All Blacks power past Wales to win Bronze Final

New Zealand finished their Rugby World Cup campaign on a high when they clinched a 40-17 win over Wales in the Bronze Final in Tokyo on Friday.

After being knocked out by England in the semi-finals, the tournament's defending champions were keen to redeem themselves and they certainly did that as they dominated for long periods in a fast-paced and entertaining game.

They eventually ran in six tries with Ben Smith leading the way with a deserved brace and their other five-pointers were scored by Joe Moody, Beauden Barrett, Ryan Crotty and Richie Mo'unga, who finished with a 15-point haul after slotting five conversions.

For Wales, Hallam Amos and Josh Adams scored tries while Rhys Patchell added a conversion and a penalty and Dan Biggar also succeeded with a two-pointer off the kicking tee.

The All Blacks showed their intentions from the outset as they ran the ball from all areas of the field and that tactic reaped reward as early as the sixth minute when Moody crossed for a fine try.

This, after slick handling from Mo'unga, Kieran Read and Brodie Retallick created space for Moody, who showed an excellent turn of speed after gathering a pass from Retallick on the edge of Wales' 22 and he did well to outpace the cover defence before crashing over.

The three-time world champions continued to dominate as the half progressed and they extended their lead in the 13th minute when Barrett ran onto an inside pass from Aaron Smith deep inside Wales territory before crossing the whitewash.

Wales needed a response and it came midway through the half when Amos collected a long pass from Patchell inside New Zealand's 22 before stepping past Mo'unga on his way over the try-line.

Patchell added the extras and also slotted a penalty in the 27th minute which meant they were back in the match as the All Blacks were now holding a slender 14-10 lead.

That was the last time the Six Nations champions would score points during the half, however, as the All Blacks soon regained the initiative and were rewarded with two tries from wing Smith before the interval.

In the 34th minute, he did brilliantly to beat three defenders before dotting down and on the stroke of half-time he gathered a well-timed long pass from his namesake Aaron Smith inside Wales' 22 before rounding Tomos Williams to score his second five-pointer.

FULL TIME in #RWCTokyo @AllBlacks win the Bronze Final to seal 3rd place at #RWC2019

They scored 6 tries this evening to win by a comfortable margin #RWC2019 #NZLvWAL pic.twitter.com/npnhOoOONc

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) November 1, 2019

That meant New Zealand were leading 28-10 at the break and they started the second half in a similar vein to the way they finished the first when shortly after the restart Crotty scored their fifth try after collecting a trademark offload from Sonny Bill Williams close to Wales' try-line.

It was one-way traffic during the next 15 minutes as the All Blacks continued with their fast-paced style of play but despite their dominance, they could not score any points during that period.  Smith thought he had scored his third try when he crossed Wales' try-line in the 48th minute but referee Wayne Barnes ruled out his effort after a handling error from Rieko Ioane in the build-up.

Wales soaked up the pressure and struck back on the hour-mark courtesy of Adams' try from close quarters.  That was a momentous score as it was his seventh try at the tournament which is the most by any Welsh player at a World Cup.

Despite that score, the All Blacks finished stronger and sealed their win when Mo'unga crossed for their sixth try in the 76th minute.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Moody, Barrett, Smith 2, Crotty, Mo'unga
Cons:  Mo'unga 5

For Wales:
Tries:  Amos, Adams
Cons:  Patchell, Biggar
Pen:  Patchell

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Liam Coltman, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Jordie Barrett

Wales:  15 Hallam Amos, 14 Owen Lane, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 James Davies, 6 Justin Tipuric, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Wyn Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Hadleigh Parkes

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pascal Gaüzère (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Springboks win arm wrestle with Wales to reach final

South Africa advanced to the 2019 Rugby World Cup final courtesy of a narrow 19-16 victory over Wales in their semi-final in Yokohama on Sunday.

As predicted, this was a hard-fought encounter characterised by several brutal collisions throughout and the result was in the balance until the end.  Both sides scored a try apiece with Damian de Allende crossing the whitewash for the Springboks and Josh Adams scored Wales' try.

Handre Pollard scored South Africa's other points courtesy of four penalties and a conversion while Dan Biggar added three penalties for Wales and Leigh Halfpenny succeeded with a conversion.

The opening quarter was a nervy affair with the teams feeling each other out which resulted in plenty of tactical kicking from Pollard and Biggar.  Wales held a slight edge during the opening exchanges but had nothing to show for their efforts and it was the Boks who opened the scoring courtesy of a Pollard penalty after 15 minutes.

Shortly afterwards, Wales found themselves on the attack inside South Africa's half and, after Willie le Roux was blown up for offside on defence, Biggar drew his side level by slotting the resulting penalty.

In the 20th minute, a dominant scrum from the Boks put Wales on the back foot and after they were penalised by referee Jérôme Garcès, Pollard restored his side's lead by succeeding with the three-pointer off the kicking tee.

The next 15 minutes was an arm wrestle as both sides tried to gain the ascendancy and Pollard gave South Africa a 9-3 advantage after Ken Owens collapsed a maul illegally.

From the restart Tomas Francis was forced off the field after coming off second best in a collision with Duane Vermeulen but, despite that setback, Biggar reduced the deficit to three points in the 39th minute when Vermeulen took Aaron Wainwright out in an off-the-ball challenge.

Soon after, Wales were dealt another blow when George North hobbled off with a hamstring injury and he was replaced by Owen Watkin on the stroke of half-time with the Springboks holding a slender 9-6 lead.

Here it is 🤩💯👏

The #RWC2019 #RWCFinal line-up:@EnglandRugby v @Springboks

A repeat of the 2007 RWC Final ✨#RWCYokohama #WebbEllisCup pic.twitter.com/uNkxJwN9BC

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 27, 2019

The second half started in a similar vein with most of the play restricted to the forwards and plenty of kicking from the pivots.  Wales drew level shortly after the restart courtesy of another Biggar penalty after Eben Etzebeth infringed at a lineout.

There was little interesting to report during the next 15 minutes as the aerial bombardment from both sides continued, but the game came alive in the 57th minute when De Allende found himself in space out wide inside the Welsh 22.  He still had plenty of work to do but did well to shrug off challenges from Biggar and Tomos Williams before powering his way over the try-line.

Pollard added the extras which meant the Boks were leading 16-9 but Wales were soon on the attack inside their opponents' 22.

Wales were desperate for a try and after stringing 21 phases together close to South Africa's try-line, they were awarded a penalty when the Boks strayed offside on defence.  Captain Alun Wyn Jones opted to take a scrum which proved to be a brilliant decision as from the set-piece Ross Moriarty gathered before drawing in a couple of defenders and the ball was shifted wide to Adams, who crossed in the left-hand corner.

Halfpenny landed the conversion from close to the touchline which meant sides were level again at 16-16.  That score was a shot in the arm for Wales, who were on the attack inside the Boks' half for the next 10 minutes but they could not add to their points tally during that period.

The Boks regained the initiative in the 73rd minute, however, when Francois Louw won a turnover at a breakdown and Pollard put his side on the front foot when he put the ball into touch 35 metres from Wales' try-line.

Wales were penalised for collapsing a maul at the ensuing lineout and Pollard held his nerve to slot the penalty which gave his side a 19-16 lead.

The closing stages were frantic but the Boks did well to keep Wales pinned inside their half and seal the win — and a place in the final against England — when they won a scrum penalty just before the end.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  Adams
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Biggar 3

For South Africa:
Try:  De Allende
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard 4

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 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 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, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Exceptional England dethrone champions All Blacks

England produced one of their greatest ever performances to inflict New Zealand's first Rugby World Cup defeat since 2007 following an incredible 19-7 triumph.

Eddie Jones' men were simply outstanding and the first half set the tone with them going into the interval 10-0 ahead via Manu Tuilagi's try and George Ford's penalty.

Ford then added a second three-pointer before the All Blacks came back into the contest through Ardie Savea's opportunist score, but Ford kicked a couple more off the tee to secure the win.

Having won the global tournament in 2011 and 2015, they have not succumbed since losing to France 12 years ago, but England deservedly ended that superb run on Saturday.

There was an air of confidence from the English camp going into this encounter and they produced an absolutely blistering start.  Elliot Daly set the ball rolling, breaking a tackle and off-loading to Anthony Watson, who took them up to the 22.

They then showed outstanding patience to go through the phases and good work from Kyle Sinckler moved the Red Rose to within inches of the whitewash.  With the All Blacks' defence in disarray, Tuilagi spotted the space to power over and provide the 2003 champions with a seven-point buffer.

After 3 turnovers won (most of any player) and 7 lineouts won (most), @maroitoje won the @mastercard Player of the Match for England v New Zealand #StartSomethingPriceless #POTM #RWC2019 #ENGvNZL pic.twitter.com/lcNPbaTty4

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 26, 2019

Not content with that score, Jones' charges continued to dominate and create opportunities.  Jonny May thought he was away, only to be prevented by Scott Barrett's brilliant cover defence, before Sam Underhill was correctly denied a try for crossing.

To New Zealand's immense credit, they held out brilliantly and, from England's first loose kick, they manufactured a wonderful attack.  Brodie Retallick made the initial incursion before the ball was shifted to Beauden Barrett, who duly found Jack Goodhue, but the centre was well marshalled into touch.

That attack displayed the defending champions' threat, but those moves were few and far between as England remained on the front foot.  The Red Rose were excellent but only had a Ford three-pointer to show for their efforts going into the second period.

Steve Hansen's men began the final 40 minutes looking to play from deep but they were often caught out and were almost punished.  After England had set up a maul, Ben Youngs broke off the back to seemingly score, but TMO Marius Jonker spotted a knock-on in the build-up and it was disallowed.

Jones' charges did manage to increased their buffer, however, via another Ford penalty, but New Zealand began to assert some authority on proceedings.  They almost created a score for Sevu Reece and, although the wing was tackled into touch, the Red Rose lost the resultant lineout and Savea touched down.

It was a huge mistake from England, an error which could have handed the momentum to their opponents, but they simply reset and increased their lead through the boot of Ford, who added two more three-pointers.

The defending champions simply had to chance their arm but the Red Rose's defence was magnificent and, despite a couple of significant forays, they brilliantly held out to move into the final.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Tuilagi
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Ford 4

For New Zealand:
Try:  Savea
Con:  Mo'unga

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 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 Courtney Lawes, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jonathan Joseph

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

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Pascal Gaüzère (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Brutal Boks end Japan's historic run

South Africa produced a hugely physical performance to qualify for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals following an impressive 26-3 triumph over hosts Japan.

It was a thrilling first half and the opening quarter set the tone as Springbok wing Makazole Mapimpi touched down before the Brave Blossoms hit back via the accurate kicking of Yu Tamura.

The match continued at a frenetic pace but both defences held out until early in the second period when Handre Pollard added two penalties.

Pollard then scored a third off the tee before Faf de Klerk crossed the whitewash for the game-decisive try as they ended Japan's remarkable tournament.

Mapimpi then went over for his second as Rassie Erasmus' men completed a fine performance and eased their way into the last-four.

It is one thing dealing with the forward strength of Ireland and Scotland but another the sheer power of the Springboks and Erasmus' charges were simply too strong in the tight exchanges.

The scrum, which has been a strength over the past year, laid a stable platform early on and De Klerk gave Mapimpi a one-on-one opportunity.  With just Tamura to beat, the wing charged through the fly-half's abysmal attempt at a tackle and touched down for a 5-0 advantage.

TRY!

A dominant South African scrum sees the ball fed out wide to Mapimpi who beats the Japanese defence with some fancy footwork to finish#RWC2019 #ITVRugby #JPNvRSA pic.twitter.com/DReQP8rKqh

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 20, 2019

South Africa were unsurprisingly physical in contact but Tendai Mtawarira was perhaps too pumped up and was subsequently sin-binned for a tip-tackle on Keita Inagaki.  The prop's absence gave the Japanese an opportunity to weave their magic and Kenki Fukuoka brilliantly stood up Cheslin Kolbe, running deep into opposition territory.

Although that move eventually broke down, they were rewarded for their endeavour by Tamura, who reduced the arrears from the tee.

Following that score, Japan continued to move the ball and stress the Springbok rearguard but their defence remained stout, giving them them a two-point lead heading into the latter stages of the half.

The South Africans were under pressure but they began to reassert their authority.  Erasmus' men were dominant at the set-piece and, although Damian de Allende was denied a try at the end of the first period, they kept their foot on the Japanese throat.

Their scrum was giving them plenty of purchase and successive three-pointers from Pollard opened the gap beyond a converted try.

Surprisingly, the pivot was off-target with a third attempt, but he did not make the same mistake as the game reached the final quarter.

South Africa were in control and they started to bully their opponents.  The maul was hugely impressive and, after a drive had gone 30 metres, Malcolm Marx pealed off the back and fed De Klerk to break Japanese hearts.

Japan had run out of ideas and, following yet another turnover, Willie le Roux found flyer Mapimpi, who sped down the left and touched down as the Springboks deservedly qualified for the semi-finals.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Pen:  Tamura

For South Africa:
Tries:  Mapimpi 2, De Klerk
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard 3
Yellow Card:  Mtawarira

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

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 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Luke Pearce (England)
Television match official:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Wales edge out France to reach semi-finals

Wales booked their place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals when they notched a hard-fought 20-19 win over France in their quarter-final in Oita on Sunday.

In a drama-filled match, Les Bleus held the upper hand for the majority of the game despite playing with 14 men for most of the second half — after Sebastien Vahaamahina was red carded for foul play — but a late converted try from Ross Moriarty secured the victory for Wales.

Aaron Wainwright also scored a try for Wales and Dan Biggar finished with a 10-point haul after succeeding with two conversions and a couple of penalties.

For France, Vahaamahina, Charles Ollivon and Virimi Vakatawa crossed the whitewash and Romain Ntamack kicked two conversions.

The match started at a frenetic pace with both sides giving the ball plenty of air and that strategy worked in France's favour as they scored two tries in quick succession early on.

In the fifth minute, Les Bleus were camped close to Wales' try-line and Vahaamahina bounced off two would-be tacklers before diving over for his first-ever Test try.

Ntamack's conversion attempt struck an upright but France came back strongly from the restart and were soon on the attack again.

And in the ninth minute that tactic reaped reward when Ollivon crossed for a brilliant try.  This, after Vakatawa made a superb line break inside his half before offloading to Ntamack, who got a pass out to Antoine Dupont.  The scrum-half did well to draw in the last defender and offloaded to Ollivon, who showed the cover defence a clean pair of heels before scoring under the posts.

The conversion from Ntamack meant Les Bleus were leading 12-0 after 10 minutes but shortly afterwards Guilhem Guirado lost the ball in contact 10 metres inside his half and Wainwright gathered it before racing away to score his first five-pointer for Wales.

Although that try was against the run of play, it came at the right time for Wales as they held the upper hand for the next 10 minutes and Biggar narrowed the gap to two points when he slotted a penalty midway through the half.

In the 28th minute, Moriarty replaced the injured Josh Navidi but shortly after he came on he was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Gael Fickou.

With a numerical advantage, Les Bleus regained the initiative and on the hour-mark Damian Penaud joined a backline attack just outside France's 22 before offloading to Vakatawa, who crossed for his side's third try, despite a desperate tackle from Wyn Jones.

Ntamack added the extras which meant France were leading 19-10 as the teams changed sides at the interval.

After an impressive performance for @WelshRugbyUnion against France.  Aaron Wainright was the @mastercard Player of the Match.

1 try
64 metres gained
2 clean breaks
14 tackles #POTM #StartSomethingPriceless #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/JAG4ieYWSw

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 20, 2019

The second half started more cautiously but France were dealt a massive blow when Vahaamahina received his marching orders for elbowing Wainwright in his face at a maul in the 49th minute.

Five minutes later Biggar reduced the deficit to six points when he added his second penalty after Fickou infringed at a ruck.

The next 20 minutes was an arm wrestle as Wales went in search of the win but France did well to stay in the game and even had chances to extend their lead when they were on the attack inside Wales' 22.  But handling errors and resilient defence from Wales meant they had nothing to show for their efforts.

In the 74th minute, Wales' forwards put great pressure on a French scrum close to Les Bleus' try-line and Tomos Williams did brilliantly to rip the ball from Baptiste Serin's arms before Justin Tipuric collected it.  He was tackled just short of the line but Moriarty gathered at the ensuing ruck and burrowed his way over the whitewash.

Biggar slotted the conversion to give his side a 20-19 lead and although France tried desperately to strike back during the game's closing stages, Wales finished stronger and held on for the win which secured their place in the semi-finals.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Wainwright, Moriarty
Cons:  Biggar 2
Pens:  Biggar 2
Yellow Card:  Moriarty

For France:
Tries:  Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa
Cons:  Ntamack 2
Red Card:  Vahaamahina

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

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 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Vincent Rattez

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

New Zealand thrash Ireland to book semi-final spot

New Zealand issued a warning to their Rugby World Cup rivals as they reached the tournament's semi-finals courtesy of a 46-14 win over Ireland in Tokyo on Saturday.

There was plenty of hype around this fixture as Ireland won two of the last three matches between these sides but, as the scoreline suggests, this encounter was all about the All Blacks, who dominated for long periods.

In the end, the world champions outscored their opponents by seven tries to two with Aaron Smith (2), Beauden Barrett, Codie Taylor, Matt Todd, George Bridge and Jordie Barrett all dotting down and Richie Mo'unga added 11 points after slotting four conversions and a penalty.

There was little positive to report for Ireland, who delivered an error-strewn performance and seldom threatened to create try-scoring opportunities.  Their points came via a Robbie Henshaw five-pointer which was converted by Joey Carbery and they were also awarded a penalty try.

The All Blacks came out firing from the kick off and raced into a 10-0 lead inside 15 minutes after having a bulk of the possession and they also dominated the territorial stakes.

They opened scoring as early as the sixth minute courtesy of a penalty from Mo'unga and continued to dominate as the half progressed, with great interplay between their forwards and backs on show.

In the 14th minute, their pack set up a good platform deep inside Ireland territory with pick-and-goes — with Kieran Read, Joe Moody, Sam Whitelock and Sam Cane — prominent.  Smith then made a sniping break through the middle of a ruck close to Ireland's try-line before diving over for the opening try.

The world champions made full use of the point-scoring opportunities presented to them and extended their lead in the 20th minute when their inside backs did brilliantly to create space for Sevu Reece, who joined the line at pace, which created an overlap.  He offloaded to Bridge, who was stopped close to the try-line and from the ensuing ruck Smith, once again, barged over the whitewash from close quarters.

Mo'unga was successful with both conversions which meant the All Blacks were leading 17-0 and in the 32nd minute things went from bad to worse for Ireland when full-back Barrett crossed for his team's third try.

Ireland were initially on the attack close to the halfway line but aggressive defence from Reece saw Johnny Sexton spilling the ball which was booted upfield by Anton Lienert-Brown.  Barrett then kicked ahead before collecting the ball on his way over the try-line and although referee Nigel Owens checked with his TMO to see if Lienert-Brown had played the ball from an offside position, television replays showed that Reece did not touch the ball after his hit on Sexton and the try was awarded.

Although Mo'unga was off target with the conversion attempt, New Zealand went into the half-time break in a confident mood as they held a commanding 22-0 lead.

FT at #RWCTokyo

An exceptional performance from the @AllBlacks with 7 tries against @IrishRugby

We have our first Semi-Final confirmed:@EnglandRugby 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 v @AllBlacks 🇳🇿#RWC2019 #NZLvIRE pic.twitter.com/0SnJ9VNy61

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 19, 2019

If Ireland wanted to stay alive in this contest they had to score first after the break but that wasn't to be as the All Blacks continued with their dominance.

In the 48th minute they went further ahead when Read ran a superb angle to gather a pass from Smith deep inside Ireland's half but although his progress was halted close to his opponents' try-line, the All Blacks skipper managed to free his arms before offloading to Taylor, who crashed over under the posts.

Ireland seemed shell-shocked by the intensity of the All Blacks' onslaught but although they tried desperately to fight back, they continued to commit numerous unforced errors.

The All Blacks did not take their foot off the pedal, however, and in the 61st minute Todd crossed for their fifth try after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Although New Zealand had the game sewn up by then, Ireland did not surrender and opened their account in the 69th minute courtesy of a try from Henshaw after collecting a pass from CJ Stander, who broke off the back of a scrum on New Zealand's five-metre line.

The world champions were not done yet and struck back with Bridge's try, after Ardie Savea and Dane Coles did well in the build-up.

Although Ireland were awarded a penalty try shortly afterwards, when Todd prevented Stander from scoring at close quarters, the world champions sealed their win and semi-finals berth when Jordie Barrett scored their seventh try in the game's dying moments.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Smith 2, B Barrett, Taylor, Todd, Bridge, J Barrett
Cons:  Mo'unga 4
Pen:  Mo'unga
Yellow Card:  Todd

For Ireland:
Tries:  Henshaw, Penalty try
Con:  Carbery

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

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Johnny 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 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gaüzère (France), Angus Gardner (Australia)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

England advance to semi-finals with win over Australia

England became the first team to advance to the semi-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup when they claimed a 40-16 win over Australia in Oita on Saturday.

As expected, this was an entertaining spectacle with both sides going at each other hammer and tongs for the full 80 minutes but, in the end, England's class shone through with their forwards laying a superb platform for their win.

England captain Owen Farrell led the way with a faultless goal-kicking display as he finished with a 20-point haul courtesy of four penalties and four conversions.  Their other points came courtesy of a brace of tries from Jonny May and further five-pointers from Kyle Sinckler and Anthony Watson.

For Australia, Marika Koroibete scored a try which was converted by Christian Lealiifano, who also added three penalties.

Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika promised that his side would attack England — in the build-up to this match — and they did just that as they ran the ball from all areas of the field.

Their high-risk approach proved costly, however, as they committed a plethora of unforced errors and battled to break down England's defence.

Their decision to go for all-out attack gave them an edge early on and they opened the scoring in the 12th minute courtesy of a penalty from Lealiifano after Billy Vunipola infringed at a breakdown.

England were soaking up the pressure and struck back in style in the 18th minute when May crossed for the opening try.  This, after the ball went through several pairs of hands inside Australia's 22 before Tom Curry offloaded to May, who scored in the left-hand corner.

Shortly afterwards, the Wallabies were on the attack inside England's half but a poor pass from David Pocock was pounced on by Henry Slade, who set off towards his opponents' try-line.  He was hauled in by the cover defence but had the presence of mind to stab a grubber kick through which was gathered by May, who dived over in the same corner for his second try.

Farrell succeeded with both conversions which meant England were leading 14-3 midway through the half before Lealiifano reduced the deficit with his second penalty in the 26th minute.

England were still holding the upper hand, however, and their forwards, in particular, were dominating in contact.  And on the half-hour mark, Farrell added a penalty after Lealiifano went off his feet at a ruck just outside England's 22.

The half's closing stages were evenly contested but on the stroke half-time Lealiifano slotted his third penalty after Sinckler was blown up for illegal scrummaging, which meant England were leading 17-9 at the interval.

It's @englandrugby into the final four at Rugby World Cup 2019 after beating @Wallabies 40-16 in Oita #RWC2019 #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/74X6fGmb0d

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 19, 2019

The Wallabies hit the ground running after the break and three minutes into the new half Jordan Petaia found himself in space just inside England's half after gathering a long pass from Reece Hodge.  Petaia did well to throw an inside pass to Koroibete, who showed his class as he rounded Elliot Daly with ease before crossing for a deserved try.

Lealiifano added the extras and the Wallabies had their tails up as they were trailing by just one point on the scoreboard.

But, once again, England did not panic and shortly afterwards Farrell threw a superb flat pass which Sinckler gathered on the edge of Australia's 22 and the burly prop glided through a gaping hole in the Wallabies' defence before crashing over for his side's third try.

Farrell was successful with the conversion attempt and also slotted a penalty in the 51st minute which gave his side some breathing space with the score 27-16 in their favour.

The Wallabies upped the ante on attack in a bid to narrow the gap but despite several forays into England's half over the next 10 minutes, they could not breach the English defence.

After seeing off those attacks, England were soon camped inside Australia's half and were up 33-16 by the the 73rd minute courtesy of two further penalties from Farrell.

With such a huge deficit and time running out on the clock, Australia became desperate and launched several waves of attack from deep inside their half.

In the 76th minute, that tactic backfired, however, when Watson intercepted a wayward pass from Kurtley Beale on the edge of the Wallabies' 22 and raced away to score the try which booked his side's place in the semi-finals.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  May 2, Sinckler, Watson
Cons:  Farrell 4
Pens:  Farrell 4

For Australia:
Try:  Koroibete
Con:  Lealiifano
Pens:  Lealiifano 3

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

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Will Genia, 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 Taniela Tupou, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 James O’Connor

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Stunning Japan make last-eight after superb win

Japan produced a stunning first half display as they qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time ever following a 28-21 triumph over Scotland in Yokohama.

Gregor Townsend’s men may have started on the front foot with Finn Russell going over, but the Brave Blossoms hit back superbly via Kotaro Matsushima, Keita Inagaki and Kenki Fukuoka.

Fukuoka then went over at the start of the second period to seemingly take the game out of the Scots’ reach, but the Murrayfield-based outfit responded magnificently.

Willem Nel and Zander Fagerson touched down in quick succession to give them hope, but it was not enough as Japan moved through to the knockout stages after one of the games of the tournament.

Despite the final result, Scotland got off to an ideal start as Russell started and finished a move which took them 7-0 ahead.

Firstly, the fly-half produced a well-weighted cross-field kick, allowing Magnus Bradbury to pick up and get to within five metres of the line, and under pressure the Brave Blossoms yielded when Scotland’s star pivot eased his way through a tackle and touched down.

It was a blow for Jamie Joseph’s men, who have not necessarily reacted well when they have been favourites.  Against both Russia and Samoa, they struggled at times, but on Sunday the hosts came back firing.

The Asian outfit moved the ball swiftly and opened the space for Fukuoka to speed down the left.  Although the back was tap-tackled by Chris Harris, he brilliantly found his wing partner Matsushima to cross the whitewash.

The moment Japan made history #JPNVSCO #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/4VSOTLQ703

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 13, 2019

After that stunning response, Japan went one better when Shota Horie, Pieter Labuschagne and Will Tupou combined to send Inagaki over for a wonderful score.

Scotland were now the team under duress and they failed to respond.  Instead, the Japanese got stronger and a brilliant Timothy Lafaele grubber was collected and finished by Fukuoka for a 14-point buffer at the interval.

Townsend needed a response from his charges but it initially failed to come as Japan simply increased their lead when Fukuoka stripped the ball from Harris and sped 40 metres to touch down.

At that point, the match – and the Scots’ quarter-final hopes – appeared over but they gave themselves a glimmer when good work from Jamie Ritchie and Stuart Hogg allowed Nel to cross the whitewash.

All of a sudden, the Six Nations side had the momentum and Russell was starting to weave his magic.  It opened the space for Scott Cummings and Jonny Gray to combine, and Fagerson was the recipient of their good work to close the gap further.

Although Japan stemmed the tide, Scotland were beginning to create more opportunities as tiredness set in, but the hosts did just enough to run down the clock and oust their opponents from the competition.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Matsushima, Inagaki, Fukuoka 2
Cons:  Tamura 4

For Scotland:
Tries:  Russell, Nel, Fagerson
Cons:  Laidlaw 2, Russell

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

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 Stuart McInally, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 George Horne, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Blair Kinghorn

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Wales claim top spot in Pool D after unconvincing win

Wales will take on France in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup after finishing top of Pool D following a 35-13 triumph over Uruguay in Kumamoto.

It was a poor display from Warren Gatland’s men but they started well enough, going 7-0 ahead via Nicky Smith’s try.  However, they struggled to get to grips with a feisty and energetic Uruguayan outfit.  The 2019 Grand Slam winners conceded far too many penalties and Felipe Berchesi made no mistake off the tee to keep Los Teros in the contest at the interval.

Wales’ greater quality eventually told, though, as Josh Adams, Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies scores, as well as a penalty try, secured the bonus-point triumph.

The South Americans stunned Fiji earlier in the competition and they were rewarded for their performance here as German Kessler touched down, but a weakened Welsh team did enough to prevent them repeating the feat from Round One.

Los Teros deserve immense credit after producing an incredibly resilient display.  Centres Andres Vilaseca and Juan Manuel Cat carried hard and gave plenty of go-forward, while their industrious forwards and the booming boot of Santiago Arata got them out of several difficult situations.

Uruguay were also brave, if ill-disciplined, in defence, but they were eventually breached as the constant pressure resulted in Smith crossing the whitewash from a close-range surge.

That score could have opened the floodgates but the Uruguayans were impressive and frustrated the Six Nations outfit, earning a number of penalties which resulted in Berchesi reducing the arrears from the tee.

TRY!

Fully deserved and it's Uruguay's leading try-scorer of 2019, Kessler who sneaks over#ITVRugby #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/oLKpWaUyvY

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 13, 2019

It was just reward for their endeavour and they continued to thwart Wales’ attack towards the end of the first half.  That led to several infringements and Uruguay’s fly-half duly added a second three-pointer to remarkably close the gap to one point at the break.

The Welsh needed to go back to basics and cut out a few of the errors which had pervaded their play.  Gatland’s side duly did that and an excellent looping pass from Rhys Patchell saw Adams touch down unopposed.

Those mistakes weren’t completely eradicated, however, and they were denied another score when Hadleigh Parkes’ assist to Hallam Amos was called back after correctly being adjudged forward.

Wales remained on the front foot, though, and Santiago Civetta was yellow carded following a series of indiscretions from Uruguay.  With their opponents a man down in the pack, they set up a maul and, when it was illegally collapsed, referee Angus Gardner awarded a penalty try.

That score took the game out of the South Americans’ reach but they continued to fight and deservedly went over through Kessler.  It brought them to within eight points of the Welsh but two late tries from Williams and Davies rubber-stamped the victory for the group winners.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Smith, Adams, Penalty try, Williams, G Davies
Cons:  Halfpenny 4

For Uruguay:
Try:  Kessler
Con:  Berchesi
Pens:  Berchesi 2

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Wyn Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 James Davies, 22 Tomos Williams, 23 Gareth Davies

Uruguay:  15 Gaston Mieres, 14 Leandro Leivas, 13 Juan Manuel Cat, 12 Andres Vilaseca, 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Santiago Arata, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 7 Santiago Civetta, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (c), 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Mateo Sanguinetti
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Juan Echeverria, 18 Juan Pedro Rombys, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Manuel Diana, 21 Agustin Ormaechea, 22 Tomas Inciarte, 23 Rodrigo Silva

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Tonga prove too strong for USA

Tonga proved too strong for the USA as they sealed a 31-19 bonus-point win in their Rugby World Cup Pool C encounter in Higashiosaka on Sunday.

In a topsy-turvy match, characterised by several unforced errors from both sides, the Pacific Islanders got better as the match progressed and eventually outscored the Eagles by four tries to three.

Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, Malietoa Hingano, Siale Piutau and Telusa Veainu scored Tonga’s tries and Mike Te’o (2) and Tony Lamborn dotted down for the USA.  Tonga’s other points came courtesy of two conversions and a penalty from Sonatane Takulua while James Faiva and Piutau also succeeded with a conversion apiece.  AJ MacGinty added two conversions for the Eagles.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested with the sides feeling each other out but the game came alive in the 17th minute when the Pacific Islanders opened the scoring courtesy of Fisi’ihoi’s try from close quarters, after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Takulua added the extras but the Eagles did not take long to respond as Te’o found himself in space down the right-hand touchline in the 23rd minute and he did well to beat the cover defence with deft footwork before crossing for his first try.

Three minutes later, the USA were on the attack again inside Tonga’s half and they took the lead when Te’o crossed for his second try after gathering a brilliant flick pass from Cam Dolan.

Just before half-time, Tonga had a chance to narrow the gap when Fisi’ihoi was in the clear out wide but he had the ball knocked from his grasp while crossing the whitewash by Ruben de Haas and the teams changed sides at the interval with the USA leading 12-7.

Full-time | After an exciting match at #RWCHanazono, it's @officialTongaRU who finish their #RWC2019 with a 31-19 win over @USARugby pic.twitter.com/DpCiujxJId

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 13, 2019

Tonga drew first blood in the second half courtesy of a penalty from Takulua in the 51st minute after the Eagles’ backline strayed offside on defence.

The USA came back strongly and were camped close to Tonga’s try-line in the 59th minute, after taking the ball through 19 phases, but conceded a turnover which proved fatal.  The Pacific Islanders launched a counter-attack with Veainu booting the ball upfield before ‘Atieli Pakalani gathered deep inside the Eagles’ half.  He got a pass out to Hingano, who went over for a deserved try which meant the Pacific Islanders held the lead again.

Tonga continued to attack and five minutes later they were rewarded when Piutau breached the USA’s defence before dotting down.  Takulua was successful off the kicking tee which gave his side a 24-12 lead but the USA came back strongly in the game’s closing stages and narrowed the gap when Lamborn crashed over for their third try from close range.

Despite that score, Tonga finished stronger and secured the result when Veainu dotted down after gathering a teasing grubber kick from Latiume Fosita after the full-time hooter had gone.

The scorers:

For USA:
Tries:  Te’o 2, Lamborn
Cons:  MacGinty 2

For Tonga:
Tries:  Fisi’ihoi, Hingano, Piutau, Veainu
Cons:  Takulua 2, Faiva, Piutau
Pens:  Takulua

USA:  15 Will Hooley, 14 Blaine Scully (c), 13 Bryce Campbell, 12 Paul Lasike, 11 Marcel Brache, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Ruben de Haas, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Malon Al-Jiboori, 6 Tony Lamborn, 5 Nick Civetta, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 1 Eric Fry
Replacements:  16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Ben Landry, 20 Hanco Germishuys, 21 Ben Pinkelman, 22 Nate Augspurger, 23 Mike Te’o

Tonga:  15 Telusa Veainu, 14 ‘Atieli Pakalani, 13 Malietoa Hingano, 12 Siale Piutau (c), 11 Viliami Lolohea, 10 James Faiva, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Zane Kapeli, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Halaleva Fifita, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Siua Halanukonuka, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Siegfried Fisi’ihoi
Replacements:  16 Siua Maile, 17 Vunipola Fifita, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Dan Faleafa, 20 Nasi Manu, 21 Leon Fukofuka, 22 Latiume Fosita, 23 David Halaifonua

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

14-man Ireland power past Samoa to reach quarter-finals

Ireland claimed a 47-5 victory over Samoa in their final Rugby World Cup pool fixture in Fukuoka, despite a first-half red card for Bundee Aki.

In an entertaining match, played at a fast pace, Ireland did well to dominate proceedings after Aki received his marching orders.  This, for making contact with the head of Ulupano Seuteni with his shoulder in a tackle 10 minutes before half-time.

Jonathan Sexton led the way for Ireland with an 18-point haul courtesy of a brace of tries and four conversions.  Their other points came via tries from Rory Best, Tadhg Furlong, Jordan Lamour, CJ Stander and Andrew Conway while Joey Carbery succeeded with two conversions.

For Samoa, who had two players sent to the sin bin, Jack Lam crossed the whitewash.

Ireland were fastest out of the blocks and took the lead in the fourth minute courtesy of Best’s try which came off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Samoa territory.

Sexton slotted the conversion and the Pacific Islanders were dealt a further setback shortly afterwards when Seilala Lam was yellow carded for a high tackle on Jacob Stockdale.

With a numerical advantage, Ireland were always going to dominate and shortly after Lam was sent to the sin bin Furlong set off on a barnstorming run inside Samoa’s 22 where he burst through four tackles before crashing over for his side’s second five-pointer.

That was the only points scored during Lam’s stint on the sidelines but Ireland continued to dominate and midway through the half Sexton crossed the whitewash after Lamour did well in the build-up.

Despite that onslaught from the Irish, Samoa came back strongly and opened their account in the 28th minute when Lam scored his try from close quarters despite the attentions of two defenders.

Just before the half-hour mark, Aki received his marching orders but Ireland still finished stronger during the opening period and led 26-5 at half-time after Sexton crossed for his second try shortly before the interval.

#RWC2019

FULL TIME SCORE: IRELAND 47-5 SAMOA #TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #IREvSAM pic.twitter.com/4SR6MKb9jL

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 12, 2019

Ireland’s numerical disadvantage did not prove too costly and they continued to hold the upper hand after the restart.  And in the 48th minute, they extended their lead when Larmour dotted down after gathering a well-timed long pass from Conor Murray.

They spent the next 20 minutes camped inside Samoa’s territory, although they were frustrated by a solid defensive effort from their opponents, who also committed a plethora of penalties during that time.  In the 59th minute, the Pacific Islanders suffered a further setback when TJ Ioane was also yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul close to his try-line.

Five minutes later, Stander crossed the whitewash from close quarters for his side’s sixth try and in the 70th minute Conway scored his five-pointer by diving onto a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Carbery behind Samoa’s try-line.

That sealed an emphatic win for the men from the Emerald Isle as well as their spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals.  They will face either New Zealand or South Africa in the play-offs, depending on the outcome of the match between Japan and Scotland which is set to be played in Yokohama on Sunday.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Best, Furlong, Sexton 2, Lamour, Stander, Conway
Cons:  Sexton 4, Carbery 2
Red Card:  Aki

For Samoa:
Try:  J Lam
Yellow Cards:  S Lam, Ioane

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 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 Jean Kleyn, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Andrew Conway

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Ulupano Seuteni, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Jack Lam (c), 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Chris Vui, 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Logovii Mulipola
Replacements:  16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordan Lay, 19 Piula Faasalele, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Kieron Fonotia

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Australia stutter to victory over Georgia

Australia produced another mistake-ridden performance but did enough to overcome Georgia 27-8 in Fukuroi and move to the top of Pool D.

The Wallabies had 80 per cent of the ball in the first half but they could only muster a 10-3 advantage at the break following Nic White’s try and Matt Toomua’s penalty.

Soso Matiashvili responded for the Lelos off the tee and they remained in the contest as the Australians struggled in the inclement conditions.  However, Marika Koroibete, Jack Dempsey and Will Genia tries ensured the victory and took them to the group summit, despite Alexander Todua’s score.

Michael Cheika’s outfit are still likely to face England in the quarter-finals, though, with Wales only needing a victory against Uruguay on Sunday to claim the pool.

Although conditions made it difficult for the Australians, they will need to improve significantly if they are to challenge the Red Rose.

The Wallabies did start well on Friday, however, and remained patient, displaying good skills to initially keep mistakes at a premium.  Their pressure was unrelenting and Milton Haig’s men began to tire, resulting in fly-half Toomua breaking the line.  Although the pivot was halted, they went through the phases and White showed his sniping instincts to touch down.

Buoyed by that score, Cheika’s charges had the confidence to move the ball from inside their own 22, but it didn’t prove to be the wisest call as Tolu Latu lost the ball in contact.  The hooker then proceeded to take Merab Sharikadze high and that allowed Matiashvili to reduce the arrears after half-an-hour.

Australia continued to control the encounter, though, and earned a series of penalties close to the opposition line.  They maintained their tactic of going for the corner but it did not yield any reward as the Lelos remained stout and held out.

Georgia try!@GeorgianRugby score their first try thanks to Alexander Todua but the dummy to set him away down the flank is pure 🔥#RWC2019 #ITVRugby #AUSVGEO pic.twitter.com/I56YeWwRvB

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) October 11, 2019

The Australians were then hampered by a yellow card handed out to Isi Naisarani for a dangerous clearout, but they managed to restore their seven-point buffer just shy of the interval via the boot of Toomua.

It was an unsurprisingly scrappy affair and both teams struggled to keep hold of the ball at the start of the second period.  Errors, particularly from the southern hemisphere outfit, pervaded the play and that kept Georgia in the contest.

Cheika’s men needed something special to break the game open and it came from Koroibete, who weaved his way in and out of would-be Georgian tacklers to score a superb individual effort.

That effectively ended the match as a contest, even though their opponents constructed an excellent try as Lasha Khmaladze scythed through and fed Todua, who finished in the left-hand corner.

At 17-8 down, the Lelos had shown commendable spirit, but two late tries from Dempsey and Genia gave the scoreline a more comfortable look for the Wallabies.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  White, Koroibete, Dempsey, Genia
Cons:  Toomua 2
Pen:  Toomua

For Georgia:
Try:  Todua
Pen:  Matiashvili

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Jordan Petaia, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 David Pocock (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Will Genia, 22 Christian Lealiifano, 23 Dane Haylett-Petty

Georgia:  15 Soso Matiashvili, 14 Giorgi Kveseladze, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Beka Gorgadze, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Beka Saginadze, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements:  16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Otari Giorgadze, 20 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Lasha Malaguradze, 23 Tamaz Mchedlidze

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

Wales take the spoils in thriller against Fiji

Wales were given an almighty scare by Fiji on Wednesday, before registering a hard-earned 29-17 win in their Rugby World Cup clash in Oita.

In a tough and uncompromising encounter which was characterised by brilliant attacking play and several brutal collisions, Fiji were competitive throughout but Wales proved too strong in the end and outscored the Pacific Islanders by four tries to three with Josh Adams leading the way with a hat-trick.

Liam Williams also crossed the whitewash for Wales whose other points came via two conversions from Dan Biggar as well as a penalty and a conversion from Rhys Patchell.

Josua Tuisova and Kini Murimurivalu scored five-pointers for Fiji and they were also awarded a penalty try.

Fiji made their intentions known from the outset as they launched several attacks early on and the game exploded into life when Tuisova opened the scoring with a brilliant try in the fourth minute.

This, after he gathered a pass from Frank Lomani off the back of a scrum on Wales’ five-metre line and then bumped off Adams before crossing the whitewash despite the attentions of Biggar and Josh Navidi.

Two minutes later, Wales thought they had drawn level when George North scooped up a loose ball in Fiji’s 22 before passing to Navidi, who dotted down, but his effort was disallowed after Hadleigh Parkes knocked on in the build-up.

Shortly afterwards, Fiji also had a try disallowed after the final pass went forward from Semi Radradra to Lomani, who crossed the line.  The Pacific Islanders received a shot in the arm, however, when Wales were reduced to 14 men after Ken Owens was yellow carded for a tip tackle on Viliame Mata after he offloaded to Radradra.

Fiji made full use of their numerical advantage as shortly afterwards Radradra found Murimurivalu with a long pass out wide and the full-back showed great determination as he powered through two tackles on his way over the try-line.

Despite trailing 10-0, Wales did not panic and they received a boost when the Pacific Islanders were also reduced to 14 men after Tevita Cavubati was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on Alun Wyn Jones.

And just like the previous yellow card which helped Fiji, Wales also benefited as Adams soon crossed the whitewash after gathering a cross-field kick from Biggar.

Adams was over the try-line again in the 26th minute but a superb cover tackle from Tuisova pushed him into touch while dotting down.

Fiji were then reduced to 14 men again when Semi Kunatani was yellow carded for an offside tackle deep inside his 22 and on the half-hour mark Adams scored his second five-pointer after gathering a pass from Jonathan Davies close to Fiji’s try-line.

Biggar added the extras which gave his side a 14-10 lead and although the half’s closing stages were frantic, with Wales doing most of the attacking, Fiji’s defence held firm and no further points were scored before half-time.

Serious stats from @mastercard Player of the Match Semi Radradra.

140 metres (#1 for Fiji)
19 carries (#1 in match)
7 defenders beaten (#1 in match)#POTM #RWC2019 #StartSomethingPriceless pic.twitter.com/QXXcERAicm

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 9, 2019

Just like the opening period, the second half started at a frenetic pace with plenty of end-to-end action.

In the 53rd minutes, James Davies became the fourth player to be sent to the sin bin due to a cynical defensive foul deep inside Fiji’s half.

Volavola put the resulting penalty into touch on Wales’ five-metre line and Fiji launched a lineout drive from the set-piece which was brought to ground close to Wales’ try-line.  Referee Jérôme Garcès had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try to the Pacific Islanders which meant Fiji were now leading 17-14.

Wales were dealt a further blow when Biggar was forced off the field shortly afterwards for a HIA, after he collided with Williams while trying to field a high ball.

He was replaced by Patchell, who drew his side level when he slotted a penalty in the 58th minute before Adams scored his third try in spectacular fashion after gathering a backhanded pass from Davies close to the left-hand corner flag.

Although Fiji continued to fight, Wales finished stronger and secured the win in the game’s closing stages when Williams scored their bonus-point try after receiving a pass from Gareth Davies, who had exploited a hole in Fiji’s defence in the build-up.

The result means Wales advance to the quarter-finals and they will look to secure top spot when they face Uruguay in their final pool match in Kumamoto on Sunday.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Adams 3, L Williams
Cons:  Biggar 2, Patchell
Pen:  Patchell
Yellow Cards:  Owens, James Davies

For Fiji:
Tries:  Tuisova, Murimurivalu, Penalty try
Yellow Cards:  Cavubati, Kunatani

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 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 Josh Navidi, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin

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 Semi Kunatani, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu (c), 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Samuel Matavesi, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements:  16 Mesulame Dolokoto, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Peni Ravai, 19 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 20 Peceli Yato, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Jale Vatubua, 23 Josh Matavesi

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Nine-try Scotland get job done against Russia

Scotland produced the performance of their Rugby World Cup thus far as they hammered Russia 61-0 at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa on Wednesday.

With a try bonus-point also achieved, the Scots claimed the required five points that sets up a mouth-watering clash with Japan on Sunday.

George Horne starred with a hat-trick while Adam Hastings (2), George Turner, Tommy Seymour, John Barclay and Stuart McInally also crossed, with Hastings kicking eight conversions for a 26-point haul.

The Scots were two thirds of the way to that critical bonus point at the halfway point in the game after an impressive opening 40 minutes.

Critics of Gregor Townsend’s decision to make 14 changes to his XV were swiftly silenced when, after a non-stop first five minutes to the game, Scotland opened the scoring through Hastings.  The fly-half dummied 15 metres out before showing a good turn of pace to make it 7-0.

The playmaker was over again on 19 minutes but in slightly fortuitous circumstances as his kick ahead would evade Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev in the in-goal area and Hastings would gleefully dot down to double the advantage.  It was a perfect opening quarter for Scotland.

Scotland were now on a roll but Russia did not help themselves, a third try coming on 23 minutes as Dmitry Perov’s pass on his own try-line from a lineout was intercepted by the busy Horne.  Scotland though weren’t complaining as they were on the verge of mission accomplished.

The fourth try would not arrive in the half, however, as Russia stood firm in their own 22 before a knock-on ended the Scottish onslaught.

FULL TIME | Scotland run in nine tries to defeat Russia at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa! #AsOne pic.twitter.com/xpdEWVScBu

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 9, 2019

It wouldn’t take long for the fourth try to arrive as just five minutes into the second period scrum-half Horne finished off a wonderful breakout from wing Darcy Graham.  The sense of relief was visible in the Scotland camp as they knew they had the five matchday points they needed.

That prompted a release in pressure and Scotland turned the screw, with hooker Turner next to go over as he broke away from a maul.

Seymour got in on the act on 56 minutes as he did well to dive on a smart Blair Kinghorn kick through, with Scotland now up to 42 points.

It was now a case of how many Scotland would get and they showed no signs of slowing when Horne completed his hat-trick on the hour mark, collecting a pass from Henry Pyrgos on the left wing to cap a memorable individual feat.  Hastings could not add the extras so it was 49-0.

Horne’s evening almost got better shortly after when he crossed for what looked like a fourth try.  However, the final pass was adjudged to have been forward.  That mattered not though as the half-century was brought up late on, with Barclay cruising over before McInally wrapped up an impressive victory that gives Scotland confidence ahead of this weekend’s huge fixture.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hastings 2, G Horne 3, Turner, Seymour, Barclay, McInally
Cons:  Hastings 8

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Fraser Brown, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Stuart McInally, 17 Simon Berghan, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Henry Pyrgos, 23 Chris Harris

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

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Argentina finish on a high after beating USA

Argentina finished their Rugby World Cup campaign on a high when they notched a 47-17 victory over the USA in Kumagaya on Wednesday.

With their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals dashed after losing to England at the weekend, the Pumas were determined to bounce back with an improved effort and they did just that as they dominated most facets of play and eventually outscored the USA by seven tries to three.

Nicolas Sanchez led the way with a 15-point haul courtesy of a try and five conversions while Joaquin Tuculet (2), Juan Cruz Mallia (2), Jeronimo De La Fuente and Gonzalo Bertranou also scored tries and Benjamin Urdapilleta succeeded with a two-pointer off the kicking tee.

For the USA, Blaine Scully scored a brace of tries and Paul Lasike also crossed the whitewash while AJ MacGinty added a conversion.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested with both teams showing a willingness to run the ball from all areas of the field.

In the 11th minute, Argentina thought they had taken the lead when Felipe Ezcurra crossed the whitewash after a sniping break off the back of a scrum, but referee Paul Williams disallowed the try after television replays revealed that Pablo Matera had held Tony Lamborn back off-the-ball at the set-piece.

Despite that setback, the Pumas were slowly gaining the upper-hand and midway through the half an excellent line break from Mallia caught the Eagles’ defence napping.  He was soon on the edge of his opponents’ 22 where he got a pass out to Sanchez, who dotted down in the left-hand corner despite a desperate tackle from Mike Te’o.

Sanchez added the extras and five minutes later he turned provider when he delivered a chip kick behind the Eagles’ try-line which Te’o failed to deal with and Tuculet dived onto the bouncing ball for his side’s second try.

10 minutes later, the Pumas launched an attack at a lineout deep inside USA territory and after setting up some phases with their forwards, the ball was shifted wide to Tuculet, who crossed for his second try.

Sanchez was off target from the kicking tee but with the score 19-0 in their favour, Argentina were in the driving seat with half-time approaching.  Just before the interval, the USA struck back when Scully gathered a teasing grubber kick from MacGinty before crossing for his side’s first try.

Full-time: @lospumas have beaten @USARugby 47-17 at #RWC2019, securing their qualification for #RWC2023 #ARGvUSA pic.twitter.com/M1Tp5X6mEb

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 9, 2019

That score did not alter the course of the match too much as Argentina came out firing in the second period and four minutes into the half Mallia ran a good line before scoring his side’s bonus-point try.

Four minutes later, Mallia grabbed his second five-pointer after running onto a pass from Tuculet and when De La Fuente crossed the whitewash in the 56th minute, the match was over as a contest.

The USA struck back with a try from Lasike on the hour-mark before Argentina hammered home their advantage when Bertranou scored their seventh try in the 71st minute, after good work from the impressive Mallia in the build-up.

To their credit, the Eagles continued to fight and they were rewarded in the game’s dying moments when Scully crossed for his second try after gathering a long pass from Will Hooley.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Sanchez, Tuculet 2, Mallia 2, De La Fuente, Bertranou
Cons:  Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta

For USA:
Tries:  Scully 2, Lasike
Con:  MacGinty

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Juan Cruz Mallia, 12 Jeronimo de La Fuente, 11 Santiago Carreras, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Martin Bertranou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Matías Moroni

USA:  15 Mike Te’o, 14 Blaine Scully (c), 13 Bryce Campbell, 12 Paul Lasike, 11 Marcel Brache, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Ruben de Haas, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 6 Tony Lamborn, 5 Greg Peterson, 4 Nate Brakeley, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 1 Eric Fry
Replacements:  16 Dylan Fawsitt, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Ben Landry, 20 Ben Pinkelman, 21 Nate Augspurger, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Martin Iosefo

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

10-try Springboks put Canada to the sword

South Africa were in sensational form, running in 10 tries in a 66-7 victory over Canada in their Rugby World Cup encounter in Kobe on Tuesday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair which was dominated by the Springboks from the kick off and they held a comfortable 47-0 lead at half-time.

The Canucks were second best in all departments and they had to play most of the match with 14 men after Josh Larsen was red carded for a shoulder charge to Thomas du Toit’s neck, while clearing out a ruck in the 36th minute.

Cobus Reinach led the way with a hat-trick of tries for South Africa while Elton Jantjies finished with a 16-point haul after succeeding with eight conversions.  Their other points came courtesy of five-pointers from Damian de Allende, S’busiso Nkosi, Warrick Gelant, Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe.

For Canada, Matt Heaton scored a try and Peter Nelson added a conversion.

The Springboks made a fantastic start and had their bonus point in the bag inside the opening quarter after early five-pointers from De Allende, Nkosi and Reinach (2).

They opened the scoring as early as the third minute when De Allende crossed the whitewash from close quarters before Nkosi went over in the left-hand corner after gathering a pass from Kwagga Smith deep inside the Canucks’ 22.

And in the 10th minute, Reinach also got his name onto the scoresheet courtesy of a sensational five-pointer.  The Bok number nine set off on an attacking run 10 metres inside Canada’s half and tore his opponents’ defence to shreds with a superb line break.  He then delivered a perfectly-weighted chip kick which he regathered and had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Five minutes later, Reinach spotted a gap close to the try-line before diving over for his second try and he secured his hat-trick the 21st minute after Jantjies, Gelant and De Allende combined brilliantly in the build-up.

Canada’s defence continued to let them down as Gelant also crossed the whitewash in the 28th minute and Jantjies added the extras which meant South Africa were cruising with the score 40-0 in their favour.

Just before half-time, Canada suffered a major blow when referee Luke Pearce sent Larsen off for an illegal hit on Du Toit and things went from bad to worse for them when Steyn scored the Boks’ seventh try after intercepting a pass from Phil Mack close to the Canucks’ try-line.

FT: @springboks go top of Pool B after beating @RugbyCanada 66-7 at #RWC2019 #RSAvCAN #RWCKobe pic.twitter.com/4W4M0BLZaJ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 8, 2019

The second half started brightly for Canada and shortly after the restart Jeff Hassler put them onto the front-foot with a strong run before being brought to ground deep inside South Africa’s 22.  The ball was recycled quickly before Mack offloaded to Heaton, who crossed for his side’s only try in the 46th minute.

10 minutes later, Brits stepped past a couple of defenders before dotting down and there was more joy for the Boks when their inside backs created space for Willemse, who crossed for his first Test try.

And in the 71st minute, Malherbe also got over the whitewash for the first time at Test level which secured an emphatic win for the Springboks and sets them up nicely ahead of the quarter-finals.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach 3, Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse, Malherbe
Cons:  Jantjies 8

For Canada:
Try:  Heaton
Con:  Nelson
Red Card:  Larsen

South Africa:  15 Damian Willemse, 14 Warrick Gelant, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 S’busiso Nkosi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux

Canada:  15 Andrew Coe, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Lucas Rumball, 5 Kyle Baillie, 4 Evan Olmstead, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 1 Hubert Buydens
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Matthew Tierney, 19 Josh Larsen, 20 Mike Sheppard, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Shane O’Leary, 23 Guiseppe du Toit

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

France book quarter-final spot with nervy win over Tonga

France became the second side to advance to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals when they notched a 23-21 victory against Tonga in Kumamoto on Sunday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a tightly contested affair and although France secured the result, Tonga finished stronger and eventually outscored them by three tries to two.

But in the the end, Les Bleus did enough to hold on for their win although there is still plenty of room for improvement ahead of the knockouts.  Alivereti Raka and Virimi Vakatawa scored tries for France and Romain Ntamack added 13 points courtesy of four penalties and two conversions.

Sonatane Takulua, Malietoa Hingano and Zane Kapeli claimed Tonga’s tries and Takulua slotted two conversions while Latiume Fosita also succeeded with a two-pointer off the kicking tee.

Les Bleus dominated during the opening half and after Ntamack opened the scoring with a penalty in the fourth minute, they extended their lead shortly afterwards courtesy of a try from Vakatawa.  Raka laid the groundwork as he breached the Tongan defence with an excellent run, in which he beat three defenders, before offloading to Vakatawa, who had an easy run-in over the try-line.

The next 20 minutes was a slugfest with play restricted mostly to the middle of the field as both sides conceded several turnovers.  France eventually took control of proceedings with Raka leading the way with several superb line breaks.

The Fijian-born flyer was rewarded with his try in the 32nd minute when quick thinking from Baptiste Serin caught the Pacific Islanders’ defence by surprise.  France were awarded a short arm penalty just outside their 22 and Serin opted to play quickly before passing to Raka, who stabbed a grubber kick through, and he did well to regather the ball close to the try-line before crossing the whitewash.

Ntamack’s conversion was successful but, to their credit, Tonga came back strongly during the latter stages of the half.

Just before half-time, they were camped close to France’s try-line and were rewarded when Takulua scored a converted try from close range, which meant Les Bleus were leading 17-7 as the teams changed sides at half-time.

FULL TIME at #RWCKumamoto

A late @officialTongaRU try wasn't enough as a brave Tongan fightback ended two points short @FranceRugby join England in the Quarter-finals 👏#RWC2019 #FRAvTGA pic.twitter.com/E7CnDuyi7u

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 6, 2019

Tonga were fastest out of the blocks in the second period and seven minutes into the half Maxime Medard failed to deal with a Cooper Vuna kick deep inside France’s half which had dire consequences for Les Bleus.  Medard allowed the ball to bounce inside his 22 and was caught by surprise when it was grabbed by Hingano, who showed great determination and leg drive to power his way over the try-line.

Takulua slotted the conversion which meant the Pacific Islanders were back in the game with France clinging to a narrow 17-14 lead.

Tonga did not kick on, however, and conceded two penalties in quick succession.  Both were converted by Ntamack which gave his side some breathing space as the match drew to an end.

France thought they had clinched the result when Antoine Dupont broke around the fringe of a maul before offloading to Damain Penaud, who crossed the whitewash but his effort was disallowed when the TMO ruled that Medard had knocked on when fielding a high ball in the build-up.

The closing stages were tense as Tonga upped the ante on attack and they were rewarded when Kapeli gathered a cross-field kick before crossing for his side’s third try in the 79th minute and Fosita was successful with the conversion which meant they were trailing by just two points.

Tonga failed to gather from the restart, however, and France scrambled to get the ball into touch after the full-time hooter had gone to escape with the four points.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Vakatawa, Raka
Cons:  Ntamack 2
Pens:  Ntamack 3

For Tonga:
Tries:  Takulua, Hingano, Kapeli
Cons:  Takulua 2, Fosita

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Sofiane Guitoune, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Gregorie Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Pierre-Louis Barassi

Tonga:  15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Malietoa Hingano, 12 Siale Piutau (c), 11 David Halaifonua, 10 James Faiva, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Maama Vaipulu, 7 Zane Kapeli, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Halaleva Fifita, 4 Sam Lousi, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Siegfried Fisi’ihoi
Replacements:  16 Sosefo Sakalia, 17 Vunipola Fifita, 18 Siua Halanukonuka, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Nasi Manu, 21 Leon Fukofuka, 22 Latiume Fosita, 23 Atieli Pakalani

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)