaking Jonah Lomu with a stunning hat-trick as France never found a way to stop him.

Moment of the match:  Nine minutes in Frédéric Michalak was too slow clearing the ball as France finally got hold of the ball.  Brodie Retallick charged him down, collected and scored, while Michalak limped off.  It only got worse from there for les Bleus.

Villain of the match:  Despite Louis Picamoles' yellow card, the game was played in good spirit.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Picamoles
Con:  Parra
Pens:  Spedding, Parra
Yellow Card:  Picamoles

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Retallick, Milner-Skudder, Savea 3, Kaino, Read, Kerr-Barlow 2
Cons:  Carter 7
Pen:  Carter

The teams:

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), John Lacey (Ireland)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Du Preez try takes Boks into semi-finals

South Africa advanced to the 2015 Rugby World Cup semi-finals thanks to a 23-19 victory over Wales in an intense battle at Twickenham on Saturday.

Springbok skipper Fourie du Preez scored in the 75th minute to snatch victory in an epic game that could have gone either way.

South Africa will now face the winners of Saturday's other quarter-final between France and defending champions New Zealand next weekend at the same venue.

You could not have asked for the greater physical battle in a match played at a furious pace.  It was simply thrilling as the lead constantly swapped hands.

A monumental effort from the South African pack was at the heart of this victory as their big ball carriers worked tirelessly, relentlessly hammering away at the gainline.

There was precious little to separate the sides at the interval as Wales led 13-12 thanks to a try from scrum-half Gareth Davies and a drop-goal on the stroke of half-time from Dan Biggar.

The battle of the breakdown had been billed as the decisive area by both camps before kick-off and the ruck penalty count against Wales proved significant, meaning that South Africa led for most of the opening 40 minutes.

It was a tale of missed chances early on and Wales had a great opportunity to score after Tyler Morgan ripped the ball off Damian de Allende, setting up George North to charge up field, but Gethin Jenkins threw a shocker of a pass when Morgan had acres of space on the overlap after the ball was recycled.

Three consecutive ruck penalties allowed Handre Pollard to give South Africa a 6-0 lead although Biggar pulled three points back when South Africa were pinned down in front of their own posts.

But Wales were being hammered by referee Wayne Barnes at the breakdown and Pollard made it 9-3 just after the 15 minute mark.

Wales hit back with the first try of the game as Biggar collected his own bomb before offloading to Davies, who ghosted over.  Biggar added the conversion to give Wales the lead for the first time.

The Springboks edged back in front at the end of the first quarter as Pollard slotted his fourth penalty, this time for obstruction.

A tense territorial battle ensued as bombs rained down in both directions with the Boks just holding the upper hand in terms of possession, but twice Du Preez's cross-field kicks just missed the chasing JP Pietersen.

Biggar hit the post with a long-range shot but with time up, he sent a drop-goal straight through the middle to give Wales the narrowest of advantages as the teams headed for the changing rooms.

Pollard sent a penalty wide early in the second-half after Wales were pinged for pulling down a maul but Biggar hit the target from over 40 metres out after Schalk Burger went offside.

The Springbok pack turned up the heat with a prolonged period of massive ball carrying but the Welsh defence brilliantly held firm.  The men in green eventually turned to Pollard to slot a drop of his own, to make it a one-point ball game once again.

The Springbok fly-half should have given his team the lead but missed the mark for the second time.  A scything run from Willie le Roux gave Bryan Habana a glimpse of the line and the World Cup try-scoring record only to be stopped just short, meaning Wales hit the hour mark 16-15 up.

The Boks wrestled the lead back as Jesse Kriel forced Gareth Anscombe to hang on and Pollard landed his sixth penalty but Eben Etzebeth was penalised on the deck immediately after the restart and Biggar duly restored the Welsh advantage, setting up a nail-biting finale.

With 'Bread of Heaven' resounding around Twickenham Wales were in sight of their second consecutive RWC semi-final but a big scrum set up Duane Vermeulen to break off the back with his offload sending Du Preez over in the corner.

Pollard missed the conversion, leaving Wales within touching distance but the Boks held on.

Man of the match:  Du Preez obviously deserves a mention and Vermeulen was instrumental but Schalk Burger was phenomenal, making 26 carries in a vintage performance.

Moment of the match:  There can be only one;  Vermeulen's offload to set up the winning try in the dying minutes was sublime.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Du Preez
Pens:  Pollard 5
Drop:  Pollard

For Wales:
Try:  Davies
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar 3
Drop:  Biggar

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 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Wales:  15 Gareth Anscombe, 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 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Tom Francis, 19 Bradley Davies 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 James Hook

Venue:  Twickenham Stadium, London
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (England), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Brave Blossoms go out with a bang

Japan became the first team to win three games at a World Cup and exit at the pool stages after their 28-18 win over USA in Gloucester.

Nothing has epitomised the 2015 Rugby World Cup quite like the performances of the emerging nations and it was fitting that a packed house at Kingsholm saw Japan, the heroes of the first weekend of the tournament, see off the challenge of a muscular USA side in a game polarised by the power of the States versus the technical excellence of their opponents.

The USA offered an heroic and committed performance, and the scoreline was a fair reflection of the match and ability of both teams.

Rugby is the USA's fastest growing team sport and their exposure and efforts in 2015 will of course resonate and assist with the momentum of their game, despite being forced to re-qualify next time around.

However, there's been many journeys in this World Cup, but none enjoyed or embraced quite as much by the collective rugby world as that of Japan.

It is criminal that after winning three pool matches that they are out of the World Cup, but they leave to host the 2019 tournament with their heads held high, their reputation enhanced and with the respect of the entire rugby world.

An early penalty AJ MacGinty after four minutes gave the USA the first blow, but Japan were quick to reply and after six minutes their first try came to rapturous applause, inspired by a brilliant kick and chase by fly-half Kosei Ono with two quick phases seeing backs and forwards combine to send flyer Kotaro Matsushima over on the left wing.

However, the USA are a side of immense power and strength, and the reply saw skipper Samu Manoa and his forwards battering the try line with multi phase rucks and rolling mauls, followed by MacGinty hoisting a kick cross field to send Takudzwa Ngwenya sprinting over in the right hand corner.

Japan took no time at all to offer their response, as USA lock Hayden Smith fumbled a restart, allowing Japan to re-gather and played the Americans at their own game, as Michael Leitch and his men mauled and drove their way to the line, with wing Fujita detached and crashing right through the middle of the maul to score.

A Ayumu Goromaru penalty after 33 minutes saw the veteran full back become the first Japanese player to reach a landmark of 700 test points and the USA, although threatening the Japanese line towards the end of the first half, couldn't muster the finish nor could they quite cope with the excellence and height of the Japanese scrummage, allowing the Brace Blossoms a lead of 17-8 at half time.

After another early Goromaru penalty in the second half, the USA mounted ten minutes of sustained pressure into the Japanese 22 but their over-commitment to numbers at ruck time, combined with the Japanese discipline at the contact area allowed them no space to capitalise on the possession and territory they had despite a ruck transgression allowing MacGinty to add another penalty.

With USA prop Eric Fry sent to the sinbin on 60 mins for kicking the ball when offside at a ruck, the ensuing lineout saw Japan set up an express maul, and one of the stars of the tournament, Amanaki Mafi barrelled over the tryline much to the delight of the packed Kingsholm shed.

The resilience of all the lower tier teams has been a credit to each and every one of them and it was no surprise that the USA replied with a period of sustained power and counter rucking to send Saracens' favourite import, skipper Chris Wyles an open run over in the corner.

With Goromaru adding another penalty in the dying moments, in the final analysis, Japan had just that little bit more composure than the USA and that was telling in getting them home.

Man of the match:  Both Japanese number eights, Holani and Mafi were outstanding, but an assured display from veteran full-back Ayumu Goromaru takes the award.

Moment of the match:  Japan's line-out leading to the Mafi try was a picture of precision rugby;  ball to middle, receivers peeling off through the front gap summed up their technical excellence and brilliant execution throughout the Rugby World Cup, but we will go to the absolute standing ovation offered to both sides by Kingsholm and its infamous shed;  a fitting tribute to both teams.

Villain of the match:  In a game without a single TMO referral and played in good spirit there was no nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Matsushima, Fujita, Mafi
Cons:  Goromaru 2
Pens:  Goromaru 3

For USA:
Tries:  Ngwenya, Wyles
Con:  MacGinty
Pens:  MacGinty 2
Yellow Card:  Fry

USA:  15 Chris Wyles (c), 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Seamus Kelly, 12 Thretton Palamo, 11 Zach Test, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 6 Al McFarland, 5 Greg Peterson, 4 Hayden Smith, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Zach Fenoglio, 1 Eric Fry.
Replacements:  16 Phil Thiel, 17 Oli Kilifi, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Cam Dolan, 20 John Quill, 21 Danny Barrett, 22 Niku Kruger, 23 Folau Niua.

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

Venue:  Kingsholm, Gloucester
Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Ireland top Pool D but at a massive cost

Ireland avoided a quarter-final against New Zealand by beating France 24-9 at the Millennium Stadium, but it came at a huge cost.

Joe Schmidt's side will likely be without Paul O'Connell, Jonathan Sexton, Peter O'Mahony and Sean O'Brien for their quarter-final against Argentina next Sunday after a brutal encounter.

In front of a huge Irish crowd, tries from Rob Kearney and Conor Murray were enough for the Six Nations champions, who produced their best performance of the tournament so far, but the losses will be of greater concern.

A bone-shuddering first half saw Ireland lose possibly their two most important players, with Sexton lasting just 25 minutes, while O'Connell was stretchered off at half-time after twice trying and failing to walk off under his own steam.

They will likely be without O'Brien as well as after he threw a vicious punch to Pascal Papé's ribs off the ball at the very first ruck while in the second half O'Mahony was also carted off.

Try-scoring chances were few and far between in the opening 40, with Keith Earls missing the best opportunity of the half when he couldn't hold on after Tommy Bowe had gone clean through.

Instead two penalties from Sexton and one from replacement Ian Madigan were enough to have Ireland up 9-6 at half-time, with Scott Spedding slotting two for France.

After the break Rob Kearney got the game's first try, and in such an attritional affair, an eight-point lead was always going to be too much to recover from.

While France did get back to within a score, a second try, from Murray, sealed the win for Ireland, who will have an extra day to prepare for their clash with Argentina next Sunday which should test their depth.

France meanwhile, will take on New Zealand in Cardiff in a repeat of the 2007 quarter-final.  While All Black fans will be understandably nervous, on this form les Bleus won't manage another upset having barely looked like scoring a try.

It was a ferocious start with both teams flying into the tackles and Papé feeling the effects at the very first ruck.  O'Brien appeared to be after some retribution for Papé's indiscretion on the last meeting between the two teams and will surely be cited as a result.

While Ireland were winning the collisions, they conceded a couple of early penalties, the second in a kickable position but Frédéric Michalak's strike wasn't clean and the ball fell short.

Les Bleus had a second chance to take the lead when Ireland collapsed a scrum just short of halfway.  For the longer range kick, Spedding took over kicking duties, but his effort came back off the post.

Ireland, on the other hand, had no such problem from the kicking tee, Sexton giving them a 3-0 lead on 12 minutes when Mathieu Bastareaud was caught offside tracking back from a chip over the top that Eddy Ben Arous couldn't collect.

Still, France were enjoying more of the territory, and when Michalak ghosted through a gap in the Irish midfield they were in behind.  A messy ruck saw the move break down but Ireland were quickly isolated and this time Spedding found the target to level the scores from halfway.

In a tight first quarter, Ireland moved back in front thanks to a second Sexton penalty, with Yoann Maestri the man penalised for rolling away too slowly.

France were soon back on terms with a high tackle on Guilhem Guirado giving Spedding a second chance from long range, knocking one over from inside his own half.

During the week France had talked about targeting Sexton, and he lasted just 25 minutes.  Having already taken one big hit on a French attack, Louis Picamoles delivered the final blow with a thumping tackle.

Ian Madigan replaced him and was quickly called into action for a tackle off the ball, putting the Irish back in front 9-6.

Just after the hour Ireland had the first real try-scoring opportunity after Bowe was put clean through off a lineout.  The simple two on one should have seen Earls over but he couldn't collect the final pass.

A break from Spedding had France in great position just before the break but they couldn't capitalise.  O'Connell was injured in the build-up, replaced by Iain Henderson at half-time.

The first chance of the second half went Ireland's way, Robbie Henshaw going straight past Mathieu Bastareaud in midfield and being stopped just short.  While that attack was stopped when Noa Nakaitaci knocked on in a tackle on Murray, Ireland soon broke through with Rob Kearney finishing after the resulting scrum.  Madigan missed the conversion but Ireland led 14-6 with half an hour remaining.

It appeared to be the knockout blow, with France struggling for territory, and when Thierry Dusautoir knocked on just outside his 22, it was hard to see a way back for les Bleus.

There was still plenty of time remaining, and Ireland's next casualty was O'Mahony, who also needed lengthy treatment before being stretchered off after coming off second best when carrying at Papé.

France got back to within a score with a penalty from replacement Morgan Parra, and got themselves in good position with ten minutes remaining only for the scrum-half to knock on when O'Brien fell into him in a ruck.

That was the end of France's challenge, and Murray delivered the final blow when he pushed the ball up against the side of the post for Ireland's second try.  Madigan converted and the fight went out of France, conceding two scrum penalties as the Irish took complete control in the dying seconds.

Man of the match:  After missing the first two games of the tournament, Robbie Henshaw has come back with a bang.  It was his break early in the second half, standing up Mathieu Bastareaud, that put Ireland in position for their first try.

Moment of the match:  Ireland's troubles began when they lost Sexton to injury just 25 minutes in.  Louis Picamoles' hit was perfectly legal but having already been shaken up, Sexton was out for good.

Villain of the match:  It's hard to imagine a Joe Schmidt side deliberately targeting an opposition player but that's what Sean O'Brien appeared to do in the opening minutes with a sucker punch on Pascal Papé.  He surely won't play in the quarters as a result.

The scorers:

For France:
Pens:  Spedding 2, Parra

For Ireland:
Tries:  R Kearney, Murray
Con:  Madigan
Pens:  Sexton 2, Madigan 2

The teams:

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Damien Chouly, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Bernard le Roux, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin

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

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Italy too strong for Romania

Italy finished their Rugby World Cup campaign on a high with a 32-22 victory over Romania at Sandy Park in Exeter on Sunday.

The four-tries-to-three victory ensures the Azzurri qualify directly for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan as they finish third in Pool D, with two wins from their four games.

The scoreline will perhaps add weight to calls for Romania's inclusion into an expanded Six Nations tournament but, to be fair, they looked well beaten on the hour mark.

It's a tough argument because the Oaks need more exposure to Tier-One competition if they are to continue their progress, but they were a step below Italy in most sectors of a hard-fought game that saw the Italian pack match their powerful opponents from Eastern Europe for sheer grunt.

Romania dominated the stats both in terms of possession and territory but they struggled to contain the Italian attack, with the Azzurri making double the amount of line breaks as they beat 22 defenders.

Italy ran in three unanswered tries to lead 22-3 at the interval as wing Leonardo Sarto and half-back duo Edoardo Gori and Tommaso Allan all touched down.

Number eight Alessandro Zanni scored early in the second half to secure the bonus point and put the final result beyond doubt — although Romania did their best to repeat the comeback heriocs of last week's win over Canada.

The Oaks kept fighting and finished strongly with three tries in the final quarter — two via replacement wing Adrian Apostol.

First Apostol bashed his way over the whitewash off the back of a powerful scrum before lock Valentin Poparlan went over at the back of a maul.

Apostol dived into the corner in the dying minutes to add some gloss to the scoreline.

Man of the match:  A few candidates to consider from both teams including Tommaso Allan, who finished with 17 points, but we'll go for Edoardo Gori, who was a real livewire and deserved his try.

Moment of the match:  Romania were hanging in there, but Allan's try just before half time gave Italy the lead they needed to see out the game.

Villain of the match:  Nothing rough enough to mention.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Sarto, Gori, Allan, Zanni
Cons:  Allan 3
Pens:  Allan 2

For Romania:
Tries:  Apostol 2, Poparlan
Cons:  Vlaicu 2
Pen:  Vlaicu
Yellow card:  Van Heerden

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Benvenuti, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Alessandro Zanni, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Josh Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Samuela Vunisa, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

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

Venue:  Sandy Park, Exeter
Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Nine-try Argentina thrash Namibia

Argentina laid down a marker ahead of the World Cup's play-offs when they claimed a 64-19 victory over Namibia in their Pool C clash in Leicester on Sunday.

As expected, los Pumas were in control from start to finish and outscored their opponents nine tries to three and this performance sets them up nicely for next weekend's quarter-final against the winners of the clash between France and Ireland later in the day.

Despite making 11 changes to their starting XV, Argentina turned on the and several players delivered superb performances which will give their coach Daniel Hourcade a selection headache ahead of their play-off clash.

Namibia were never going to win this encounter especially considering that they were involved in a gruelling clash with Georgia just five days ago and Argentina made full use of their superior fitness especially during the game's latter stages when Namibia were tiring.

The Welwitchias gave a good account of themselves up front, particularly the scrums, but los Pumas took control of the set phases as the match progressed which created plenty of gaps which their backline gladly exploited.

Los Pumas were on the attack from the opening minute and Juan Martin Hernandez scored his first World Cup try since crossing for a brace against Romania at the 2003 tournament as early as the seventh minute after Matias Moroni laid the groundwork with a mazy run in the build-up.

Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias then made it 10-0 from the kicking tee after the Welwitchias were reduced to 14 men in the 10th minute when JC Greyling was yellow-carded for not using his arms in a tackle on Hernandez.

That setback didn't seem to bother the Africans though and shortly afterwards Johan Tromp pounced on a mistake in los Pumas' backline to score his side's opening try.

Tromp booted a loose ball, close to Argentina's 10-metre line, ahead before regathering and dotting down under the posts.  Shortly afterwards, Moroni showed great determination as he ghosted past four defenders to cross for a deserved try under the posts.

Argentina's forwards then set up a solid platform for their backs who took the ball wide to Horacio Agulla who crossed for Argentina's third try, which meant both los Pumas wingers scored in the same World Cup match for the third consecutive time.

Facundo Isa then crossed from a lineout drive to secure Argentina's bonus point in the 35th minute before Lucas Noguera Paz dotted down on the stroke of half-time to give his side a 36-7 lead.

Namibia made a superb start to the second half when Greyling made up for his earlier indiscretion to score his side's second try.  The centre gathered a loose ball close to Argentina's 10-metre line and outpaced the cover defence before dotting down under the sticks.

The rest of the match was one-way traffic, however, as Argentina introduced first-choice players like Marcelo Bosch, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Tomas Cubelli and Juan Imhoff off the replacements bench.

Matias Alemanno crossed for los Pumas' sixth try in the 50th minute but the South Americans were also forced to play with 14 men shortly afterwards when Bosch was sent to the sin bin for a tip-tackle on Theuns Kotze.

That didn't deter Argentina though and the rest of the match became a loose affair as they ran the ball from all areas of the field.  Leonardo Senatore soon rounded off under the posts, after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Los Pumas' free-flowing was rewarded when Julian Montoya and Cubelli also crossed for further five-pointers towards the end and although Namiba played the closing stages with 14 men — after Tinus Du Plessis received a yellow card for taking out Bosch in the air — they got the biggest cheer of the match when Eugene Jantjies rounded off a superb move in injury time.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Hernandez, Moroni, Agulla, Isa, Noguera Paz, Alemanno, Senatore, Montoya, Cubelli
Cons:  Iglesias 4, Socino 4
Pen:  Iglesias
Yellow card:  Bosch

For Namibia:
Tries:  Tromp, Greyling, Jantjes
Cons:  Kotze 2
Yellow cards:  Greyling, Du Plessis

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo (c), 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Leonardo Senatore, 20 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Juan Imhoff.

Namibia:  15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Johan Tromp, 13 JC Greyling, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Conrad Marais, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eneill Buitendag, 8 Leneve Damens, 7 Wian Conradie, 6 Rohan Kitsoff (captain), 5 Tijuee Uanivi, 4 Janco Venter, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten Van Jaarsveld, 1 Jaco Engels.
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 Johnny Redelinghuys, 18 Raoul Larson, 19 Renaldo Bothma, 20 Tinus Du Plessis, 21 PJ Van Lill, 22 Eugene Jantjes, 23 Heinrich Smit.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (France)

England finish on a positive note

England bowed out of the Rugby World Cup with a 60-3 win as they saw off another spirited performance from Uruguay at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Nick Easter was the man of the match after scoring a hat-trick of tries, becoming the oldest player to achieve such a feat in international history.

But once again there were areas of frustration for England's supporters as they only led 21-3 at the break, with Uruguay staying well in touch.

After the break there was an improvement from Stuart Lancaster's men and only the RFU will know if it's enough to save his job.

England's other try-scorers were Anthony Watson (2), Jack Nowell (3), Henry Slade and a penalty try as they ran away with the game in the second half.

Following the high-octane and bruising events at England's home, Twickenham, between Australia and Wales, the term 'damp squib' came to mind at the City of Manchester Stadium as Lancaster's tenure as nation head coach once again went under the spotlight.  Only a big win would do.

It didn't start as he would have liked as not one minute in, England's forwards were offside from a clearing kick and Felipe Berchesi made it 0-3.  To make matters worse a dumb play from hooker Tom Youngs, where he performed a neck roll on a Uruguayan player, halted England's first attack.

England did get a slice of luck in the eighth minute as ball moved wide left led to Nowell kicking through for Watson to finish superbly.  However, that luck refers to the television match official not checking whether Watson was in front of his wing, which he looked to have been.

There were no doubts about England's second try though as they reverted to their close game, with Easter at the tail of a maul that looked like causing Uruguay plenty of bother for the remaining hour.  Farrell, again, successfully sent over the conversion to extend the scoreline to 14-3.

Easter was over again five minutes later, this time from a pick and go one metre out, as England moved into a 21-3 lead.  Unbelievably all the pre-game talk about the future was overshadowed by England's oldest player taking the early headlines.  All the young backs could do was watch.

It was a second quarter to forget as errors that have blighted England's pool campaign resurfaced, with cohesion in attack seeing them fail to trouble the scoreboard for the rest of the half.  One small positive was that Uruguay captain Santiago Vilaseca was yellow-carded on 40 minutes.

Fortunately for those representing England's north in the stadium, they would only have to wait two minutes for the game's fourth score and it arrived from a set play off the back of a scrum fifteen metres out.  Danny Care started it before Watson had the easy finish wide out for 26-3.

The spark of life to ignite what had been a disappointing game thus far for England?  It turned out to be another false dawn as knock-ons from first captain Chris Robshaw and then James Haskell foiled attacks in Uruguay's red zone.  The South Americans escaped courtesy of the blunders.

But cometh the hour, cometh a young player who England in all honesty should have backed a long time ago in the international arena, as Slade charged down Agustín Ormaechea's box kick on halfway before showing good footballing skills to dribble all the way to the score.  It was 31-3.

Cue the floodgates and England's sixth try which came down the same left touchline Slade had just ran.  This time it was Alex Goode sparking an attack before Care held the final pass until the perfect time for Nowell to finish off.  This time Farrell slotted the extras to make it 38-3.

England were looking to turn the screw and end their World Cup campaign on a high note.  Once again they went back to the line-out drive which served them so well in the first-half and once again it was Easter getting the try, his hat-trick.  This after Jonathan Joseph replaced Farrell.

Another player set to be hunting his treble was Nowell as he was put over thanks to a beautiful pass from Ford on 70 minutes that made it 48-3.  And he wouldn't have to wait long for that moment as this time Slade sent over the Exeter Chief as England led 53-3 with four minutes to play.

Uruguay attempted to finish with the last say but that went the way of England via a penalty try after a lovely break-out from their own 22, with referee Chris Pollock adjudging the visitors to have jumped offside on their own line.  Ford, for the first time, added the two points as England made it a ten-try showing.

Man of the match:  It has to go to the veteran Nick Easter.  What a way to prove that age should not be a barrier in the game.  Some may say he should he have been picked from the outset but he will be delighted with how he performed in what is likely to be his Test swansong.

Moment of the match:  After the end of the match, the majority of the crowd remained in their seats to applaud the England team and sing Swing Low.  That will help a hurting group of players.

Villain of the match:  A clean game.  No problems.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Watson 2, Easter 3, Slade, Nowell 3, Penalty try
Cons:  Farrell 4, Ford

For Uruguay:
Pen:  Berchesi
Yellow:  Vilaseca (slowing down ball — 40 mins)

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 James Haskell, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 David Wilson, 19 George Kruis, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Mike Brown.

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Joaquin Prada, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Rodrigo Silva, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustín 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 Mateo Sanguinetti.
Replacements:  16 Nicolas Klappenbach, 17 Oscar Duran, 18 Alejo Corral, 19 Mathias Palomeque, 20 Diego Magnol, 21 Agustín Alonso, 22 Alejo Durán, 23 Manuel Blengio.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

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)