Poor England open campaign with error-strewn win

England began their Rugby World Cup campaign with an unconvincing performance as they struggled to a 35-3 bonus-point triumph over Tonga in Sapporo.

It was a tight opening from both teams as Owen Farrell and Sonatane Takulua traded penalties but the Red Rose moved away before the break as Manu Tuilagi touched down twice.

Farrell then added his second three-pointer for an 18-3 advantage at the interval before Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie completed a mistake-ridden win in the second half.

Eddie Jones’ men have been quick starters this year but they were met by a resilient and physical Tongan outfit.  The Six Nations outfit did take the lead via a Farrell penalty but their opponents responded superbly with sheer brute force.

Billy Vunipola, whose father Feʻao captained ‘Ikale Tahi at the 1999 global tournament, was hammered by Zane Kapeli with his first carry and that led to a penalty.  Takulua was on target and Toutai Kefu’s charges deservedly levelled matters going into the second quarter.

The Tongans’ defence was beginning to show signs of breaking, however, and Tuilagi almost set-up England’s first try as he broke through and fed Sam Underhill.

Although the flanker was held up, the Red Rose’s Samoan-born centre was rewarded for his earlier surge by receiving the ball five metres out and charging his way over.

Following that score, England opened up and touched down for the second time when Jonny May scampered down the left and found Tuilagi, who crossed the whitewash unopposed.

🏉 Tuilagi's on 🔥

Nice build-up from Elliot Daly who goes on to feed Manu Tuilagi who cruises over for his second try 🙌#RWC2019 #ENGvTGA pic.twitter.com/sdXmYWA5ro

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 22, 2019

Jones’ side were now well on top and, after a period of pressure on the Tonga line, Farrell added his second three-pointer for a 15-point buffer at the interval.

They then controlled the early stages of the second period and earned a penalty, allowing the Saracens playmaker to extend their lead, but there were too many errors.  England regularly dropped the ball and it let a tiring Ikale Tahi off the hook.

As a result of their loose play, several replacements were made and it immediately paid dividends as a dominant maul powered towards the line and George was the beneficiary of his team-mates’ good work.

It didn’t truly have the desired effect, though, with the Six Nations side incredibly slack and that kept the scoreboard down.  Credit must also go to Tonga, who were spirited and prevented England from gaining momentum, but it was a poor display by Jones’ men.

The Red Rose did manage to gain the crucial bonus-point when Jonathan Joseph broke through and fed Cowan-Dickie to finish, but they will need a vast improvement over the coming weeks.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Tuilagi 2, George, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pens:  Farrell 3

For Tonga:
Pen:  Takulua

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jonathan Joseph

Tonga:  15 David Halaifonua, 14 Atieli Pakalani, 13 Siale Piutau (c), 12 Cooper Vuna, 11 Viliami Lolohea, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Zane Kapeli, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Halaleva Fifita, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Sosefo Sakalia, 1 Siegfried ‘Fisiihoi
Replacements:  16 Siua Maile, 17 Latu Talakai, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Dan Faleafa, 20 Nasi Manu, 21 Leon Fukofuka, 22 James Faiva, 23 Nafi Tu’itavake

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Bonus-point win for Ireland over Scotland

Ireland made a statement of intent courtesy of a 27-3 triumph against Scotland in their opening Rugby World Cup match in Yokohama on Sunday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair as Ireland dominated most facets of play and the Scots seemed shell-shocked by the intensity and accuracy in execution of their opponents.

Ireland were clinical and efficient throughout and were rewarded with tries from James Ryan, Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Conway which secured them a deserved bonus point, while Jonathan Sexton and Conor Murray added a conversion apiece and Jack Carty succeeded with a penalty.

Scotland’s only points came via a first half penalty from Greig Laidlaw.

The match started at a frenetic pace with both sides giving the ball plenty of air and this tactic paid dividends for Ireland in the sixth minute when Ryan crashed over from close quarters after Iain Henderson laid the groundwork with a barnstorming run in the build-up.

Ireland continued to dominate as the half progressed and extended their lead in the 14th minute when Best dotted down from a lineout drive deep inside Scotland’s 22.

Midway through the half, Ireland’s forwards infringed at a ruck and Laidlaw opened his side’s account when he slotted the resulting penalty.  But that was as good as it got for Scotland during the opening period as they struggled to exert themselves during the rest of the half.

In the 25th minute, Joe Schmidt’s troops went further ahead courtesy of Furlong’s try from close range, after a strong carry in the build-up from CJ Stander off the back of a scrum on Scotland’s five-metre line.

Sexton had injured a groin muscle earlier and although he stayed on the field, Murray converted and things went from bad to worse for Scotland when shortly before half-time, Hamish Watson was forced off the field with what looked like a serious knee injury.

On the stroke of half-time, Murray lined up a shot at goal, after Scotland’s forwards were blown up for illegal scrummaging, but his effort was off target which meant Ireland held a 19-3 lead at half-time.

#RWC2019

FULL TIME SCORE: IRELAND 27-3 SCOTLAND #TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #IREvSCO pic.twitter.com/H40EJ3cfIn

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 22, 2019

The match restarted in atrocious weather conditions with heavy rain restricting play mostly to the forwards during the early stages of the new half.

That led to several unforced errors from both sides but Ireland adapted better to the conditions and extended their lead in the 56th minute when Conway found himself in space out wide before stepping past a couple of defenders on his way over the try-line.

That secured his team’s bonus point and Ireland sealed their win courtesy of Carty’s penalty in the 68th minute after Simon Berghan strayed offside on defence deep inside his half.

With the game in the bag, Ireland took their foot off the pedal although they finished with 14 men when Tadhg Beirne was yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul inside his half in the 70th minute.

It mattered little though as the damage had long since been done, with Ireland throwing down a marker in their Rugby World Cup opener.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Ryan, Best, Furlong, Conway
Cons:  Sexton, Murray
Pen:  Carty
Yellow Card:  Beirne

For Scotland:
Pen:  Laidlaw

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Chris Farrell

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Blade Thomson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Chris Harris, 23 Darcy Graham

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gaüzère (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Italy get the better of plucky Namibia

Italy made a positive start to their Rugby World Cup campaign when they notched a 47-22 bonus-point win over Namibia in Higashiosaka on Sunday.

Despite the big winning margin, the Azzurri were made to work for this result as Namibia were competitive for long periods.

But in the end, the Azzurri had to much firepower for their opponents and eventually outscored them by seven tries to three.  Tommaso Allan, Tito Tebaldi, Edoardo Padovani, Carlo Canna, Jake Polledri and Matteo Minozzi all dotted down while Allan (3) and Canna (2) added conversions.

Damian Stevens, JC Greyling and Chad Plato scored tries for Namibia and Cliven Loubser added two conversions and a penalty.

Namibia had the better of the early exchanges and took the lead in the sixth minute courtesy of a fine try from Stevens.  This, after an Italian lineout went awry close to the halfway line and Torsten van Jaarsveld pounced on the loose ball before setting up a phase just inside his opponents’ half.

The ball was shifted wide to Plato, who set off on a blistering run down the right-hand touchline which had Italy’s defence at sixes and sevens.  He got a pass out to Darryl De la Harpe and he did well to offload to Stevens, who rounded off with a spectacular dive.

Loubser added the extras which meant the Welwitschias had their tails up with the score 7-0 in their favour.

Their joy was short-lived, however, as Italy drew level by the 10th minute when referee Nic Berry awarded a penalty try after Namibia capitulated under great pressure at a scrum on their five-metre line.

That score was a shot in the arm for the Azzurri, who held a slight edge during the rest of the half.  In the 25th minute they took the lead when Luca Morisi set off on a 40-metre run before being brought to ground five metres short of Namibia’s try-line.  From the ensuing ruck, Tebaldi got a pass out to Allan, who crashed over under the posts before slotting the conversion which gave his side a 14-7 lead.

The rest of the half was a scrappy affair, although the Azzurri extended their lead on the stroke of half-time when Tebaldi crossed for their third try after gathering a superb offload from Federico Ruzza in the build-up.

Allan’s conversion was successful which meant Italy held a 21-7 lead at half-time.

FT: After an impressive performance, @Federugby get the win beating Namibia 47-22 #ITAvNAM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/wGiW2u4Di3

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 22, 2019

The second half started brightly for the Azzurri when Padovani gathered a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Benvenuti before scoring his side’s bonus-point try in the 45th minute, and they went further ahead when Canna dotted down shortly afterwards.

Despite those setbacks, Namibia did not surrender and another Loubser penalty was followed by a try from Greyling, who scored out wide after running onto a well-timed pass from his fly-half.

Italy soon regained the initiative and they dominated during the latter stages of the match.  In the 66th minute, Polledri crossed the whitewash off the back of a lineout drive before Minozzi sealed their win with his try five minutes later.

Namibia would finish stronger, however, and were rewarded with a superb try from Plato in the game’s closing stages.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Penalty try, Allan, Tebaldi, Padovani, Canna, Polledri, Minozzi
Cons:  Allan 3, Canna 2

For Namibia:
Tries:  Stevens, Greyling, Plato
Cons:  Loubser 2
Pen:  Loubser

Italy:  15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Edoardo Padovani, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Maxime Mbandà, 6 Braam Steyn, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements:  16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Simone Ferrari, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Matteo Minozzi

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 Chad Plato, 13 Justin Newman, 12 Darryl De la Harpe, 11 JC Greyling, 10 Cliven Loubser, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Janco Venter, 7 Wian Conradie, 6 Rohan Kitshoff, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi (c), 4 PJ Van Lill, 3 Johannes Coetzee, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Andre Rademeyer
Replacements:  16 Louis van der Westhuizen, 17 AJ De Klerk, 18 Nelius Theron, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Max Katjijeko, 21 Eugene Jantjies, 22 Helarius Axasman Kisting, 23 Lesley Klim

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

All Blacks hold off Springboks in Yokohama

New Zealand took a giant step towards reaching the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals when they beat South Africa 23-13 in their tournament opener in Yokohama on Saturday.

There was plenty of hype around this fixture and that was justified as the teams went at each other hammer and tongs from the kick off.  The match was characterised by great physicality from both teams but New Zealand’s attacking play was of a superior quality, especially in the first half, and that helped them to victory in the end.

The world champions eventually outscored their opponents by two tries to one with George Bridge and Scott Barrett dotting down in that first half.  Their other points came via two penalties and two conversions from Richie Mo’unga as well as a penalty from Beauden Barrett.

For South Africa, who showed considerable improvement in the second period, Pieter-Steph du Toit crossed the whitewash and Handré Pollard added a conversion, a penalty and a drop goal.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested, although the Springboks opened the scoring as early as the second minute when Pollard landed a long range penalty.

The next 15 minutes was a topsy-turvy affair but that period of play was littered with errors from both sides.

South Africa had a chance to extend their lead in the 19th minute when Pollard took a straightforward shot at goal but his effort struck an upright and the All Blacks scrambled to get the ball into touch.

The All Blacks made the Boks pay for that miss as shortly afterwards Mo’unga slotted a penalty to draw his side level and they increased their lead in the 24th minute when Bridge crossed for the opening try.

This, after Sevu Reece did brilliantly when he launched a counter-attack from just outside his 22.  Ardie Savea also did well in the build-up with a strong carry before the ball was shifted wide to Bridge, who rounded off despite a desperate tackle from Willie le Roux.

Soon after that, Anton Lienert-Brown tore South Africa’s defence to shreds with a mazy run in which he beat four defenders and he did well to draw in the last defender inside the Boks’ 22 before offloading to Scott Barrett, who had an easy run-in under the posts.

The closing stages of the half saw the Springboks launch several attacks inside New Zealand territory but that reaped no reward and the teams changed sides with the All Blacks holding a 17-3 lead at half-time.

FT | Job done in Yokohama.  Thanks for another epic contest @Springboks.#NZLvRSA #BACKBLACK pic.twitter.com/nI2QE65Z6F

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) September 21, 2019

The Boks were fastest out of the blocks after the restart and were put on the front-foot courtesy of a brilliant attacking run from Cheslin Kolbe.  The diminutive wing made a superb break down the right-hand touchline and only a fine cover tackle from Mo’unga prevented him from scoring a try in the corner.

Despite regathering possession, New Zealand did not kick the ball into touch but opted to run it instead and that decision came back to haunt them as the Boks soon won a turnover.  And after setting up some phases, Du Toit broke through the middle of a ruck inside the All Blacks’ 22 before crossing for an easy try next to the posts.

Pollard added the extras which meant the Boks were back in the game as the All Blacks were now leading by just seven points.  The Boks continued to dominate and, after taking the ball through several phases close to the All Blacks’ 10-metre line, the ball came out to Pollard, who narrowed the gap to four points with a well-taken drop goal.

Despite being under the cosh, the world champions did not panic and restored their seven-point lead in the 61st minute when Mo’unga succeeded with another penalty after the Boks’ forwards were blown up for illegal scrummaging.

Ten minutes later, South Africa’s backline strayed offside on defence and Barrett added his three-pointer off the kicking tee which gave his side a 23-13 lead with just under 10 minutes left on the clock.

The closing stages was a frantic affair as the Boks tried to close the gap and in the 76th minute Kolbe, who was brilliant throughout, set off on another superb attacking run but Savea halted his progress close to the All Blacks’ try-line before winning a crucial turnover.

Although the Boks continued to attack, they would not score further points as New Zealand’s defence held firm in the game’s dying moments which secured them an important win.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Bridge, S Barrett
Cons:  Mo’unga 2
Pens:  Mo’unga 2, B Barrett

For South Africa:
Try:  Du Toit
Con:  Pollard
Pen:  Pollard
Drop goal:  Pollard

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Shannon Frizell, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Ben Smith

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

France withstand Argentina comeback to claim vital win

France secured a priceless World Cup victory in their quest for the quarter-finals, overcoming a stunning Argentina fightback to claim a tense 23-21 triumph in Tokyo.

The Argentines actually began brightly, with Nicolas Sanchez kicking them into a 3-0 lead, but Les Bleus controlled the remainder of the half and deservedly moved 20-3 ahead through Gael Fickou and Antoine Dupont tries.

Romain Ntamack was impressive off the tee, kicking 10 points, but they failed to maintain that intensity in the second half.

As poor as Argentina were in the opening period, they were excellent after the break and closed the gap via Guido Petti and Julian Montoya efforts before Benjamin Urdapilleta remarkably gave them the lead.

However, in an incredible match, the French displayed impressive composure to respond and snatch the win when Camille Lopez scored a drop goal to win a superb game.

It now puts the Argentines under pressure for the rest of the tournament with them needing to beat England to stand a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

There was plenty Mario Ledesma could take from this encounter, however, despite their run of defeats stretching to 10.  The concern for the head coach before the start of the tournament was how their scrum would fare, but it was solid throughout and set them a platform in the first quarter.

They controlled the opening exchanges and almost broke the deadlock when Petti – one of their star performers over the past few years – powered through several tackles.  Although he was brought down five metres out, Los Pumas were awarded a penalty and Sanchez kicked them in front.

It was the ideal start for Ledesma’s charges, who were looking strong in contact, but France responded in magnificent fashion.  Damian Penaud was the instigator, showing his footwork, pace and balance to weave his way through Argentina’s flimsy defensive line, before the ball was shifted wide for Fickou to finish.

Ntamack, who rarely kicked for Toulouse last season, was pinpoint with a difficult conversion, and the fly-half soon added to his tally when Jacques Brunel’s men produced another brilliant move.

About sums up the game for Argentina#RWC2019 #FRAvARG pic.twitter.com/vzm46XPGGF

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 21, 2019

Once again, Penaud was to the fore as exceptional hands from the wing, Maxime Medard and Virimi Vakatawa sent Dupont across the whitewash.

France were dominant, despite the Argentines briefly threatening their line, and two more successful efforts off the tee via Ntamack gave Les Bleus a 17-point buffer at the interval.

The 2011 World Cup finalists were comfortable going into the final 40 minutes, but they struggled to build on that first-half brilliance as their opponents lifted the intensity.

Their set-piece, something which had been utterly abysmal over the past couple of years, was dominant, with the maul particularly impressive.

Firstly, Petti rampaged across the whitewash as the French were sent into reverse before Montoya took the slightly slower route from the same tactic, but still managed to touch down.

Brunel’s team were under pressure and making errors, and they were fortunate to escape a yellow card following a series of indiscretions close to their own line.  This time, having previously gone for the lineout, they pointed to the posts and replacement Urdapilleta reduced the arrears.

Los Pumas had all the momentum and the pivot was on target once more as they took the lead, but there was one final sting in the tail.

That came through Lopez, who kicked a drop goal, which was enough for France to snatch a crucial victory and leave their opponents dejected.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Fickou, Dupont
Cons:  Ntamack 2
Pens:  Ntamack 2
Drop goal:  Lopez

For Argentina:
Tries:  Petti, Montoya
Con:  Sanchez
Pens:  Sanchez, Urdapilleta 2

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Bernard le Roux, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Thomas Ramos

Argentina:  15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Santiago Carreras

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Wallabies fight back to see off Fiji

Australia were made to work hard but eventually got the job done as they beat Fiji 39-21 in their Rugby World Cup clash in Sapporo on Saturday.

In an entertaining but tough and uncompromising encounter, the Pacific Islanders held the upper-hand for most of this match but the Wallabies took control of proceedings during the game’s latter stages and were deserved winners in the end.

Tolu Latu led the way for Australia with a brace of tries and Michael Hooper, Reece Hodge, Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete also scored tries.  Their other points came via conversions from Christian Lealiifano and Matt To’omua (2) while Reece Hodge added a penalty.

For Fiji Peceli Yato and Waisea Nayacalevu scored tries and Ben Volavola contributed 11 points after succeeding with three penalties and a conversion.

Fiji had most of the early possession and were up 8-0 after 10 minutes.  They took the lead in the fifth minute courtesy of a Volavola penalty, after Nic White was blown up for holding onto the ball at a ruck, and the game came alive shortly afterwards when Yato crossed for a brilliant try.

Josua Tuisova laid the groundwork with a strong run down the right-hand touchline and after bursting through two tackles he threw an inside pass to Nayacalevu, who found himself in space just outside the Wallabies’ 22.  He was chased down by the cover defence but did well to offload to Yato, who went over in the right-hand corner.

Australia needed a response and that came in the 18th minute when Hooper ran onto a pass from White deep inside Fiji territory and shrugged off three defenders on his way over the try-line.

Lealiifano slotted the conversion but despite that setback, the Pacific Islanders continued to dominate and two penalties from Volavola gave them a 14-7 lead by the half-hour mark.

Five minutes later, the Wallabies narrowed the gap when Hodge crossed in the right-hand corner for their second try after slick hands from James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale created space for him out wide.

Lealiifano was off target from the kicking tee which meant Fiji had their tails up with the score 14-12 in their favour at half-time.

So Fiji look decent 👌.  Thoughts Wales fans? pic.twitter.com/bI45ppg6JL

— BBC ScrumV (@BBCScrumV) September 21, 2019

Fiji were fastest out of the blocks after the interval as four minutes after the restart Nayacalevu gathered a wayward pass from Kerevi, close to the halfway line, and raced away before diving over under the posts.

The next 10 minutes was a slugfest with the Wallabies having most of the possession and after an extended period camped inside Fiji’s half, they were rewarded in the 56th minute when Latu scored their third try off the back of a lineout drive.

In the build-up to that score, referee Ben O’Keefe warned the Fijians for continuous indiscretions on defence and when Levani Botia infringed close to his try-line five minutes later, he was yellow carded for his transgression.

The resulting penalty was kicked into touch and after another lineout drive, Latu got over for his second try in similar fashion to his first.  With a one-man advantage, the Wallabies continued to dominate and in the 69th minute Kerevi stepped past a couple of defenders before crossing for his side’s fifth try.

Three minutes later, Koroibete found himself in space out wide and he did well to round Vereniki Goneva to score the try which sealed his side’s win.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Hooper, Hodge, Latu 2, Kerevi, Koroibete
Cons:  Lealiifano, To’omua 2
Pen:  Hodge

For Fiji:
Tries:  Yato, Nayacalevu
Con:  Volavola
Pens:  Volavola 3
Yellow Card:  Botia

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 David Pocock, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 Dane Haylett-Petty

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Peceli Yato, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu (c), 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Peni Ravai, 2 Samuel Matavesi, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements:  16 Tuvere Vugakoto, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Tevita Ratuva, 20 Mosese Voka, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Alivereti Veitokani, 23 Vereniki Goneva

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Hosts Japan open World Cup with unconvincing win

Kotaro Matsushima touched down three times as Japan overcame a nervous start to beat a resilient Russian outfit 30-10 in the opening game of the World Cup in Tokyo.

After the long build-up, it was perhaps unsurprising to see the Brave Blossoms begin slowly, but it was still a surprise that the Bears stayed in the contest for so long.

They shocked the hosts by taking the lead via Kirill Golosnitskiy and were only 12-7 in arrears at the interval after Matsushima touched down twice, but the Japanese eventually pulled away in the second half.

Yu Tamura added a couple of penalties while Pieter Labuschagne and Matsushima, who completed his hat-trick, secured the bonus-point to give them the full five points, but Japan will have to improve significantly if they are to beat Ireland next week.

Jamie Joseph’s men are well-fancied to excel at their home tournament and a match against minnows Russia offered them an ideal chance to ease their way into the competition.

Nerves were prevalent, however, and from the kick-off the Bears almost stunned the hosts when Stanislav Selskii scampered down the right before being halted five metres out.

The mistakes continued following a charge-down and an error under the high ball from William Tupou, which allowed Golosnitskiy to collect and score the first try of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

It was deserved after a poor initial five minutes, but the restart enabled the Brave Blossoms to get their hands on the ball and they were much more comfortable.  Their high tempo game was in evidence and a brilliant off-load from Timothy Lafaele gave Matsushima an easy run to the line.

👏🏉🇯🇵

A lovely no look pass from @TimLafaele#RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/n7tOib7UI3

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 20, 2019

Russia, despite tiring quickly, were resilient though and created opportunities via Yury Kushnarev’s varied kicking game.  It wasn’t always perfect but, when the fly-half got it right, Lyn Jones’ charges produced a brilliant attack which put the Japanese under duress.

Centres Dmitry Gerasimov and Vladimir Ostroushko, who had been physical throughout the opening period, combined nicely, but the latter could not quite get the ball out to the lurking German Davydov.

Having survived that scare, Japan dominated the rest of the half but they struggled to break through a stout Russian defensive barrier.  Jones’ men were well-organised and powerful in contact, but they were eventually breached late on when Matsushima crossed for the second time.

Joseph’s outfit took that momentum into the final 40 minutes and, after Tamura had extended their lead with a penalty, Labuschagne ripped the ball from Grenoble second-row Andrei Ostrikov on halfway and showed impressive pace to score.

It took his team 13 points clear but, to Russia’s credit, they kept themselves in the contest and reduced the arrears going into the final quarter through Kushnarev’s three-pointer.

Japan regained that buffer via the boot of Tamura but it was a poor display from the quarter-final hopefuls, who were far too loose.

The Brave Blossoms still had too much quality for the Bears, however, and sealed the win and the bonus-point when a poor Vasily Artemyev kick was pounced upon by the hosts, allowing Matsushima to complete his treble.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Matsushima 3, Labuschagne
Cons:  Tamura, Matsuda
Pens:  Tamura 2

For Russia:
Try:  Golosnitskiy
Con:  Kushnarev
Pen:  Kushnarev

Japan:  15 William Tupou, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Lomano Lava Lemeki, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 James Moore, 4 Wimpie van der Walt, 3 Asaeli Ai Valu, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Jiwon Koo, 19 Luke Thompson, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Vasily Dorofeev, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrei Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov
Replacements:  16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Azamat Bitiev, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Anton Sychev, 21 Dmitry Perov, 22 Ramil Gaisin, 23 Vladislav Sozonov

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Ireland spoil Warren Gatland's farewell party

Warren Gatland's final home match in charge of Wales ended in a 22-17 defeat to Ireland as the latter bounced back in Cardiff on Saturday.

Following an embarrassing loss to England at Twickenham last weekend, Ireland will be delighted with this response at Principality Stadium.

Jacob Stockdale scored two while the Irish also carded a penalty try, with Jack Carty kicking five points on his birthday in a solid shift.

In reply for Wales, Owen Lane and Rhys Patchell scored their tries, the latter adding two conversion while Jarrod Evans slotted a penalty.

Ireland enjoyed a much-improved first half in Cardiff and opened the scoring on nine minutes when the impressive Carty slotted from 40 out.  However, Wales levelled matters six minutes later through Evans from in front, this after Peter O'Mahony was trapped at the base of a ruck.

The game then went rather stale before a high take from Will Addison sparked an attack, with Carty's mini break carried on well by Andrew Conway, whose run led to him finding Stockdale on the left wing for a run in.  With the difficult conversion added, the Irish were 10-3 up.

Wales and Evans missed the chance to reduce the arrears off the tee eight minutes later and soon after a stray offload from Aaron Shingler allowed Stockdale to hack downfield and then collect for his brace, pushing the Irish into a healthy 15-3 lead at the Principality Stadium.

Despite Carty missing a long-range penalty shot at the end of the opening period, Joe Schmidt would have been happy with his side's effort.

The second half was much improved from Wales, however, as despite being dominated at scrum time they offered much more with Patchell at 10.

The Welsh cause wasn't helped when replacement prop Leon Brown was sin-binned for his team's repeated infringements at the set-piece.  The Irish almost rubbed salt into Wales' wounds soon after but Carty's pass out right to Conway for a score was chalked off for being forward.

Congratulations to @JackCarty10 who has been named the Man of the Match! #TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #WALvIRE pic.twitter.com/s15AB2MpwV

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) August 31, 2019

Schmidt's men would continue to turn the screw though at the scrum and eventually the pressure told as Romain Poite awarded a penalty try.

At 22-3 down Wales needed the next points and fortunately for them they got it as Lane's tidy finish gave them a foothold at 22-10 adrift.

Amazingly they were only five points away from Ireland with three minutes left as Patchell slipped over for another converted score, this coming after the Irish had their own try chalked off due to Bundee Aki tackling James Davies in the air, much to the centre's displeasure.

But Ireland would hold on for a positive result on the road as both these sides will now recover ahead of a rematch in Dublin next weekend.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Lane, Patchell
Cons:  Patchell 2
Pen:  Evans
Yellow Card:  Brown

For Ireland:
Tries:  Stockdale 2, Penalty try
Con:  Carty
Pen:  Carty

Wales:  15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Josh Navidi (c), 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Jonah Holmes

Ireland:  15 Will Addison, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Peter O’Mahony (c), 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Garry Ringrose, 23 Dave Kearney

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

France run out comfortable winners over Italy

France rounded off their Rugby World Cup warm-up fixtures with a comprehensive 47-19 victory over Italy at the Stade de France on Friday.

Les Bleus crossed seven times, which includes a penalty try, as Yoann Huget, Camille Chat, Antoine Dupont, Arthur Iturria, Wenceslas Lauret and Thomas Ramos scored.  Fly-half Romain Ntamack also impressed with his goal-kicking, landing five conversions from six attempts in Paris.

In reply, Italy went over through Mattia Bellini (2) and Jake Polledri as they now switch their attention to tackling England in Newcastle.

France enjoyed the perfect start when slick hands led to wing Huget crossing on two minutes, the try coming after Wesley Fofana's break.  Ntamack couldn't slot the conversion so it remained 5-0, with the early score misleading the fans it would be a high-scoring first quarter.

Indeed there was to be no further score until the 19th minute as, with France minus a sin-binned Louis Picamoles, Italy took the advantage when wing Bellini went over thanks to Sergio Parisse's pass.  The Azzurri would go into the lead thanks to the extra two from Tommaso Allan.

France were down to 13 men seconds after the seven points when Rabah Slimani followed his number eight for a 10 minute spell on the chair.  But that didn't deter Les Bleus as they were awarded a penalty try shortly after as Huget was held back by Bellini, who was shown yellow.

With 13 against 14 France were still on the attack and their pack showed their muscle when hooker Chat scored to make it 19-7 with the two, which was the half-time scoreline in a first 40 that was high on penalties, which kept referee Matthew Carley busy at the Stade de France.

France came out for the second period firing and a solo score from Dupont was then followed by Iturria getting over for his first Test try, which slingshotted the French into a comfortable 33-7 advantage on 46 minutes.  Italy were now shell shocked as the game looked beyond them.

🇫🇷🇮🇹 C'est terminé au @StadeFrance ! Les Bleus terminent leur série de 3 matches de préparation à la Coupe du Monde par une large victoire contre l'Italie ! #NeFaisonsXV #FRAITA #XVdeFrance pic.twitter.com/uilQCu5OdX

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) August 30, 2019

However, Polledri clawed the Italians back into matters with a crossing on 51 minutes, making it 33-14 after Allan's successful conversion.

That prompted both coaches to utilise their bench as several players emerged for the closing half-hour.  But it was a man on the field from the outset who crossed next as France flanker Lauret went over from close range to make it 40-14, effectively sealing the victory in Paris.

Italy did score their third try on 67 minutes through Bellini, which was his brace, but it was replacement Ramos who had the final say as his try and France's seventh of the evening rounded off a morale-boosting win that sends France into the Rugby World Cup on a positive.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Huget, Penalty try, Chat, Dupont, Iturria, Lauret, Ramos
Cons:  Ntamack 5
Yellow Cards:  Picamoles, Slimani

For Italy:
Tries:  Bellini 2, Polledri
Cons:  Allan 2
Yellow Card:  Bellini

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Felix Lambey, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Virimi Vakatawa, 23 Thomas Ramos

Italy:  15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Matteo Minozzi, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Simone Ferrari
Replacements:  16 Federico Zani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Dominant England put 57 points on Ireland

England put down a marker in their penultimate home game before the Rugby World Cup as they beat Ireland 57-15 at Twickenham on Saturday.

The hosts crossed eight times and go into their final match, against Italy in Newcastle, full of confidence before they fly out to Japan.

Joe Cokanasiga (2), Elliot Daly, Manu Tuilagi, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Tom Curry and Luke Cowan-Dickie got the tries while captain Owen Farrell kicked 15 points as England racked up their biggest ever score against Ireland in an international.  It was an impressive showing.

In reply, Ireland went over via Jordan Larmour and Bundee Aki but they were extremely poor at Twickenham.

England would have been enthused by their first-half performance as they went over three times to go in 22-10 to the good in the sunshine.

In conditions perfect for running rugby, both sides chanced their arm in attack and it was Ireland who crossed first, this after Farrell landed a penalty.  The try came out wide as Jacob Stockdale's chip sat up for Larmour, with Ross Byrne making it 7-3 off the tee.

England took just three minutes to respond though as quick hands from a scrum saw the ball moved to Cokanasiga, who showed pace and his strength with a fend to cross the whitewash.  Despite Farrell missing the tough conversion attempt, England were back in front.

The lead changed hands twice more approaching the half-hour as first Iain Henderson's breakdown work allowed Byrne to slot a penalty.  But then numbers were created by England in the 22 and Curry timed his pass well to Daly for a score on the right to make it 15-10.

It's full time at Twickenham and England have recorded an emphatic victory over Ireland in the #QuilterInternationals 🌹#ENGvIRE #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/92Q1TTvAvN

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) August 24, 2019

England would score again in the closing 10 minutes of the half as scrappy ball at the base five metres out did not stop Tuilagi going over.  Further concern for Ireland would be the sight of both scrum-half Conor Murray and prop Cian Healy coming off the field injured.

Murray did return before the break but was replaced permanently at half-time before England continued to show their quality, pouncing on an Irish overthrow at a line-out 20 metres out as Itoje ran a smart line off Ben Youngs.  That pushed England into a 29-10 lead.

In their first warm-up fixture, Ireland were struggling to keep pace and the margin grew on 53 minutes when Kruis scored to make it 36-10.

Curry was next to cross three minutes later after nice hands from Kyle Sinckler to Sam Underhill sent him over and England up to 43 points.

The icing was added on 65 minutes with Cokanasiga's second try bringing up 50 points and, despite Aki finishing well on the right wing on 73 minutes, it did little to paper over a dismal day for Joe Schmidt's outfit, with Cowan-Dickie having the final say for a rampant England.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Cokanasiga 2, Daly, Tuilagi, Itoje, Kruis, Curry, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Farrell 6, Ford
Pen:  Farrell
Yellow Card:  Kruis

For England:
Tries:  Larmour, Aki
Con:  Byrne
Pen:  Byrne

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Joe Marchant

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Tadhg Beirne, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Andrew Conway

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Scotland gain revenge over France

Scotland came from 11 points down to avenge last weekend’s disappointing loss in Nice and defeat France 17-14 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Les Bleus were the better team in the first half and were 14-10 ahead at the interval thanks to a pair of Damian Penaud tries.

Greig Laidlaw kicked a penalty in between those efforts from the wing before Sean Maitland crossed the whitewash to keep the hosts in the contest at the break.

The Scots then controlled much of the second period and deservedly scored through Chris Harris to secure the win and get their World Cup preparations back on track.

It was a much improved effort from the Scots but there were still far too many errors, particularly in the opening half-hour.  One such mistake allowed the visitors to get the ideal start as Penaud intercepted a stray pass and strolled across the whitewash unopposed.

Although Laidlaw immediately reduced the arrears, the home side continued to struggle with ball in hand.  Their physicality and intent may have been more to Gregor Townsend’s liking, but several knock-ons halted any momentum garnered.

France were not much better in a number of the exchanges but they initially had the quality when it mattered.  That was shown by Sofiane Guitoune, who was a late replacement for Wesley Fofana, when the centre sprinted through a gaping hole and found his right-wing to score.

For the second time, Thomas Ramos was on target with the conversion and Les Bleus held a 14-3 advantage, but they were pegged back by Scotland.

🗣 "That's more like it from Scotland!"

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Finn Russell sets up Sean Maitland for Scotland's first try of the day, just before half time! pic.twitter.com/wXUrN8ZSf1

— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) August 24, 2019

In keeping with the game, it came from a mistake as the visitors lost the ball deep inside their half.  Blair Kinghorn pounced before the ball was shifted left and Maitland was on hand to collect Finn Russell’s pass and touch down.

The second period continued in the same vein as the first with errors pervading the play, which led to a number of scrums.  That favoured Townsend’s charges, who were controlling the set-piece battle, and they began to get the upper hand.

Jacques Brunel’s men conceded some needless penalties and their opponents set up camp in the 22.  The Scots duly pressurised the French defence and it was eventually breached when Harris took a superb line to finish underneath the posts.

They had the momentum and France were far too loose, but this French outfit showed last week that they could produce the spectacular and almost created a superb score.

Forwards and backs linked well before Maxime Medard chipped the ball over the top, but Stuart Hogg covered well and that proved to be their final chance as Scotland claimed the win.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Maitland, Harris
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pen:  Laidlaw

For France:
Tries:  Penaud 2
Cons:  Ramos 2

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Willem Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Grant Stewart, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 John Barclay, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Blair Kinghorn

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Arthur Iturria, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Maxime Medard

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Five-try France hammer Scotland in Nice

France strolled to a comfortable 32-3 win over Scotland in their Rugby World Cup warm-up match at Allianz Riviera on Saturday.

Les Bleus scored five tries in total as Alivereti Raka, Maxime Medard (2), Gregory Alldritt and Antoine Dupont went over in a superb victory.

Scotland, who take on the same team at Murrayfield next week, could only muster three points via the boot of Adam Hastings on a hard night.

Raka would get the scoreboard ticking as early as the second minute when a slick set play near to the Scottish posts saw the powerful Fijian-born Clermont wing crash over for a 7-0 lead, Camille Lopez adding the two.  It was an early warning shot fired by a hungry France side.

Lopez made it 10-0 off the tee on 15 minutes and the gap was further extended eight minutes later, full-back Medard finishing off a free-flowing move on the left as Scotland were on the ropes.  Lopez's difficult conversion attempt was missed which meant that Hastings' well struck penalty from in front, fortunately for the visitors, reduced the margin with Les Bleus now leading 15-3 with 26 minutes on the clock.

Things would then take a turn for the worse for Scotland when Hastings was yellow carded for slapping down a ball while France were on the attack.  That was duly capitalised on by France as number eight Alldritt went over close to the touchline for their third try of the night.

🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Première répétition prometteuse pour les Bleus 👏🏻 Prochaine étape samedi prochain à Murrayfield !#XVdeFrance #FRAECO #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/SdwjtCwRhF

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) August 17, 2019

Scotland did manage to avoid any further damage to the scoreboard late in the first half and returned with fresh legs coming on during the first 10 minutes, in-form Northampton Saints outside centre Rory Hutchinson one of those to emerge as he made his bow on the international stage.

However, there was no change in fortunes for the Scots as Medard's second try arrived on 53 minutes thanks to quick hands before scrum-half Dupont was next to cross the whitewash, capping off a break from loosehead prop Jefferson Poirot.  France were now leading 32-3 after an hour.

Scotland, to their credit, did rally late on and Huw Jones was denied a try after a forward pass before another attack saw them fumble five metres out.  It summed up a difficult and sobering evening for Gregor Townsend's men as they now head home looking for a response next week.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Raka, Medard 2, Alldritt, Dupont
Cons:  Lopez 2
Pen:  Lopez

For Scotland:
Pen:  Hastings
Yellow Card:  Hastingson

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements:  16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Felix Lambey, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Thomas Ramos

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:  16 George Turner, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Blair Kinghorn

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Springboks hold off Pumas in Pretoria

South Africa continued with their impressive recent form when they beat Argentina 24-18 in a World Cup warm-up match in Pretoria on Saturday.

In a tightly contested affair, momentum between the two sides ebbed and flowed throughout and the result was in the balance until the game's closing stages.  The home side did enough to clinch the result, however, after both sides scored two tries apiece.

Sbu Nkosi scored both five-pointers for the Springboks and their other points came via the boot of Elton Jantjies, who kicked four penalties and a conversion.  For Argentina, Guido Petti and Pablo Matera scored tries while Joaquín Díaz Bonilla slotted a penalty and a conversion and Benjamin Urdapilleta also added a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Although the teams showed a willingness to run the ball, the opening exchanges were characterised by several unforced errors from both sides and we had to wait until the 20th minute for the opening points — a penalty from Jantjies.

The match had a stop-start nature to it up to that point and there were several brutal collisions — none more so than Marcos Kremer's hit on Marcell Coetzee in the 17th minute.  Kremer's no-arms challenge resulted in him being penalised but Coetzee was forced off the field for a HIA, which he failed, and he was replaced by Kwagga Smith.

The game came alive just after the half hour-mark when Jantjies found Warrick Gelant in space out wide with a well-timed skip pass.  Gelant offloaded to Nkosi, who did well to beat two defenders before crossing for the opening try.

Jantjies' conversion attempt struck an upright but the visitors drew level on the stroke of half-time when Petti intercepted a pass from Cobus Reinach close to the halfway line, before outpacing the cover defence to cross for a deserved try.

Bonilla succeeded with the conversion attempt which meant the visitors held a slender 10-8 lead at the break.

📽️ VIDEO: South Africa 24-18 Argentina.  https://t.co/ZWOOOcW2PF #RSAvARG pic.twitter.com/4socIw8SP5

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 17, 2019

South Africa drew first blood after the restart and they did it in style courtesy of another superb try from Nkosi in the 48th minute.  This, after he found himself in space down the right flank and he did brilliantly to beat three defenders before diving over the whitewash in spectacular fashion.

Jantjies added the extras which gave the home side a 15-10 lead but Urdapilleta reduced the deficit for the visitors when he added a penalty in the 57th minute.

Another Jantjies penalty on the hour-mark gave the Boks some breathing space but the Pumas struck back five minutes later when Matera crashed over from close quarters to draw his side level at 18-18.

Urdapilleta failed to convert before Jantjies gave South Africa the lead again via a penalty in the 69th minute.

The closing minutes were tense and the visitors thought they had regained the lead when Lucas Mensa rounded off a flowing move which started inside the Pumas' half.  His effort was disallowed, however, after television replays revealed that Jeronimo de la Fuente had obstructed Vincent Koch when he was trying to make a tackle on Urdapilleta in the build-up.

Despite that setback, Argentina continued to attack in a bid to secure victory, but the home side sealed their win when Jantjies slotted his fourth penalty in the 78th minute.

For South Africa:
Tries:  Nkosi 2
Con:  Jantjies
Pens:  Jantjies 4

For Argentina:
Tries:  Petti, Matera
Con:  Bonilla
Pens:  Bonilla, Urdapilleta

South Africa:  15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits (c), 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements:  16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Frans Steyn

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Sebastián Cancelliere, 13 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 12 Lucas Mensa, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements:  16 Santiago Socino, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, Santiago Carreras

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Wales move to number one after win over England

Wales moved to the top of the world rankings following a deserved 13-6 triumph over arch-rivals England at the Principality Stadium.

Warren Gatland’s charges dominated the opening half and deservedly went into the interval 10-0 in front via George North’s converted try and Dan Biggar’s penalty.

The Red Rose improved slightly in the second period and reduced the deficit via successive George Ford three-pointers, but Leigh Halfpenny was successful off the tee to seal the win and move them ahead of New Zealand in the rankings.

Gatland’s men lacked intensity in their opening World Cup warm-up encounter but that was well and truly rectified in Cardiff.  They controlled the early exchanges with their excellent defence regularly forcing the visitors back.

The set-piece was also far more efficient while they had the better of the breakdown and the Welsh had several opportunities inside the opposition 22 before Biggar kicked them ahead.

Under pressure, discipline was an issue for England and it led to a yellow card for wing Anthony Watson, who was sent from the field for a deliberate knock on.

Watson hadn’t even headed off the pitch when the hosts went quickly.  It caught the Red Rose unawares as Josh Adams went sprinting down the right.  The wing was brought down but the away side were completely disorganised defensively and a simple cross-field kick from Wales’ fly-half allowed North to score.

The pivot had been criticised earlier in the week by ex-wing JJ Williams, but this was an excellent response and his conversion from the left extended their advantage to 10 points at the interval.

Eddie Jones needed a response from his charges but they once again struggled to create openings.  However, with the introduction of the replacements, the visitors did start to gain some traction at the scrum and they were rewarded with a Ford penalty.

The likes of Joe Marler and Jamie George were making a difference and Ford reduced the arrears further going into the final quarter.

Wales managed to regain their composure but England were still in contention and almost created a chance when Maro Itoje intercepted.

However, an infringement halted their attack and eased the pressure, allowing Gatland’s side to move into the England half and earn a penalty, which Halfpenny kicked to complete the win.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  North
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar, Halfpenny

For England:
Pens:  Ford 2
Yellow Card:  Watson

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Owen Watkin

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Kruis, 20 Jack Singleton, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

New Zealand hammer Australia to retain Bledisloe Cup

The All Blacks returned to the victory trail courtesy of an impressive 36-0 victory over the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

The result was sweet revenge for the hosts, who suffered a humiliating defeat to the Wallabies in their corresponding fixture in Perth seven days ago, and they also retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 17th successive year.

As the scoreline suggests, the world champions were full value for this win as they dominated all facets of play and eventually outscored the Wallabies by five tries to none, with Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Sevu Reece and George Bridge all crossing the whitewash.  Mo'unga also slotted three conversions and a penalty, and Beauden Barrett also succeeded with a two-pointer off the kicking tee.

The All Blacks held the upper-hand from the outset and took an early lead courtesy of a Mo'unga penalty in the fourth minute after a scrum infringement from the Wallabies forwards.

New Zealand continued to dominate during the next 15 minutes but failed to convert that dominance into points.  The Wallabies were slowly getting into the game but poor goal-kicking from Christian Lealiifano proved costly as he was off target with two penalty attempts shortly after each other, midway through the half.

Despite those misses, the visitors launched several attacks but there was no reward as they were met with a solid defensive effort from the All Blacks.  In the 29th minute, an Australian attack went pear-shaped when Reece Hodge spilled a pass from Kurtley Beale on New Zealand's 10-metre line and Mo'unga gathered the loose ball before racing away to score the opening try.

He added the extras and with a 10-0 lead, the world champions were growing in confidence.  Three minutes later, George Bridge made a brilliant line break which tore the Wallabies' defence to shreds before throwing an inside pass to Smith, who had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Once again, Mo'unga was successful off the kicking tee but New Zealand were dealt a blow in the 37th minute when Dane Coles was yellow carded for a dangerous challenge on Nic White.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the All Blacks finished the half the stronger and led 17-0 at half-time, although it could have been a bigger lead had Mo'unga not missed another penalty just before the interval.

The All Blacks continued to dominate after the break and shortly after the restart Williams ran a great angle close to the Wallabies' try-line before crashing over for his side's third try.

That score knocked the wind out of the Wallabies' sails and, although they tried desperately to open their account, they battled to breach the All Blacks' defence.

And in the 67th minute Reece showed great composure when he booted the ball upfield, deep inside the Wallabies' half, before regathering to score his side's fourth try.

With the game in the bag, the hosts continued to attack and sealed the win in the 77th minute when Bridge rounded off out wide after Anton Lienert-Brown did well in the build-up.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Mo'unga, Smith, Williams, Reece, Bridge
Cons:  Mo'unga 3, B Barrett
Pen:  Mo'unga
Yellow Card:  Coles

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Jackson Hemopo, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Ngani Laumape, 23 Jordie Barrett

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Liam Wright, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 Adam Ashley-Cooper

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

England end Wales' winning run

England proved too strong for Wales as they ran out 33-19 winners in an entertaining Rugby World Cup warm-up encounter at Twickenham on Sunday.

In a fast-paced match, both sides scored three tries apiece but England committed fewer unforced errors and were deserved winners in the end.

Much was made of England fielding an under-strength team while the visitors had what was close to their strongest starting XV, but the hosts were the dominant side for most of this match and the result brings Wales' 14-match winning run to an end.

George Ford led the way for England with a 15-point haul, courtesy of three conversions and three penalties, and their other points came via tries from Billy Vunipola, Joe Cokanasiga and Luke Cowan-Dickie, as well as a late drop-goal from Elliot Daly.

For Wales, Gareth Davies, George North and Wyn Jones crossed the whitewash, while Gareth Anscombe and Dan Biggar added conversions.

England dominated the early exchanges and were up 14-0 by the 15th minute courtesy of converted tries from Vunipola and Cokanasiga.

Vunipola's effort came as early as the fourth minute when he showed great determination and leg drive to power his way over the try-line before Cokanasiga scored from close range after the ball went through several phases in the build-up.

The visitors needed a response and that came midway through the half when Gareth Davies took on the English defence before crossing for a deserved try.  Davies gathered the ball on England's 10-metre line and did well to escape Vunipola's attentions with a strong fend before beating Daly with deft footwork on his way to the line.

Although they were back in the game, Wales' joy was short-lived as they suffered a setback in the 34th minute with what looked like a serious knee injury to Anscombe.  He sustained the injury five minutes earlier when making a clearance kick but continued to play despite running around with a limp.  He eventually hobbled off the field and was replaced by Biggar.

And just before half-time, the visitors suffered another setback when a throw-in at a lineout on their five-metre line went awry and Cowan-Dickie pounced on the loose ball before crashing over the try-line.  Ford added the extras which meant England were leading 21-7 at the interval.

Wales came out firing after the break but England drew first blood after the restart when Ford slotted his first penalty in the 44th minute.

The visitors narrowed the gap in the 50th minute when North burst through a couple of tackles to score his side's second try after Ken Owens was stopped close to the line in the build-up.

The next 10 minutes saw Wales up the ante on attack and they were rewarded in the 56th minute when Jones barged over for their third try, although Biggar was off target with the conversion attempt.

The final quarter saw England regain the initiative and Ford added two penalties before a 73rd minute drop-goal from Daly sealed what proved to be a comfortable win in the end.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Vunipola, Cokanasiga, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Ford 3
Pens:  Ford 3
Drop goal:  Daly

For Wales:
Tries:  G Davies, North, W Jones
Cons:  Anscombe, Biggar

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jack Singleton, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Joe Marchant, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Owen Watkin

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gaüzère (France), Alex Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Five-try Ireland get the better of Italy

Ireland got their 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up campaign off to a solid start courtesy of a 29-10 triumph over Italy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

The home side had a good first half and created plenty of try-scoring opportunities during that period but they went off the boil after half-time before eventually outscoring the Azzurri by five tries to two.

Joey Carbery, Dave Kearney, Andrew Conway, Jordi Murphy and Kieran Marmion scored Ireland's tries and Carbery also succeeded with two conversions, although there were concerned looks in the Irish camp when the Munster fly-half was forced off the field with an ankle injury early in the second half.

Italy's points came courtesy of tries from Maxime Mbanda and Carlo Canna.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested but the visitors gained the ascendancy as the half progressed and opened the scoring after 12 minutes when Mbanda crossed for the opening try.  This, after Italy's forwards went on the drive from a lineout before Jimmy Tuivaiti broke away deep inside Ireland's 22.  He was brought to ground close to the Irish try-line where Mbanda gathered the ball before crashing over.

Ireland put that setback behind them and were soon in control of proceedings.  In the 18th minute, they showed great attacking variation from a lineout deep inside their opponents' half before beautiful hands from Chris Farrell put Carbery into space and he crossed for an easy five-pointer.

Carbery dusted himself to slot the conversion which gave his side a 7-5 lead but the Azzurri regained the initiative midway through the half when Canna gathered a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Giulio Bisegni before dotting down.

Once again, Canna failed with the conversion attempt and that would be the last time the visitors would score points in the match as Ireland upped the ante on attack and replied with well-taken tries from Kearney and Conway to take a 19-10 lead at the interval.

First, space was created for Kearney out wide and he had an easy run-in on the left flank after gathering the final pass from Jordan Larmour.  And just before half-time, Conway crossed for his side's third try from close range after good work from his forwards in the build-up.

Full time score @AVIVAStadium IRELAND 29-10 ITALY #ShoulderToShoulder #TeamOfUs #IREvITA pic.twitter.com/VXOVJPZuU4

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) August 10, 2019

The home side were fastest out of the blocks in the second half and five minutes after the restart Jordi Murphy crossed for their third try off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Italy's half.

Shortly afterwards, Carbery left the field when he injured his ankle under a mass of bodies deep inside his half.  The next 15 minutes was a dour affair with both sides committing several unforced errors during that period.

In the 63rd minute, there was further joy for the home crowd when Marmion charged down a clearance kick from Ian McKinley before regathering the loose ball on his way over the try-line to seal an unspectacular victory for his team.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Carbery, Kearney, Conway, Murphy
Cons:  Carbery 2

For Italy:
Tries:  Mbanda, Canna

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Chris Farrell 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Cian Healy, 18 John Ryan, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Tadhg Beirne, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Mike Haley

Italy:  15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Matteo Minozzi, 11 Giulio Bisegni, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 7 Maxime Mbanda, 6 Giovanni Licata, 5 Dean Budd (c) 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements:  16 Federico Zani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Renato Giammarioli, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Sebastian Negri

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Tom Foley (England), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Handre Pollard stars as Boks win Rugby Championship

South Africa are the Rugby Championship champions for the first time after they produced another excellent display to hammer Argentina 46-13 in Salta.

Although Los Pumas got off to an outstanding start, with Santiago Cordero touching down, the Springboks deservedly took a 24-13 advantage into the break via tries from Bongi Mbonambi and Pollard, while the fly-half added 14 points from the tee.

Argentina were simply overpowered by Rassie Erasmus’ team and the away side duly sealed the win when Pollard, Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe went over.

It meant the ‘Boks finished a fine campaign unbeaten and secured their first southern hemisphere crown since 2009, when it was called the Tri Nations.

The Springboks have enjoyed a revival under Erasmus, justifiably taking the title after three fine performances in the competition, but they were initially put under pressure with Nicolas Sanchez to the fore.

The fly-half broke through the visiting rearguard and took play up to the 22.  Although the visitors did well to halt the break, the fly-half produced a deft cross-field kick for Cordero to collect and score.

Unperturbed, the two-time World Cup winners hit back via Pollard’s penalty before they put the Argentines’ set-piece under significant duress.  Mario Ledesma’s men have struggled in the tight this year and South Africa took advantage of their weaknesses at the lineout and scrum.

Following a penalty, South Africa set up a maul and the home side were powerless to stop their opponents’ dominant drive, which surged across the whitewash and allowed Mbonambi to touch down.

HIGH FIVE! ✋

Springboks back on top in Salta courtesy of a try from Mbonambi and the boot of Pollard.  ARG 13—14 SA

Follow the action here 👉 https://t.co/2FydW54qer pic.twitter.com/1ffqX6rIEN

— Sky Sports Rugby (@SkySportsRugby) August 10, 2019

To the Pumas’ credit, they battled and regained their advantage via their stand-off’s three-pointer, but the Springboks remained in the ascendancy and took a 14-10 advantage through successive Pollard efforts off the tee.

Although Argentina remained in contention via their pivot, Erasmus’ charges continued to control matters and were rewarded by Pollard’s try and penalty for an 11-point buffer at the interval.

Ledesma needed a response from his squad but it failed to materialise as another needless penalty resulted in the visiting playmaker extending their lead.

The hosts were boosted by a yellow card for scrum-half Faf de Klerk after a series of infringements, but Argentina failed to benefit and were instead sent into reverse by some brutal ‘Bok defence.  It altered the momentum and, after good work from Steven Kitshoff and Franco Mostert, Pollard barged over from close range.

That was effectively game over but South Africa were not finished there and rounded off a fine display with two further tries via wingers Mapimpi and Kolbe.

Well done guys!! Congratulations on a splendid victory and successful campaign.  pic.twitter.com/eYYWf4Xiq6

— Springboks (@Springboks) August 10, 2019

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Cordero
Con:  Sanchez
Pens:  Sanchez 2

For South Africa:
Tries:  Mbonambi, Pollard 2, Mapimpi, Kolbe
Cons:  Pollard 3
Pens:  Pollard 5
Yellow Card:  De Klerk

Argentina:  15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Joaquin Tuculet

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Wonderful Wallabies thrash 14-man All Blacks

The Wallabies produced their best display, arguably since the last World Cup, to claim a rare Bledisloe Cup victory over the All Blacks following a 47-26 triumph in Perth on Saturday.

New Zealand did play half of the match with 14 men after Scott Barrett was sent off, which was just their fourth red card ever and their first since Sonny Bill Williams was dismissed against the British and Irish Lions in 2017.

It was a key moment in the contest, but Australia were still the better team before that incident and deserved the 13-12 lead handed to them by Reece Hodge’s try and the accurate kicking of Christian Lealiifano.

New Zealand responded through tries from Anton Lienert-Brown and Rieko Ioane but they were powerless to stop an excellent Aussie outfit.

Lealiifano added another off the tee on the stroke of half-time before Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Nic White, Marika Koroibete, Hodge and Kurtley Beale completed the win, despite Beauden Barrett’s and Ngani Laumape’s consolation efforts.

The result puts the Wallabies back on track ahead of the World Cup while further questions will be asked of the All Blacks, who have struggled for form over the past three matches.

It has been a disappointing Rugby Championship on the whole, but this was in stark contrast to the previous four games in the competition.  Although there were still a number of errors, it was a far more entertaining affair which saw a particularly thrilling opening quarter.

Australia controlled the early exchanges, forcing the All Blacks to infringe on several occasions and allowing Lealiifano to kick them ahead, before they brilliantly created the first try of the game.

James O’Connor was making his return to the starting line-up after six years in the international wilderness and he superbly got his hands free, sending Hodge scampering across the whitewash.

The conversion was added by their fly-half and they duly had the ideal start, but the Wallabies were soon pegged back by the visitors, who upped the intensity and cut out the key mistakes.

It allowed them to get on the front foot and good hands on the right gave Jack Goodhue plenty of space.  The Crusaders man kicked ahead and, with the ball bouncing in-goal, Goodhue’s centre partner, Lienert-Brown, pounced to touch down and reduce the arrears.

Buoyed by that effort, New Zealand went on the attack again and Dane Coles’ excellent break set up their next score as the hooker and Aaron Smith combined to provide Ioane with an easy run to the line.

Steve Hansen’s men were still struggling for dominance, however, with the hosts playing their best rugby for some time and Lealiifano rewarded their endeavour with a second three-pointer.

Discipline was a particular problem for the away side and that was shown by second-row Barrett, who was adjudged to have shoulder charged the head and neck of Michael Hooper, leading to a red card.

VICTORY!

We have defeated the All Blacks 47—26 in the #BledisloeCup here at Optus Stadium.

READ:  https://t.co/fN82aVPAgB#AUSvNZL #BledisloeCup #GoldBlooded pic.twitter.com/9PGOF8QgD5

— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies) August 10, 2019

Australia’s pivot kicked the resultant penalty attempt and they began the second period in the ascendancy against the 14 men of New Zealand.

The forwards carried well close to the opposition line and the space eventually opened for Rory Arnold to find Salakaia-Loto, who scored.

Michael Cheika’s charges were now rampant and Samu Kerevi displayed his destructive qualities to power through Smith and Beauden Barrett.  The centre then did well to avoid going into touch when Laumape came across, off-loading for White to deservedly touch down.

The All Blacks are rarely finished, though, even when down to 14, and they hit back through their full-back, but the Wallabies soon put the game beyond doubt.

They controlled the play nicely and deservedly crossed the whitewash twice more through Koroibete and Hodge.  Although the visitors hit back immediately through Laumape, Beale rounded off a wonderful evening for Cheika’s men.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Hodge 2, Salakaia-Loto, White, Koroibete, Beale
Cons:  Lealiifano 2, Toomua 2
Pens:  Lealiifano 3

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Lienert-Brown, Ioane, B Barrett, Laumape
Cons:  Mo’unga 3
Red Card:  S Barrett

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Luke Jones, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Tom Banks

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Ngani Laumape, 23 George Bridge

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)