England hang on against Argentina to claim bronze at Rugby World Cup

England ended their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign on a positive note as they edged out Argentina 26-23 to win the Bronze Final in Paris on Friday.

Tries from Ben Earl and Theo Dan were added to by 16 points from captain Owen Farrell off the tee as the Red Rose signed off in France with a victory.

Argentina will no doubt be reeling after coming so close, however, as they dominated the majority of the game but could not get the job done late on.

England have now finished in the World Cup’s top three on five occasions, with only Saturday’s finalists, New Zealand and South Africa managing more podium appearances.

Argentina were roared on by the neutrals in a 77,674 crowd, and with only pockets of Red Rose supporters present, it was the most partisan atmosphere Steve Borthwick’s side have faced at the World Cup.

Farrell was booed repeatedly, and Ben Youngs drew the same reaction when he jogged off with half an hour left, even though the nation’s most capped player was making his 127th and final appearance.

The evening was not much fun for Henry Arundell, who ran in five tries against Chile yet was passed the ball only once here, reducing one of England’s most dangerous runners to the role of bystander until he was withdrawn with 15 minutes left.

Having produced among the worst semi-final appearances in World Cup history against New Zealand, Argentina were far hungrier as they looked to emulate their previous best tournament performance of third place in 2007.

It was the Pumas side who edged Wales in the last eight that ultimately turned up at the Stade de France, although it took them time to get going.

England initially picked up where they had left off in Marseille by scoring freely, a short pass from Marcus Smith slipping Earl through a gap, and there was no stopping the number eight from 15 metres out.

It was part of a bright start by England, who kicked intelligently and were accurate in everything they did, enabling them to build a 13-0 lead when Farrell added two penalties.

Argentina were already on the ropes, but they took heart from making headway through the white defence until they were sent hurtling backwards at a scrum in front of the posts.

Emiliano Boffelli got the Pumas off the mark with a penalty, but it was all they had to show for period of ascendency, their prospects not helped by two knock-ons at key times.

England’s own play had become more ragged, and when Farrell kicked away possession and a penalty was conceded, Argentina went on the rampage with a sweeping attack that ended when Tomas Cubelli went over.

The officials declined to check for an obvious forward pass during the move, but there was nothing controversial about the Pumas’ second try when Dan missed a tackle that allowed Santiago Carreras to glide into space and finish with class.

Dan’s redemption was instant as from the restart, he changed down Carreras’ clearance, gathered the ball and scored.

Finishing his #RWC2023 in style

Sam Underhill is the @Mastercard #POTM #ARGvENG | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/ivT39ISYcQ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 27, 2023

As chants of “Argentina, Argentina” sounded around the Stade de France and the Pumas vigorously celebrated winning a penalty, there was a sense of occasion of the match even if the play was stop-start and often ugly.

Farrell and Nicolas Sanchez traded penalties, and with neither side able to seize control of the game, an edgy climax approached.

Sanchez missed a tricky penalty, and England were not troubled again, closing out the match in the right half of the pitch.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Dan Cole, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Springboks fight back to knock out England and seal World Cup final spot

The Springboks made it to back-to-back Rugby World Cup Finals after they edged England 16-15 in a wet-weather semi-final in Paris on Saturday.

It had looked for a long time like South Africa’s reign was coming to a surprise end when the Red Rose led 15-6 with only 12 minutes left on the match clock.

But a try from replacement lock RG Snyman was converted by Handre Pollard before the fly-half struck a long-range penalty on 77 minutes to seal the win.

England’s players sank to their knees at the final whistle, their hearts broken having given their all in a rematch of the 2019 final despite being distant outsiders, and it was an especially cruel moment for Owen Farrell given his outstanding night.

Farrell was at the heart of many of his side’s best moments and although the captain drew the now customary boos when his name was read out on the PA system pre-match, he replied by drawing first blood with a penalty.

Breakdown and line-out success, as well as Ben Earl blasting off the base of the scrum, were further early wins until a promising drive downfield ended with Farrell kicking his second penalty.

Three times in a row England turned over South African line-out drives, winning a penalty on the third of them to relieve the pressure that was building on their line.

Every aspect of an arm wrestle of a contest was being won by England, but they were also their own worst enemies as they gave away three needless penalties, one of them for a moment of petulance from Farrell that allowed Manie Libbok to land three points.

His eyes bulging, Farrell was playing on the edge and had to be escorted away from referee Ben O’Keeffe, but he regained his composure to re-establish the six-point lead.

Libbok became the fall guy for South Africa’s woes when he was replaced in the 32nd minute by Pollard in the hope the 2019 World Cup winner would bring greater control.

Pollard’s first involvement was to boot a penalty and growing tension was evident as errors crept into both sides, but when Farrell found the target for the fourth time, England entered the break with a deserved 12-6 lead.

Rookie Leicester lock George Martin had been at the forefront of red rose resistance through his savage tackling and as the rain continued to fall there was no prospect of the game opening up.

Scrum-half Cobus Reinach and full-back Damian Willemse were the next to be pulled by South Africa, who now had Faf de Klerk and Willie le Roux on the field, and then Eben Etzebeth followed them into the dugout.

The changes were a reflection of England’s control and just as the Springboks appeared to be clawing their way into contention, Farrell rifled over a sensational drop-goal.

England’s captain was striking gold with every touch as a wicked cross-field grubber caused Kurt-Lee Arendse to fumble, but South Africa were beginning to harvest penalties at the scrum.

Suddenly the Springboks went up a gear, their pack pouring forwards from a line-out for Snyman to score.

It was now all South Africa, who had discovered a new lease of life, and when the moment for glory came, Pollard stepped up to deliver his monster penalty.

Bokke joy 🇿🇦#ENGvRSA | #RWC2023 | #RWCFinal pic.twitter.com/DR4kTfOQOk

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 21, 2023

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

South Africa:  15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

All Blacks floor Argentina as Jordan hat-trick fires them to World Cup Final

A rampant New Zealand breezed into the Rugby World Cup Final after a Will Jordan hat-trick helped them cruise past Argentina 44-6 in Paris on Friday.

The All Blacks were a class apart as they dominated Los Pumas at the Stade de France, running in seven tries in total to seal their place in next week’s final.

Jordan’s superb treble was backed up by two tries from Shannon Frizell and one apiece from Jordie Barrett and Aaron Smith in a one-sided semi-final clash.

New Zealand now await the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final that sees England face South Africa as they go into the global finale full of confidence.

Jordan’s hat-trick lifts him above France’s Damian Penaud as the World Cup’s leading try scorer on eight, placing him level with Jonah Lomu’s record of tries scored in a single tournament.

It was an impressive feat that underlined New Zealand’s attacking genius, but they were assisted by willing victims who were mesmerised by the shapes unfolding in front of them.

Jordan struck from the All Blacks’ very first drive downfield when defenders sucked in by carries after a line-out maul presented an overlap that provided a simple run in.

It began to look grim for Argentina when Barrett went over, finishing a try that began deep inside New Zealand’s half with precise handling and clever running lines resulting in attackers pouring into space.

Emiliano Boffelli’s early penalty was already a distant memory as Argentina were repeatedly overrun at the breakdown with Sam Cane their chief destroyer, while any attack was met with an impregnable wall of black shirts.

A spell of battering away on the line produced only another Boffelli penalty when there was a sense far more would be needed to halt New Zealand’s march towards the final.

Patient All Blacks play paid off when they renewed their assault, methodically working their way into a threatening position and when the moment came they pulled the trigger, Mark Telea almost crossing before Frizell strolled over.

It was becoming a procession and while the favourites were being looked on favourably by referee Angus Gardner at times, there was no denying their ascendency in every facet of the game.

Smith was the next over via a brilliant step, exploiting a Pumas maul defence that was short on manpower, and then even Frizell muscled his way over despite the attention of three would-be tacklers.

Jordan moved past Penaud with New Zealand’s sixth try and his hat-trick score in the 74th minute was a thing of beauty as he slipped through a non-existent Argentina defence, gathered his own kick and scored.

Will Jordan has just equalled the men's record for most tries in a single Rugby World Cup 8⃣#RWC2023 | #ARGvNZL | @AllBlacks pic.twitter.com/j3lCpWFXZh

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 20, 2023

When the final whistle blew the Pumas sank to their knees, aware they had not shown up on only their third semi-final appearance.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Springboks knock out hosts France in pulsating quarter-final in Paris

Rugby World Cup holders South Africa knocked out host nation France in a pulsating quarter-final in Paris, winning 29-28 to progress to the last-four.

The result ends a run of 18 straight wins at home for Les Bleus as they crash out of the tournament, with the Boks moving on to face England in the semis.

Crossings from Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe and Eben Etzebeth and the boots of Manie Libbok and Handre Pollard secured the win.

France’s tries came via Cyril Baille (two) and Peato Mauvaka with Thomas Ramos kicking 13 points as the Stade de France was silenced by South Africa.

Having experienced the hostility of the French crowd when they lost narrowly in Marseille last November, South Africa had been training with background noise blaring through speakers in the lead-up to the quarter-final.

The Boks’ efforts to combat the impact of the partisan home support looked futile in the early moments, however, as the French started like a train and threatened to blow their opponents away.

Les Bleus ― eyeing a 19th consecutive home win ― signalled their intent from the outset and Louis Bielle-Biarrey was desperately close to scoring in the second minute but he was just unable to get a firm enough hand on the ball to force it down after getting himself over the line on the left.

The French kept their foot to the floor, though, and they had their supporters in raptures in the fourth minute as prop Baille dotted over for an easy finish on the right following a ferocious maul towards the line after a quickly-taken lineout.  Ramos added the extras.

South Africa, summoning the resolve of champions, managed to stem the blue tide and get themselves a foothold in the game.  They levelled things up out of nothing as a high ball over the top bounced kindly for Arendse, who burst over the line, with Libbok adding the conversion.

Ramos attempted to edge the French back in front with a penalty attempt from just shy of the halfway line but it lacked the required distance.

Remarkably, it was the Boks who got themselves ahead in the 18th minute when De Allende forced his way over at the second attempt.  Libbok ― whose inconsistent kicking has become a talking point in this tournament ― was off target with the conversion.

The frenzied start continued when French hooker Mauvaka forced his way over on the right for the fourth try of the evening in the 22nd minute.  Adding to the drama, Ramos’ conversion attempt was brilliantly charged down by Cheslin Kolbe.

That would ultimately prove crucial and the jet-heeled Kolbe had another big impact at the other end of the pitch five minutes later as he outpaced two French chasers to reach a clever kick through from Jesse Kriel and bolt over on the left.  This time Libbok was on point with his conversion.

The French levelled things up again just after the half-hour when prop Baille pushed over for his second score, with Ramos converting.

The Boks suffered a blow at the end of the first half when lock Etzebeth was yellow-carded for a head-on-head tackle on Uini Atonio.  Ramos kicked the resulting penalty to ensure the French went in with a 22-19 lead at the end of one of the most exhilarating 40 minutes in Rugby World Cup history.

South Africa changed their half-back pairing early in the second half as they sent on Pollard and Faf de Klerk for Libbok and Cobus Reinach, shortly before Etzebeth returned with no further damage done on the scoreboard in his absence.

With the pace of the game having subsided, Ramos stretched the French lead to six points with another penalty in the 54th minute.

👏 Brilliant Springboks' counterattack!#FRAvRSA #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/QKKAnTW280

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 15, 2023

However, the topsy-turvy nature of this titanic encounter continued and ― just as France looked to have some control ― the Boks got themselves a point ahead in the 67th minute when Etzebeth forced over for the seventh try of the night, converted by Pollard.  And two minutes later, Pollard put his team four points to the good with a penalty.

Ramos reduced the deficit to a point with a kick of his own in the 72nd minute, setting up a grandstand finale, but the French were unable to muster one final score as their dreams of a first World Cup on home soil died.

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Thibaud Flmanet, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Yoram Moefana

South Africa:  15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Deon Fourie, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Owen Farrell drop goal helps England edge fantastic Fiji in quarter-final

A late drop goal and penalty from Owen Farrell helped England edge a superb Fiji side on Sunday, winning 30-24 to seal a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot.

Fiji threw everything they could at the English in a game that ran until the 86th minute, but the Red Rose held on to claim a tense quarter-final win in Marseille.

England enjoyed a positive first half as tries from centres Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant were added to by Farrell’s boot as they jogged in 21-10 in the lead.

However, Fiji fought their way back into the match and were level at one stage thanks to tries from Bill Mata, Peni Ravai and Vilimoni Botitu in a tough loss.

England are the only home union side to reach the last four following the demise of Wales and Ireland in this weekend’s quarter-finals but they rode their luck at times during a frenzied second half having played smart rugby before the interval.

The result avenged their first ever loss to Fiji in August and by reaching the penultimate stage of the World Cup they have surpassed expectations given they entered the tournament on the back of five defeats in six Tests.

There was no sign of the fireworks to come as England surged ahead, capitalising on their opponents’ indiscipline to score three points through Farrell before a second penalty produced a line-out drive that ended with Tuilagi diving over in the left corner.

Roared on by fans, Marcus Smith ran from deep but was swallowed up by the Islanders and the drama continued with Maro Itoje intercepting and racing into space before Tom Curry made a dangerously low tackle on Josua Tuisova.

Curry’s offence allowed Frank Lomani to kick three points but England replied with waves of attacks and their tempo stretched Fiji’s defence, allowing Marchant to jink over.

Fiji wing Vinaya Habosi was sent to the sin-bin for a high hit on Smith, who departed for an HIA, but his side were the next over in a breathless first half when Mata scooped up a loose ball, dummied and strolled over.

Itoje and Courtney Lawes were battered as the Islanders made their presence felt in defence but England continued to force penalties that allowed Farrell to land six more points.

Fiji infringed freely as their opponents racked up time in possession, but two wayward Farrell kicks after he had fired a smart chip into space provided a route out of difficulty and they started moving the ball with menace until Lawes turned them over.

The second half was more ragged and England’s play was frantic at times, lacking the control evident earlier, but the scoreboard kept ticking over as Farrell extended their lead to 14 points.

Fiji lost the ball time and again, preventing them from building any momentum, but they faced a muscular defence.

Finally they broke through, Ravai concluding a sustained assault and when the conversion was added, the deficit was down to a converted try.

The tide had turned and when a Simione Kuruvoli penalty struck the upright, it fell to Fiji and they pounded away at the favourites until Isoa Nasilasila forced a gap and Botitu touched down.

🎯 Clutch drop goal from Owen Farrell.#RWC2023 #ENGvFIJ pic.twitter.com/EuBTDOUPxe

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 15, 2023

Farrell replied with his drop-goal and when Earl broke clear to relieve the pressure of a Fiji attack, sprinting 60 metres downfield, a penalty was forced that Farrell rifled over.

The Islanders fell short with one final attack and when the full-time whistle sounded they collapsed to the floor in disappointment.

The teams

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Fiji:  15 Ilasaia Droasese, 14 Vinaya Habosi, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Vilimoni Botitu, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 5 Albert Tuisue, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Tavita Ikanivere, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Meli Derenalagi, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Simione Kuruvoli, 22 Iosefo Masi, 23 Sireli Maqala

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

All Blacks knock out Ireland in thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final

New Zealand produced an incredible performance to beat Ireland 28-24 in a thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final at the Stade de France on Saturday.

It was a quite phenomenal game in Paris as the underdog All Blacks dug in to keep Ireland out in the closing stages after a breathtaking multi-phase attack.

Earlier, New Zealand tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ardie Savea and Will Jordan were built on by Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett’s extras off the tee.

Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park scored for Ireland and that was added to by a second-half penalty try, Johnny Sexton kicking seven points for his side.

A devastating defeat in Saint-Denis halted Ireland’s remarkable winning run at 17 matches, while signalling the end of the career of veteran captain Sexton.

Ireland came into a mouthwatering contest in the unfamiliar position of being marginal favourites.

Following a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of Friday’s school attack in the northern French city of Arras, Ireland’s raucous travelling fans drowned out the Haka with a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry.

Yet New Zealand shrugged off the hostility and a few nervy mistakes in the opening minutes to lead through early penalties from Mo’unga and Barrett.

Ireland had repelled 30 phases in the build up to the first of those kicks but, despite plenty of possession, were struggling to fully find their usual attacking fluidity.

Ian Foster’s men had no such issues and duly increased their lead when wing Fainga’anuku ― playing instead of Mark Telea, who was dropped for a disciplinary breach ― exchanged passes with Rieko Ioane to finish a flowing team move on the left.

Ireland were quickly staring down the barrel of another last-eight exit to add to seven previous ones.

A routine Sexton penalty eventually got them up and running on the scoreboard before Aki superbly evaded five failed tackles to touch down and significantly cut the deficit against the country of his birth.

However, as the tide threatened to turn, the All Blacks were not about to roll over.

With five minutes of the half remaining, Savea dived over on the right to shift the momentum of a helter-skelter encounter back in favour of the southern hemisphere side.

Resilience is a major facet of Farrell’s Ireland and they emerged from an intense opening period just a single point behind.

In the aftermath of Aaron Smith’s temporary departure due to a deliberate knock-on, Gibson-Park brilliantly wriggled over from a line-out maul and Sexton again added the extras to leave the contest tantalisingly poised.

New Zealand were doing a decent job of keeping Ireland at arm’s length.

They again stretched the scoreboard in the 54th minute when the impressive Mo’unga exploited a gap between Josh van der Flier and Dan Sheehan following a line-out to burst forward and send the jet-heeled Jordan darting for the right corner for a 25-17 advantage.

Ireland suffered another setback when Sexton skewed wide with a three-point attempt at the posts.  However, five minutes they were celebrating being awarded a penalty try as Codie Taylor collapsed a maul and was sin-binned.

The moment that sealed the win for the All Blacks! 🙌#RWC2023 #IREvNZL pic.twitter.com/iXWGEx6rZ2

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 14, 2023

Barrett missed a penalty but landed another to keep the scoreboard ticking over for the All Blacks going into the anxious final stages.

Ireland desperately pushed for a late twist but ultimately ran out of steam to suffer a first defeat since the opening match of last summer’s stunning Test series victory in New Zealand, leaving a distraught Sexton heading for retirement.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Jimmy O’Brien

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Tom Foley (England)

Argentina fight back to break Wales hearts in World Cup quarter-final

Argentina booked their place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after they came from 10-0 down to beat Wales 29-17 at Stade de Marseille on Saturday.

In a gripping last-eight clash, it was Los Pumas who came out on top thanks to an impressive second half that saw them grab two tries among their 23 points.

Joel Sclavi and Nicolas Sanchez got their crossings while Emiliano Boffelli (16) and Sanchez (2) added points off the tee as they progress to the semi-finals.

Wales’ tries came via Dan Biggar and Tomos Williams but their strong start to the game was undone late in the first half and the second 40 as they bow out.

Wales’ defeat meant the end of Biggar’s international career, having announced in August that he would retire from the Test arena post-World Cup.

Prince George and the Prince of Wales, who is Welsh Rugby Union patron, cheered on Wales.  It was the first time the youngster had watched an international sporting fixture in person overseas.

Argentina had struggled to qualify from their group, but they made a bright start in perfect conditions by stretching Wales’ defence.

Boffelli, though, missed a 30-metre penalty chance and Wales responded through some fluency of their own and a determination to free prolific try-scorer Louis Rees-Zammit in space.

Wales then broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when centre George North ― playing in a Welsh record fourth World Cup quarter-final ― made initial headway before Biggar crossed between the posts and converted his own try.

Jaco Peyper then left the action, appearing to suffer a calf muscle injury, with Englishman Karl Dickson taking the whistle.

There were also problems with Wales’ shirts, as several players saw numbers peel off the back, before Biggar restored a degree of calm with a long-range penalty that made it 10-0.

Anxiety had rippled through Welsh ranks when Biggar went down clutching his chest after tackling Santiago Chocobares, but he quickly resumed following treatment.

Wales’ problem area was the lineout, losing two on their own throw inside the opening 25 minutes, but Argentina could not take advantage with the Pumas making little headway following an impressive start.

Biggar then missed a penalty, but Boffelli was more accurate with successive kicks as the first half ended with Argentina on the attack and growing in confidence until an overtime brawl broke out with the Pumas just 10-6 behind.

Prior to Boffelli’s second successful strike, Wales wing Josh Adams was fortunate to avoid a yellow card for pushing over an Argentina player off the ball, and a half-time substitution saw hooker Dewi Lake replace Ryan Elias.

Argentina retained the initiative, and Boffelli completed a quickfire penalty hat-trick that send further warning signals to a Wales team that had temporarily lost its way.

But there was no stopping Boffelli as he then kicked a penalty from two metres inside his own half as Wales fell behind for the first time.

Williams made an instant impact after going on for Gareth Davies, splitting open Argentina’s defence on a weaving 25-metre run to the line, and Biggar’s conversion put Wales back in front, holding a five-point lead approaching the hour mark.

After Guido Petti’s let-off for making contact with Nick Tompkins’ head, Sclavi pounced following sustained pressure before Boffelli’s conversion put Argentina back in front and Wales were once again in trouble.

🇦🇷💪 Joel Sclavi with the Pumas power play. #WALvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/QjdtOYbUFg

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 14, 2023

But Warren Gatland’s team threw everything at Argentina during the closing stages, with Rees-Zammit going desperately close to a try in the corner.

It was a breathless and frenzied finale ― a suitable end to a memorable contest ― before Sanchez intercepted Sam Costelow’s pass, Boffelli converted, Sanchez landed a penalty and Wales were out.

The teams

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Dewi Lake, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Rio Dyer

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Portugal claim historic first Rugby World Cup win but Fiji still progress

Fiji survived an almighty scare against a superb Portugal side as they progress to the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, despite losing 24-23 on Sunday.

It was an historic first ever tournament win for Os Lobos as a frantic finish saw them come out on top thanks to a late converted try at Stadium de Toulouse.

While defeat for Fiji will be a tough result to swallow, they still move onto the last-eight of the World Cup at the expense of the Wallabies, who crash out.

Fiji will now face England in the knockout stages while Eddie Jones' Australia head home after bowing out at the pool stage for the first time in their history.

After a scrappy first half ended 3-3, the game came to life in the second half with Portugal seizing the initiative.

The underdogs got the first try in the 45th minute when the impressive Raffaele Storti, who narrowly missed a try in the first half, chased down a kick into the corner from Pedro Bettencourt and stretched to touch down, with Samuel Marques kicking the conversion.

That fired Fiji into life and just three minutes later Levani Botia replied with a powerful run before Frank Lomani levelled the scores with the extras.

But Botia was then sent to the sin bin for making head contact and Portugal were quick to make Fiji pay as they powered their way over the line with Francisco Fernandes touching down, Marques making it 17-10.

Fiji responded once more, working the ball out for Mesake Doge to go over before Lomani tied the scores, and they looked on course for victory as Lomani kicked a couple of penalties in the last 10 minutes to put Fiji 23-17 up.

But there was one last bit of drama as Storti raced towards the line and then fed Rodrigo Marta to finish it off in the 78th minute, with Marques splitting the posts to give Portugal a shock win.

The moments that made history #RWC2023 | #FIJvPOR pic.twitter.com/fc5pMOCisU

― Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 8, 2023

The teams

Fiji:  15 Sireli Maqala, 14 Selesitino Ravutaumada, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (c), 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Vinaya Habosi, 10 Vilimoni Botitu, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Meli Derenalagi, 5 Temo Mayanavanua, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Samuel Matavesi, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Tevita Ikanivere, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Peni Matawalu, 22 Teti Tela, 23 Iosefo Masi

Portugal:  15 Manuel Cardoso Pinto, 14 Raffaele Storti, 13 Pedro Bettencourt, 12 José Lima (c), 11 Rodrigo Marta, 10 Jerónimo Portela, 9 Samuel Marques, 8 Rafael Simões, 7 Nicolas Martins, 6 David Wallis, 5 Steevy Cerqueira, 4 José Madeira, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Mike Tadjer, 1 Francisco Fernandes
Replacements:  16 David Costa, 17 Duarte Diniz, 18 Anthony Alves, 19 Duarte Torgal, 20 João Granate, 21 João Belo, 22 Tomás Appleton, 23 Vincent Pinto

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Argentina advance to quarter-finals with hard-fought win over Japan

Argentina got the job done but were made to work hard for their 39-27 bonus-point victory over Japan in their Rugby World Cup encounter in Nantes on Sunday.

The result was a momentous one as it means Los Pumas advance to the global showpiece's quarter-finals as the runners-up in Pool D ― behind table-toppers England ― while the Brave Blossoms' campaign has come to an end after finishing third in the group.

In a fast-paced and highly entertaining game, Argentina were full value for their win as they outscored Japan by five tries to three with Mateo Carreras leading the way for Los Pumas with a well-taken hat-trick.

Santiago Chocobares and Emiliano Boffelli scored the South Americans' other tries and Boffelli finished with a 14-point haul after slotting three conversions and a penalty, while Nicolas Sanchez also succeeded with a conversion and a penalty.

For Japan, Amato Fakatava, Naoto Saito and Jone Naikabula crossed the whitewash while Rikiya Matsuda added three conversions and a penalty, and Lomano Lomeki slotted a drop goal.

With both sides knowing victory would see them advance to a quarter-final against Wales at the other's expense, Los Pumas sealed the spot with Carreras the star man.

A fast start by Michael Cheika's side saw Chocobares burst through a crowd of players to cross in the second minute, with Boffelli successfully converting.

Jamie Joseph's Japan hit back in the 16th minute when Fakatava chipped over a defender, reclaimed the ball and touched down, and Matsuda kicked the extras, before the Brave Blossoms were reduced to 14 men by a yellow card for Lappies Labuschagne.

Carerras then registered his first try to put Argentina back in front in the 28th minute and a subsequent penalty from Boffelli ― who had missed one earlier, along with his second conversion attempt ― made it 15-7.

Japan again rallied, with Saito crossing and Matsuda converting to leave a point in it heading into the interval.

🇦🇷 LOS PUMAS QUALIFY FOR THE QUARTER-FINALS WITH A BREATHLESS WIN OVER JAPAN. #JPNvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/e3kn7teSzK

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 8, 2023

Carreras registered his second try, converted by Boffelli, early in the second half, before a Matsuda penalty and Lemeki's drop goal closed the gap to two points at 22-20.

Argentina then wrapped things up as Boffelli scored a try and converted, and Carreras subsequently completed his treble, with Sanchez kicking that conversion and a further penalty with five minutes left.

They will now take on Wales in Marseille on Saturday.

The teams

Japan:  15 Lomano Lemeki, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Kazuki Himeno (c), 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Amato Fakatava, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Jiwon Gu, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Warner Dearns, 20 Amanaki Saumaki, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Ryohei Yamanaka, 23 Jone Naikabula

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

Referee:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Tonga claim their biggest-ever World Cup win as Romania come up short

Tonga wrapped up their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign with a bonus-point 45-24 success against Romania at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille on Sunday.

After defeats to Ireland, Scotland and South Africa, victory will taste sweet for the 'Ikale Tahi as they finish in fourth spot in Pool B ahead of the Romanians.

Solomone Kata (two), George Moala, Afusipa Taumoepeau, Sione Vailanu, Pita Ahki and Kyren Taumoefolau went over in Tonga's ruthless seven-try triumph.

Cristi Boboc, Florin Surugio and Marius Simionescu crossed for Romania as their Rugby World Cup unfortunately wraps up with zero points on the board.

The teams came into the clash without a point between them but the Pacific Islanders finished strongly to ensure they exited the competition with a win.

Although Alin Conache missed an early penalty for Romania, Tonga started with purpose and were rewarded through tries from Kata and Moala, the latter of which was converted by William Havili.

Conache kicked a penalty to make it 14-3 to Tonga after 20 minutes but Taumoepeau went over soon after and Havili again converted.

However, Romania scored a try of their own in the 31st minute when Boboc touched down after a well worked line-out.  Conache converted to reduce the deficit to 11 points.

After Tonga's Leva Fifita was shown yellow for a shoulder charge, Romania used the extra man to score again.

Surugiu, in his last international game before retiring, broke away after a scrum and evaded the defenders to cross the whitewash.  Conache again converted and the deficit was just four points.

10 minutes after the turnaround Tonga had breathing space when Vailanu's try was converted by Havili.

However, battling Romania responded well with a try from Simionescu.  Conache added the extras and the gap was down to four points again.

That was as good as it got for them though, as Ahki crossed for a try which Havili again converted with 18 minutes remaining.

Four minutes later Kata had his second try and, after Conache had been sin-binned, Taumoefolau got Tonga's seventh try to round off the scoring in an entertaining contest.

🇹🇴🙌 It has been a pleasure, Tonga! #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/DDKGXhSDJj

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 8, 2023

The teams

Tonga:  15 Salesi Piutau, 14 Solomone Kata, 13 George Moala, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Afusipa Taumoepeau, 10 William Havili, 9 Sonatane Takulua (c), 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Sione Talitui, 6 Semisi Paea, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Halaleva Fifita, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi
Replacements:  16 Sione Anga'aelangi, 17 Paula Latu, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Penitoa Finau, 21 Manusiu Paea, 22 Patrick Pellegrini, 23 Kyren Taumoefolau

Romania:  15 Marius Simionescu, 14 Nicholas Onutu, 13 Tevita Manumua, 12 Fonovai Tangimana, 11 Taliauli Sikuea, 10 Alin Conache, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Andre Gorin, 7 Cristi Boboc, 6 Vlad Neculau, 5 Marius Iftimiciuc, 4 Adrian Motoc, 3 Alexandru Gordas, 2 Ovidiu Cojocaru (c), 1 Alexandru Savin
Replacements:  16 Robert Irimescu, 17 Iulian Hartig, 18 Costel Burtila, 19 Florian Rosu, 20 Damian Stratila, 21 Gabriel Rupanu, 22 Alexandru Bucur, 23 Mihai Graure

Referee:  Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Ireland enhance Rugby World Cup credentials as they knock out Scotland

Ireland further enhanced their Rugby World Cup title credentials after they dominated Scotland in their final pool fixture, winning 36-14 on Saturday.

It was a ruthless performance from the top ranked team in global rugby as Ireland ran in four tries in the first period and two more after the interval.

James Lowe, Hugo Keenan (two), Iain Henderson, Dan Sheehan and Garry Ringrose crossed the whitewash while Johnny Sexton kicked six points.

Scotland were shell-shocked by that opening 40 minutes and only late scores from Ewan Ashman and Ali Price came as consolation as they bow out.

Gregor Townsend's men required a heroic win by eight points or more at Stade de France to snatch progression at the expense of their opponents.

But the Irish emphatically underlined their status with a thrilling display of attacking verve to avoid major drama in a feisty encounter.

Lowe's early try settled any nerves before Keenan crossed either side of a score from the recalled Henderson to quickly take the game away from the shell-shocked Scots before the break.

Sheehan and Ringrose added to the embarrassment before Scottish pair Ashman and Price claimed quickfire consolations.

Ireland will take on the All Blacks in the last eight, seeking to avenge the 46-14 thrashing suffered at the same stage of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Head coach Andy Farrell perhaps has cause for concern ahead of that showdown due apparent injuries suffered by wings Mack Hansen and Lowe.

Scotland, meanwhile, face an early flight home for the second successive tournament, with South Africa going through as Pool B runners-up to take on hosts France.

Premature departures for Blair Kinghorn, Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham due to fitness issues contributed to their woes, while Ollie Smith was shown a yellow card for causing a mass brawl.

The Scots came into the competition with one of their most talented teams in years but, following a chastening evening in the French capital, were left to rue being placed in the most difficult group alongside the reigning champions and the world's number one team.

Permutations, premature elimination and the slim possibility of the Springboks crashing out dominated the build-up to a titanic qualification shoot-out in Saint-Denis.

A deafening roar greeted the teams and the decibels were raised further among the dominant Irish support with just over a minute on the clock when Hansen sent Lowe over in the left corner after Ringrose dummied his way beyond Grant Gilchrist.

Scotland roared back and showed a statement of intent by kicking a series of penalties to the corner, forcing Ireland to ferociously repel prolonged pressure.

But their cause was not helped by losing full-back Kinghorn, whose 50th cap lasted just nine minutes, and captain Ritchie, while Ireland wing Hansen also went off.

Ireland's defiant defending was matched equally by awesome attacking enterprise and they stretched the scoreboard significantly with two quickfire tries.

Delightful slick interplay from right to left unlocked the Scottish backline, culminating in Ringrose teeing up the onrushing Keenan in the 27th minute, before Henderson marked his first start of the tournament by bulldozing over minutes later.

☘️ Hugo Keenan finishing a wonderful Ireland try. #IREvSCO #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/fPTrUWpNzy

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Far from thinking about the knock-out stages, Scotland trudged down the tunnel at the break fearing humiliation.

Ireland's well-oiled machine led 26-0 ahead at that stage with a bonus point in the bag after Sexton set up Keenan's second and then sent over his third successful conversion.

Scotland desperately needed to show some fight and did so as tempers boiled over early in the second period during a melee sparked by Smith's off-the-ball trip on Sexton.

Players from both sides piled in, with Pierre Schoeman and Sheehan ploughing over an advertising board, before instigator Smith was sin-binned.

Sheehan was on the floor again minutes later, this time diving over to claim Ireland's fifth try before Farrell wisely withdrew talisman Sexton, in addition to five of his forwards.

Jack Crowley's fine cross-field kick sent over Ringrose before Scottish resistance finally materialised in the shape of a pair of well-taken scores, each converted by the largely subdued Finn Russell.

Replacement hooker Ashman made an immediate impact by galloping over on the right to ensure his side were not whitewashed, before scrum-half Price finished a fine team move.

Yet their endeavours mattered little as Ireland comfortably marched on thanks to a 17th successive win and a ninth in a row against the eliminated Scots.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Stuart McCloskey

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Jamie Ritchie (c), 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 WP Nel, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Luke Crosbie, 22 George Horne, 23 Ollie Smith

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

England survive Samoa scare to complete clean sweep in Pool D

A late converted Danny Care try spared England's blushes as they overcame Samoa 18-17 in a thrilling Rugby World Cup pool game in Lille on Saturday.

Samoa will rue not coming out on top in a match they should have won but Care's 73rd minute crossing, converted by Owen Farrell, decided the result.

Ollie Chessum picked up England's other try on a day that Farrell surpassed Jonny Wilkinson to become England's all-time leading Test points scorer.

Meanwhile, Samoa's two tries came from wing Nigel Ah Wong while Lima Sopoaga contributed seven points off the tee as the islanders impressed.

Samoa finally discovered their mojo in the climax to a disappointing group campaign and they fell metres short with one last do-or-die assault that if successful would have produced a first-ever victory in the fixture.

A lingering sense of injustice hung over an early decision ― made once the conversion had been taken ― to chalk off Duncan Paia'aua's try for a hard-to-detect knock-on that would have propelled the underdogs 19-8 ahead.

Until this night in Lille, England had not conceded a try for 160 minutes but they were breached twice by Samoa wing Ah Wong ― and it could have been more.

Their only consistent weapon was the driving line-out and Fiji will have watched the events at Stade Pierre-Mauroy with interest, seeing how rattled Steve Borthwick's side became when faced with an incisive, off-loading attack.

England's pack made an early impact but it was the sharp handling of Farrell and Joe Marchant that led to their first try in the 10th minute as Manu Tuilagi motored forwards before sending Chessum over in the left corner.

Tuilagi tore through the midfield once again as Samoa continued to be picked apart at will with George Ford and Farrell dovetailing well and their next drive ended with a penalty from their captain that saw Wilkinson's record finally broken.

Play became ragged and England suffered as a result, their sloppy handling allowing Samoa to attack and the Islanders showed skill to thread the ball to wing Ah Wong for a classy try.

Blue shirts poured through gaps in the favourites' porous defence and they were unpicked again when Lima Sopoaga hoisted a crossfield kick for Ah-Wong to produce an inch-perfect finish.

Nothing seemed to be going right for England as they infringed at a line-out but they enjoyed a stroke of luck when Paia'aua's score off Alex Mitchell's poor clearance kick was disallowed.

A sloppy Farrell pass intended for Tuilagi invited more pressure and after going through several phases in which the try-line was tested Samoa ended the spell with a Sopoaga penalty.

England were losing every moment and they chose to play their trump card by bringing on Marcus Smith at Ford's expense with Farrell moving to fly-half.

They appeared to have scored when their pack dragged Samoa into the trenches but Chessum's try was ruled out and then Marchant was denied because of a forward pass.

Farrell landed one penalty but the shot clock expired on a second attempt and England were thrown a lifeline when Tumua Manu was shown a yellow card for tackling Farrell in the air.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇼🇸 Relief for England as Danny Care crosses. #ENGvSAM #RWC2023pic.twitter.com/7NlbUXnlW3

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Pinned back by scrum after scrum, Samoa eventually cracked when replacement scrum-half Care raced through a large gap and once Farrell converted England were back in front.

A last-gasp attack by Samoa almost swept them over but excellent scramble defence kept them out and the dream of an upset was extinguished.

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Joe Marchant, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Danny Toala, 11 Neria Fomai, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Brian Alainu'u'ese, 4 Sam Slade, 3 Michael Alaalatoa (c), 2 Sama Malolo, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 James Lay, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Sootala Fa'aso'o, 20 Alamanda Motuga, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Christian Leali'ifano, 23 Miracle Faiilagi

Referee:  Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Chris Busby (IRFU)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Louis Rees-Zammit hat-trick helps Wales to bonus-point win over Georgia

Wales wrapped up top spot in Pool C of the Rugby World Cup after they saw off Georgia 43-19 at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Saturday.

Louis Rees-Zammit crossed the try-line on three occasions while Tomas Francis, Liam Williams and George North also scored as they made it four wins out of four.

Wales now prepare for a quarter-final next Saturday but will be sweating over the fitness of fly-half Gareth Anscombe, who pulled out of this game in the warm-up.

Anscombe's late replacement Sam Costelow kicked five conversions and a penalty, although Georgia fought back to 24-19 adrift at one point through tries from Merab Sharikadze, Vano Karkadze and Davit Niniashvili, with Luka Matkava kicking two conversions.

A protracted mass brawl late in the game that spilled over the touchline and involved replacements from both sides saw Niniashvili and Wales substitute Taine Basham yellow-carded.

Wales were home and dry by this stage, although there was more injury concern when number eight Taulupe Faletau went off nursing what appeared to be a wrist problem.

Costelow mixed his running and kicking game well in the early stages, but Wales could get no change out of a well-organised Georgia defence.

There were plenty of errors in perfect playing conditions from both sides, but Wales broke the deadlock after 16 minutes.

A powerful lineout drive put Georgia on the back-foot, before Tomos Williams' short inside pass resulted in Francis going over for a try that Costelow converted.

Wales had settled into a rhythm, and they struck from another attacking lineout just seven minutes later.

Lock Will Rowlands secured quality possession and, when the ball was moved wide Liam Williams finished impressively.  Costelow's conversion made it 14-0.

A Costelow penalty then opened up a 17-point advantage, and Wales appeared to be well on their way to a fourth successive pool victory.

Georgia regrouped as the first-half drew to a close, and Sharikadze claimed a try that Matkava converted following a sustained spell of pressure.

It was a warning for Wales that they could not switch off as they took a 17-7 lead into the interval.

Georgia began the second period on the front foot, but a midfield fumble saw North find Rees-Zammit, and the Gloucester speedster cruised clear from 60 metres out to claim his third try of the tournament.

Costelow converted, and it was exactly what Wales required after Georgia had threatened a fightback before the break.

Warren Gatland changed the entire front row after 50 minutes, with Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee and Henry Thomas all joining the action.

And while Wales were comfortably ahead, Georgia kept searching for attacking opportunities in their final game of the competition after defeats against Australia and Fiji and a draw with Portugal.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Try as soon as it got to Louis Rees-Zammit. #WALvGEO #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/ck8du7Elnm

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 7, 2023

Their resilience was then rewarded with 20 minutes left when replacement hooker Karkadze went over and Matkava converted.

And Georgia immediately conjured a third try, this time from Niniashvili, making it 24-18 and giving Wales plenty to be concerned about.

Gatland's team were in danger of unravelling, but just when they needed it, Rees-Zammit applied a brilliant finish for his second try which Costelow converted, making it 31-19.

And when Rees-Zammit claimed his hat-trick crossing, Wales were home before North's try ― and Wales' sixth ― completed the scoring, with Japan or Argentina now awaiting as their quarter-final opponents.

The teams

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Mason Grady

Georgia:  15 Lasha Khmaladze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Nodar Cheishvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements:  16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Irakli Aptsiauri, 19 Vladimer Chachanidze, 20 Giorgi Tsutskiridze, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Demur Tapladze

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  James Doleman (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Ruthless France hammer Italy to lock up top spot in Pool A

France wrapped up top spot in Pool A as they dominated Italy, winning 60-7 at OL Stadium in Lyon as they progress to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.

Tries from Damian Penaud (two), Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Thomas Ramos, Matthieu Jalibert, Peato Mauvaka and Yoram Moafana (two) helped Les Bleus to victory.

Ramos would further chip in with six conversions and one penalty while Melvyn Jaminet kicked a conversion and a late penalty as France eased to a maximum.

For Italy it was another sobering night as they only slightly improved on the 96-17 loss to New Zealand, with this defeat seeing them bow out of the World Cup.

Only a monumental defeat would have seen the hosts crash out, but that was never going to happen as Les Bleus ran in eight tries in Lyon.

Penaud (two), Bielle-Biarrey and Ramos all crossed the line in the first half, with Jalibert, Mauvaka and Moefana (two) adding second-half efforts as they ran riot with a record-breaking win over their opponents.

It sets up a quarter-final clash with either South Africa or Ireland and they will be dreaming of World Cup glory on their own soil.

Italy's interest ends with a mauling, with Manuel Zuliani's 70th-minute try finally getting them on the scoresheet, but they head home at the conclusion of their Pool A campaign.

The French domination started early as Penaud crossed in the corner in just the third minute before Bielle-Biarrey side-stepped a late tackle 10 minutes later.

Then Ramos and Jalibert gave the hosts a 31-0 lead at half-time.

The onslaught continued after the break as Mauvaka rolled over from a lineout, with Moefana getting his first after collecting Penaud's pass.

Zuliani finally got Italy on the board with 10 minutes remaining but Moefana powered through to complete the rout.

They can now sit back and wait to find out their last-eight opponents.

🇫🇷🇮🇹 Damian Penaud just cannot stop scoring. #FRAvITA #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/4OejVj0G27

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 6, 2023

The teams

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Yoram Moefana, 23 Melvyn Jaminet

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Paolo Garbisi, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Simone Ferrari
Replacements:  16 Marco Manfredi, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 David Sisi, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Fusco, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Lorenzo Pani

Referee:  Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Damian McKenzie-inspired All Blacks reach the World Cup quarter-finals

New Zealand made sure of their place in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup after they thrashed Uruguay 73-0 at the OL Stadium.

Los Teros were impressive in the opening quarter and almost took the lead through Manuel Ardao but, after Damian McKenzie touched down, the All Blacks cut loose.

Ian Foster's men made far too many errors in the first 20 minutes, but they eventually found their rhythm and secured the all-important bonus-point by the break through Richie Mo'unga, Will Jordan and Cam Roigard, who added to McKenzie's earlier score.

The full-back then completed his brace while Fletcher Newell, Leicester Fainga'anuku (three), Jordan and Tamaiti Williams also crossed the whitewash in the second period to complete a dominant win.

It sealed New Zealand's passage into the last-eight of the World Cup, where they will be joined by either France or Italy, who go head-to-head on Friday for the other qualification spot in Pool A.

After putting nearly 100 points on Italy last week, the All Blacks had to wait 20 minutes to make the breakthrough here, McKenzie crossing for the first of their 11 tries.

They had wrapped up the bonus point before half-time thanks to further tries from Mo'unga, who slotted over five conversions, a stylish effort from Jordan and scrum-half Roigard.

Uruguay did not allow their heads to drop, but they were powerless to stop New Zealand crossing seven times in the second half, with Fainga'anuku scoring a hat-trick.

Newell and Williams were among the scorers, while McKenzie finished off a brilliant move, and Jordan also claimed a second try.

It was again a landmark evening for veteran lock Sam Whitelock, who, after becoming the most capped All Black last week, celebrated a 150th Test appearance and a record 23rd at the World Cup.

New Zealand will now prepare for their quarter-final clash, most likely against Ireland, in what will be a much stiffer test of their title credentials.

They may also be without tighthead duo Tyrel Lomax and Newell for that encounter after both props were forced off injured.

That leaves Nepo Laulala as their only recognised tighthead, although Williams can cover there if needs be.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leicester Fainga'anuku, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Tupou Vaa'i, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Replacements:  16 Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ethan Blackadder, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Caleb Clarke

Uruguay:  15 Rodrigo Silva, 14 Gaston Mieres, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Matias Benitez, 18 Ignacio Peculo, 19 Juan Manuel Rodríguez, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Felipe Berchesi, 23 Juan Manuel Alonso

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Springboks claim maximum against Tonga as they await knockout fate

South Africa did all they could in their final Rugby World Cup pool game after they saw off Tonga 49-18 in a bonus-point win at Stade de Marseille on Sunday.

The maximum haul puts the Springboks on 15 points at the end of their pool campaign, with rivals Ireland (14) and Scotland (10) set to face off next weekend to determine who finishes first, second and third in the toughest group of this year's tournament.

Cobus Reinach, Canan Moodie, Deon Fourie, Jesse Kriel, Willie Le Roux, Marco van Staden and Kwagga Smith claimed South Africa's tries on the night.

It was also a welcome return to international rugby for Handre Pollard, who was 100% off the tee before being replaced by Manie Libbok on 51 minutes.

Ben Tameifuna, Fine Inisi and Patrick Pellegrini were Tonga's try scorers in an impressive performance ahead of their Pool B finale against Romania.

Ireland could have been sure of a quarter-final place before their final pool match against Scotland had the Springboks failed to beat Tonga, who had lost both previous games.

Andy Farrell's men, though, can guarantee top spot if they avoid defeat by Scotland, whose own qualification hopes are slim.

Tonga got the first points on the board at the Stade Velodrome through an early penalty from William Havili.

But South Africa were soon in front when scrum-half Reinach tapped up a quick penalty before sprinting over in the corner.

The Springboks further extended their lead in the 20th minute when the ball bounced off Vincent Koch's shoulder and straight to Moodie, who darted under the posts.

Makazole Mapimpi went off for a head-injury assessment after being caught by Augustine Pulu as they ducked into a tackle.  English referee Luke Pearce and the TMO agreed it was not a yellow-card offense by the Tongan, who was down on his knees at point of contact.

South Africa, edged out 13-8 by Ireland at the Stade de France, scored again through Fourie on the half-hour mark following a driving maul from a lineout before Tonga had a try on the board when captain Tameifuna powered over to reduce the deficit to 21-8 at half-time.

The Springboks secured a bonus-point try early in the second half when replacement Kriel pushed over and the TMO then ruled against a yellow card to Eben Etzebeth for a collision with Tonga full-back Salesi Piutau.

A masterclass in Marseille

Congratulations to @Springboks' Deon Fourie on being named the @Mastercard #POTM #RWC2023 | #RSAvTGA | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/7ZgP6tAR8q

― Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 1, 2023

Tonga responded again as winger Inisi touched down in the corner, only for Le Roux to go over down the left and South Africa replacement Van Staden added another try following a well-worked swift counter.

Coventry fly-half Pellegrini produced a memorable moment as he chased down his own kick to score under the posts before Smith dived over for South Africa's seventh try in added time.

The teams

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Grant Williams, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Deon Fourie, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Marco van Staden, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Jesse Kriel, 23 Manie Libbok

Tonga:  15 Salesi Piutau, 14 Fine Inisi, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Anzelo Tuitavuki, 10 William Havili, 9 Augustine Pulu, 8 Semisi Paea, 7 Sione Talitui, 6 Tanginoa Halaifonua, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Halaleva Fifita, 3 Ben Tameifuna (c), 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi
Replacements:  16 Sam Moli, 17 Tau Koloamatangi, 18 Sosefo Apikotoa, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Patrick Pellegrini, 23 Afusipa Taumoepeau

Referee:  Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (RFU), Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (RA)

Wallabies keep slim hopes alive with hard-fought win over Portugal

Australia kept alive their slim hopes of progressing to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after claiming a 34-14 bonus-point victory over Portugal on Sunday.

The five-point haul in Saint-Etienne puts the Wallabies one point ahead of Fiji in Pool C, but crucially the islanders still have one fixture to play next week.

That clash will see Fiji face Os Lobos in Toulouse where Australia will be praying for a miracle that sees the former fail to pick up anything from the game.

Portugal, as they proved once again on Sunday, will be no pushover as they caused Australia plenty of problems at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in this match.

Tries from Richie Arnold, Dave Porecki, Angus Bell, Fraser McReight and Marika Koroibete secured the bonus-point win but it was far from straightforward.

Pedro Bettencourt and Rafael Simoes crossed for Os Lobos as they dominated large spells of the contest, garnering even more supporters at this tournament.

Ben Donaldson's penalty put the first points on the board for Australia four minutes in, but Portugal scored the first try of the game as Bettencourt crossed in the corner with Samuel Marques converting.

Bettencourt was then sin-binned, but Donaldson missed the subsequent penalty and the Wallabies then quickly responded with a try to retake the lead as Arnold crossed, with Donaldson able to convert.

With Portugal a man down, the tries came in quick succession for Australia from Porecki and Bell, with Donaldson adding the extras.

Nicolas Martins thought he had pulled a try back for Portugal just before the break but it was chalked off thanks to Andrew Kellaway's tackle and Australia led 24-7 at half-time.

👏 What a tackle, Andrew Kellaway! #AUSvPOR #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/Tq8NGcihyq

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 1, 2023

McReight crossed six minutes into the second half to secure the bonus point the Wallabies needed to stay alive in the tournament, before Portugal had another try disallowed after Mike Tadjer lost control of the ball.

There was danger for Australia as they were reduced to 13 when Matt Faessler and Samu Kerevi were sin-binned within two minutes of each other.

Portugal took advantage as Simoes scored a converted try with 10 minutes to go, but Koroibete added Australia's fifth try to finish the game off.

The teams

Australia:  15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Lalakai Foketi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Richie Arnold, 4 Nick Frost, 3 James Slipper, 2 David Porecki (c), 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Matt Faessler, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Pone Fa'amausili, 19 Rob Leota, 20 Josh Kemeny, 21 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 22 Samu Kerevi, 23 Suliasi Vunivalu

Portugal:  15 Nuno Sousa Guedes, 14 Raffaele Storti, 13 Pedro Bettencourt, 12 Tomás Appleton (c), 11 Rodrigo Marta, 10 Jerónimo Portela, 9 Samuel Marques, 8 Thibault de Freitas, 7 Nicolas Martins, 6 David Wallis, 5 Martim Belo, 4 José Madeira, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Mike Tadjer, 1 David Costa
Replacements:  16 Francisco Fernandes, 17 Duarte Diniz, 18 Francisco Bruno, 19 Steevy Cerqueira, 20 Rafael Simoes, 21 Joao Belo, 22 Joris Moura, 23 Manuel Cardoso Pinto

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Joy Neville (Ireland)

Scotland hammer Romania to set up decisive World Cup clash with Ireland

Scotland emphatically did their job in Lille on Saturday as they thrashed Romania 84-0 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Darcy Graham was no doubt the standout player, lighting up the game with four tries and a number of other thrilling surges during the match.

Three of his scores came in the first period as Gregor Townsend's men went into the interval 42-0 in front.  Hamish Watson, Ali Price and Matt Fagerson also crossed the whitewash before the break as the Scots threatened to put a century of points on the Oaks.

And when Chris Harris, Ollie Smith and Ben Healy touched down, it very much looked on, but they got a bit loose in the final quarter to prevent them from reaching that milestone.

However, Scotland finished with a flourish thanks to tries from Johnny Matthews, Rory Darge and Graham to give them a confidence boost heading into their big match against Ireland, which will ultimately decide their World Cup fate.

The Scots were so confident of getting the result they required at Stade Pierre-Mauroy that they made 13 changes from the side that started against Tonga the previous Sunday, preserving most of their A-listers for the Ireland match in Paris which they must win with a bonus point or by denying their opponents one in order to reach the quarter-finals.

There was no danger of the decision to field so many fringe men backfiring from the moment Watson got the Scots off and running with the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The experienced Edinburgh flanker ― who has lost the number seven jersey to the burgeoning Darge this year ― marked his return to the starting line-up by bounding over on the right after Cam Redpath offloaded into his path as he was thwarted on his own charge towards the line.

Price ― like Watson, another 2021 British and Irish Lions squad member who has become a peripheral player for the national team this year ― got the second in the 17th minute after being played in by Graham.

It was Graham's turn to get on the scoresheet just four minutes later when he touched down following a brilliant individual run, bringing him level with his Edinburgh team-mate Van der Merwe, one of those given the night off.

Romania ― already bang up against it ― completely imploded in the closing 10 minutes of the first half when they had three players sin-binned and conceded a further three tries.

Hooker Robert Irimescu was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Healy and just a couple of minutes later they were reduced to 13, when back-rower Florian Rosu was yellow-carded for collapsing a maul.

Scotland took full advantage as Graham scored his second of the evening to move ahead of Duhan van der Merwe and level with Chris Paterson in the country's try-scoring charts.

💨 Darcy Graham is RAPID!!#RWC2023 #SCOvROMpic.twitter.com/zM29Guvsqg

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 30, 2023

Fagerson bulldozed his way over for the fifth, but only after Ollie Smith had been the victim of a nasty high tackle in the build-up from Marius Simionescu, who became the third Romanian to be sin-binned before the break.

There was still time before the interval for Graham to complete his hat-trick as the Edinburgh wing moved ahead of Paterson and into fourth place on his own.  All six first-half tries were converted by Healy as the Scots went in 42-0 to the good at half-time.

The scores kept coming after the break, with Harris, Smith, Healy, Matthews ― shortly after coming on for his debut ― and Darge all touching down.

Graham then raced over for his fourth of the night as the Scots ran up their second-highest win at a World Cup, finishing just five points shy of the 89-0 victory they enjoyed against Ivory Coast in 1995.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Ollie Smith, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Kyle Steyn, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Sam Skinner, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:  16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 WP Nel, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Rory Darge, 21 George Horne, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Huw Jones

Romania:  15 Marius Simionescu, 14 Sioeli Lama, 13 Jason Tomane, 12 Fonovai Tangimana, 11 Taliauli Sikuea, 10 Alin Conache, 9 Gabriel Rupanu, 8 Cristian Chirica (c), 7 Dragos Ser, 6 Florian Rosu, 5 Stefan Iancu, 4 Adrian Motoc, 3 Gheorghe Gajion, 2 Robert Irimescu, 1 Alexandru Savin
Replacements:  16 Florin Bardasu, 17 Iulian Hartig, 18 Costel Burtila, 19 Marius Iftimiciuc, 20 Damian Stratila, 21 Florin Surugiu, 22 Tudor Boldor, 23 Nicholas Onutu

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Fiji move a step closer to the quarter-finals after tense victory over Georgia

Fiji will have to wait to secure their passage into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals despite overcoming Georgia 17-12 in Bordeaux.

The Pacific Islanders needed a win with a try bonus-point over the Lelos to make sure of their place in the last-eight, but they could only touch down two times.

Quite frankly, they will be thankful for those scores as they found themselves 9-0 behind at the break following penalties from Luka Matkava and David Niniashvili.

Georgia were hugely impressive, forcing their opponents into a number of handling errors, but the Flying Fijians' greater quality eventually told.

Simon Raiwalui's men calmed themselves down in the second period, stopped dropping the ball so much and went over twice through Waisea Nayacalevu and Vinaya Habosi.

That, alongside seven points from the boot of Frank Lomani, was enough to claim the win and take them to within touching distance of the knockout stages.

Should Australia fail to pick up a bonus-point victory over Portugal, that will be enough for Fiji, but more than likely they will need to claim something from their final pool game against Os Lobos.

Georgia's opportunism and brilliant defence gave them a surprise nine-point lead at the break.

Matkava opened the scoring, with the boot of Niniashvili adding six points from long range.

It was the first time Fiji had gone into the interval scoreless in a Test in six years.

Fiji finally got on the scoreboard six minutes into the second half as skipper Nayacalevu produced a brilliant finish under pressure to sneak over in the corner.

Lomani added a difficult conversion and, strengthened by the return of Semi Radradra from the sin bin, Fiji piled on the pressure.

Lomani's penalty gave them the lead for the first time with 15 minutes remaining.

Three minutes later Levani Botia charged through a gap and found Habosi, who sprinted over unopposed.

Lomani landed the conversion but there was more drama in the final minute as Josua Tuisova was sent to the sin bin for making head contact on Miriani Modebadze.

Matkava kicked his second penalty and Fiji survived from the final play of the game when Niniashvili broke down the left and kicked ahead, only for Ilaisa Droasese, behind his line, to hack the ball to safety.

The teams

Fiji:  15 Ilaisa Droasese, 14 Selesitino Ravutaumada, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (c), 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Teti Tela, 9 Simione Kuruvoli, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 5 Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Tevita Ikanivere, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Samu Tawake, 19 Temo Mayanavanua, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Frank Lomani, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Vinaya Habosi

Georgia:  15 Miriani Modebadze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Demur Tapladze, 12 Giorgi Kveseladze, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Luka Matkava, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Tornike Jalagonia, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Mikheil Gachechiladze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Lasha Jaiani, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Tengizi Zamtaradze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili (c)
Replacements:  16 Luka Nioradze, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Irakli Aptsiauri, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Luka Ivanishvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Tedo Abzhandadze, 23 Tornike Kakhoidze

Referee:  Karl Dickson (England)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Tom Foley (England)

Los Pumas power past neighbours Chile in all-South American Test

Argentina claimed an impressive 59-5 bonus-point win over Chile in the first-ever all-South American Test at a Rugby World Cup on Saturday.

It was a day to remember for fly-half Nicolas Sanchez who became the second centurion for Argentina, following in the footsteps of Agustin Creevy.  Fittingly it was the veteran playmaker who opened the scoring with a ninth-minute try.

Los Pumas looked to compound the scoreboard through a 12th-minute penalty before the floodgates opened with Juan Martin Gonzalez crossing after a quarter of an hour with Sanchez making no mistake from the tee.  The pivot would be accurate again when converting a Creevy try scored seven minutes later.

Chile did their best to come back into the game but trailed 24-0 at half-time in this one.  Their fortunes remained the same when Martin Bogado scored for Argentina five minutes into the second period with the extras added.

The Chileans thought they had scored against their neighbours minutes later but it was ruled out for a forward pass.  Still, the side pushed for a try but their hopes were dashed when Rodrigo Isgro crossed for a converted try in the 64th minute.

Gonzalez was at the double minutes late with yet another try as Sanchez became the country's all-time leading Rugby World Cup points-scorer with another conversion.

Chile's try would finally come after the backline players joined a maul to eventually rumble over for a five-pointer through Tomas Dussaillant which went unconverted.  That would not be the final say as Argentine star Ignacio Ruiz scored a late try with Santiago Carreras kicking the conversion.

Carreras was involved again only minutes later as he scored right at the death.  The fly-half then stood up to nail the conversion from the touchline to cap off a historic match.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Martín Bogado, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Joel Sclavi
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Joaquín Oviedo, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

Chile:  15 Inaki Ayarza, 14 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 José Ignacio Larenas, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 8 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements:  16 Tomas Dussaillant, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Augusto Sarmiento, 20 Alfonso Escobar, 21 Ignacio Silva, 22 Nicolas Herreros, 23 Francisco Urroz

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (RA), James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

All Blacks thrash Italy, scoring 96 points in statement World Cup victory

New Zealand sent a message to their 2023 Rugby World Cup rivals that they are not to be written off after they crushed a sorry Italy 96-17 in Lyon on Friday.

A grand total of 14 tries were chalked up by a rampant All Blacks outfit, who seem in ominous form since their opening night defeat to host nation France.

Aaron Smith led the way with a hat-trick of tries while Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Dane Coles grabbed two each, with Mark Telea, Brodie Retallick, Dalton Papali'i, Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown rounding out the scoring.

Richie Mo'unga kicked 18 points off the tee while replacement McKenzie chipped in with a further four conversions on a wonderful night for New Zealand.

The only bright moments of note for a disappointing Italy side came via second-half tries from Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane as they were well beaten.

Italy would have dumped New Zealand out of the competition with a win but that never looked remotely on the cards from the moment in the sixth minute when Jordie Barrett launched a perfect cross-field kick for Jordan, who performed a leaping touchdown in the corner.

Tommaso Allan got Italy on the board early with a penalty but the rest of the first half was a horror show as Smith crossed three times, Savea twice and Telea once, with the line-out proving particularly profitable.

Mo'unga converted all seven first-half tries and nine in total, missing only his 10th attempt before being substituted.

Trailing 49-3 at half-time, Italy came out strongly for the second half and scored their first try in the 48th minute, Capuozzo showing his speed in the corner.

But the All Blacks went straight down the other end and crossed again, Retallick applying the finish touch after Scott Barrett had charged down an attempted clearance.

Cam Roigard was denied a try after he was deemed to have made a double movement but moments later Papali'i notched the All Blacks' ninth score.

An all-action performance on an impressive evening for his team

Congratulations to @AllBlacks backrow Ardie Savea on being named @Mastercard #POTM#RWC2023 | #NZLvITA | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/WMuULR6TRA

― Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2023

They were approaching a century as Coles twice, McKenzie, Jordan and Lienert-Brown all scythed through the Italian defence.

The final word went to Italy through Ioane's try but this was emphatically the All Blacks' night.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali'i, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Italy:  15 Tommaso Allan, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements:  16 Hame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Niccolo Cannone, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Toa Halafihi, 22 Martin Page-Relo, 23 Paolo Odogwu

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)