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)

11-try All Blacks too good for plucky Namibia

New Zealand made a statement of intent to their Rugby World Cup rivals as they claimed a 71-9 victory over Namibia in their Pool B clash in Tokyo on Sunday.

As expected this was a one-sided affair although the All Blacks battled to hit their stride and held a narrow 10-9 lead after 35 minutes before two late first-half tries gave them a 24-9 buffer at the break.

In the end, the world champions ran in 11 unanswered tries with Sevu Reece (2), Anton Lienert-Brown (2), Ben Smith (2), Angus Ta’avao, Joe Moody, Sam Whitelock, Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara all crossing the whitewash.  Barrett finished with a 21-point haul as he also kicked eight conversions while Damian Stevens scored all Namibia’s points courtesy of three penalties.

New Zealand will be sweating over the availability of Nepo Laulala and Ofa Tu’ungafasi for their next match, against Italy on October 12, though after both props were yellow carded for dangerous tackles.

Despite being outplayed in most facets of play, Namibia were competitive during the first half and drew first blood courtesy of a penalty from Stevens after just two minutes.

It did not take long for the All Blacks to gain the upper hand, however, and four minutes later Reece scored the opening try after gathering a cross-field kick from Barrett.

Surprisingly, the next 15 minutes were evenly contested and Namibia did well to breach the All Blacks’ defence on a couple of occasions.

Only desperate tackling from the world champions prevented the Welwitchias from scoring a try during that period, particularly in the 13th minute when Johan Deysel was stopped close to the All Blacks try-line after a superb line break from PJ van Lill in the build-up.

New Zealand did well to soak up the pressure and midway through the half they extended their lead when Lienert-Brown crossed the whitewash after a fine run in which he beat three defenders.

That score did not deter the Welwitchias, however, and they narrowed the gap to a point by the half-hour mark after Stevens succeeded with two more penalties.

Shortly afterwards, the All Blacks were dealt a further blow when Laulala was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle to the head of Lesley Klim.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, New Zealand dominated the closing stages of the half and were rewarded with tries by Laulala’s replacement, Ta’avao, and Smith which gave them a 24-9 lead at half-time.

FT | Job done in Tokyo.#NZLvNAM #BACKBLACK pic.twitter.com/C5vcKPRzPF

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) October 6, 2019

The All Blacks came out firing after the interval and two minutes after the restart Moody crossed for their fifth five-pointer when he crashed over from close quarters.

It was one-way traffic during the rest of the match as the world champions delivered a masterclass on attacking play and they continued to run in tries from all areas of the field.

Five minutes after Moody’s try, Ardie Savea breached the Namibian defence before offloading to Lienert-Brown, who crossed for his second try before Smith turned provider when he got a pass out to Reece, who also got in for his second five-pointer.

In the 56th minute, Whitelock got his name on the scorescheet, which brought up a half century of points for his team, and the world champions turned on the style as the match progressed while Namibia struggled to cope.

Smith crossed for his second try in the 68th minute, after gathering a superb flick pass from Lienert-Brown, but five minutes later the All Blacks were reduced to 14 men again when Tu’ungafasi also received his marching orders for a high tackle on Darryl De La Harpe.

Despite that setback, the All Blacks finished stronger and late tries from Barrett and Perenara sealed an emphatic win for the world champions, who return to the top of Pool B’s standings.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Reece 2, Lienert-Brown 2, Ta’avao, B Smith 2, Moody, Whitelock, Barrett, Perenara
Cons:  Barrett 8
Yellow Cards:  Laulala, Tu’ungafasi

For Namibia:
Pens:  Stevens 3

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 George Bridge, 10 Jordie Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 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 Matt Todd, 21 Brad Weber, 22 TJ Perenara, 23 Rieko Ioane

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 Lesley Klim, 13 Justin Newman, 12 Johan Deysel (c), 11 JC Greyling, 10 Helarius Axasman Kisting, 9 Damian Stevens, 8 Janco Venter, 7 Thomasau Forbes, 6 Prince Gaoseb, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi, 4 PJ Van Lill, 3 AJ De Klerk, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Andre Rademeyer
Replacements:  16 Obert Nortje, 17 Nelius Theron, 18 Johannes Coetzee, 19 Johan Retief, 20 Adriaan Booysen, 21 Eugene Jantjies, 22 Darryl De La Harpe, 23 Janry du Toit

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Japan still unbeaten after victory over Samoa

Japan retained their unbeaten status at the Rugby World Cup when they notched a 38-19 win over Samoa at City of Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed throughout but the Brave Blossoms held a slight edge throughout and secured the win despite a brave effort from their opponents.

Yu Tamura led the way for Japan with an 18-point haul after kicking three conversions and four penalties while Timothy Lafaele, Kazuki Himeno, Kenki Fukuoka and Kotaro Matsushima scored their tries.

Henry Taefu scored all Samoa’s points courtesy of a converted try and four penalties.

The Brave Blossoms made a terrific start and were up 6-0 after eight minutes courtesy of two penalties from Tamura, but Samoa reduced the deficit when Taefu also slotted a three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 10th minute.

With points on the board, the Pacific Islanders’ confidence started to grow and they dominated proceedings over the next 10 minutes.  They drew level in the 16th minute when Taefu added his second penalty after Michael Leitch infringed at a ruck.

Japan regained the lead when Tamura succeeded with his third penalty in the 25th minute and Samoa were dealt a further setback shortly afterwards when TJ Ioane was yellow carded for a late and dangerous tackle on Matsushima.

The Brave Blossoms made full use of their numerical advantage as they started to run the ball from all areas of the field.  That tactic reaped reward shortly after Ioane’s exit when Matsushima put his side on the front-foot with a brilliant run deep inside Samoa’s 22.  He was eventually brought to ground close to his opponents’ try-line but the ball was recycled quickly and shifted wide to Lafaele, who crossed for the opening try.

Tamura added the extras but five minutes later Taefu reduced the deficit with his third penalty and the teams changed sides at half-time with Japan holding a 16-9 lead.

Great scenes as Japan and Samoa shake hands after a tough encounter, where the hosts kept their hopes of a quarter-final spot well and truly alive. #JPNvSAM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/Ut2vbI82XN

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 5, 2019

Japan had a chance to extend their lead five minutes into the second half when Tamura lined up another penalty but his effort was wide of the mark.  Luckily for the World Cup hosts, the Pacific Islanders continued to concede penalties and in the 51st minute Tamura made up for his earlier miss when he succeeded with his fourth three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Soon after, Japan extended their lead when Himeno crossed the whitewash off the back off a lineout drive inside Samoa’s 22.  Tamura’s conversion was successful but the next 20 minutes proved to be an arm wrestle with Samoa coming back strongly during that period.

And in the 73rd minute, the Pacific Islanders launched an attack from a lineout on Japan’s five-metre line and Taefu rounded off from close range after Kane Le’aupepe and Jack Lam came to the fore with strong carries in the build-up.

Japan finished the stronger, however, and were soon on the attack deep inside Samoa’s half.  And after several phases, the ball was taken out wide to Fukuoka, who crossed for their third try in the 76th minute.

The closing stages was a tense affair as Japan went in search of the bonus-point try and they achieved that feat when Matsushima crossed the whitewash late on.

The result means the Brave Blossoms move above Ireland into top spot in Pool A which sets them up nicely ahead of their final pool match against Scotland in Yokohama on October 13.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Lafaele, Himeno, Fukuoka, Matsushima
Cons:  Tamura 3
Pens:  Tamura 4

For Samoa:
Try:  Taefu
Con:  Taefu
Pens:  Taefu 4
Yellow Card:  Ioane

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

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 Piula Faasalele, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 Jordan Lay
Replacements:  16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 James Lay, 19 Senio Toleafoa, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Tusi Pisi, 23 Kieron Fonotia

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

England reach last-eight after beating 14-man Argentina

England became the first team to reach the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals following a dominant 39-10 triumph over 14-man Argentina in Tokyo.

Los Pumas actually began the game well, going ahead via Benjamin Urdapilleta’s penalty, but Tomas Lavanini’s red card for a dangerous tackle changed the course of the encounter.

The Red Rose had already hit back via Jonny May but they capitalised on the extra man as Elliot Daly and Ben Youngs touched down for a 15-3 lead at the break.

George Ford, Jack Nowell and Luke Cowan-Dickie then went over in the second half while Owen Farrell added three conversions and a penalty as Eddie Jones’ charges claimed an important win.

Unless Tonga can upset France on Sunday then Argentina’s tournament is over, despite Matias Moroni’s try giving them a semblance of consolation late on.

With their World Cup on the line, the Argentines were unsurprisingly physical early on, but they were also intelligent on attack as Urdapilleta’s deft chip was collected out wide by Moroni.  The wing then sped away and grubbered ahead, forcing May to concede a five-metre scrum.

Having struggled in the set-piece for the past couple of years, there was a significant improvement against France and that good work continued on Saturday as a stable platform gave Los Pumas an opportunity to attack.

Under duress, the Red Rose infringed several times close to their own line and were perhaps fortunate not to be sin-binned, but they escaped with just a three-point deficit as Argentina’s fly-half kicked a penalty.

It was a hugely positive start from Mario Ledesma’s men but it was to go horribly wrong before the first quarter had even elapsed.  Firstly, England scored their opening try when poor defence on the short side saw May go over before the decisive moment in the contest.  Farrell took the ball and looked to step but was hit in the head by Lavanini’s shoulder and a red card inevitably followed.

To the Argentinians’ credit, they battled well but the pressure was unrelenting and they conceded twice late in the opening period.  Daly touched down, stepping Emiliano Boffelli and finishing well, before Youngs sniped around the fringes and crossed the whitewash for a 15-3 advantage.

England took that momentum into the second half and a well-constructed phase attack resulted in Ford scoring to seal the bonus-point.  Farrell, who had missed his opening four attempts off the tee, was finally successful with a conversion and they held a 19-point buffer.

Irrespective of the earlier red card, the Red Rose were controlling every facet of the game and a penalty from their inside centre increased their lead further.

With the match won and their passage assured, the contest lost its intensity and that allowed Argentina to gain a foothold, as a fine set-piece attack saw Moroni go over.

Evidently irked by that response, England hit back when the returning Nowell, who hasn’t played since the Premiership final in June, bounced out of a tackle and touched down.

Cowan-Dickie then followed him to complete a win which takes them into the last-eight.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  May, Daly, Youngs, Ford, Nowell, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pens:  Farrell

For Argentina:
Try:  Moroni
Con:  Boffelli
Pen:  Urdapilleta
Red Card:  Lavanini

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 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 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Jack Nowell

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

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Seven-try Wallabies cruise past Uruguay

The Wallabies proved too strong for Uruguay as they ran out comfortable 45-10 winners in their Rugby World Cup encounter in Oita on Saturday.

Australia were full value for their win as they held the upper hand for long periods and scored seven tries, but their discipline let them down as Adam Coleman and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto were both yellow carded for dangerous tackles.

Dane Haylett-Petty and Tevita Kuridrani crossed for a brace of tries apiece and their other five-pointers were scored by Test debutant Jordan Petaia, Will Genia and James Slipper while Christian Lealiifano succeeded with five conversions.

For Uruguay, Manuel Diana scored a try and Felipe Berchesi added a penalty and a conversion.

Australia had the better of the opening exchanges and after setting up several phases inside Uruguay’s 22, Kurtley Beale joined the line at pace before offloading to Haylett-Petty, who cantered in for the first try.

Despite that score, Los Teros fought back bravely and narrowed the gap in the 13th minute courtesy of a Berchesi penalty, after a high tackle from Michael Hooper on Nicolas Freitas.

A minute later the Wallabies were reduced to 14 men for the first time when Coleman was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Rodrigo Silva.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Wallabies scored the only points during Coleman’s spell on the sidelines courtesy of a try from Petaia, who stepped past two defenders on his way over the whitewash after gathering a pass from Beale deep inside Uruguay’s 22.

On the hour-mark, the Wallabies had another man in the sin bin when Salakaia-Loto was blown up for a high hit on Manuel Ardao but, once again, that did not hamper them too much.  In the 31st minute Beale and Petaia traded passes before the debutant offloaded to Kuridrani, who had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Just before half-time, Uruguay thought they had narrowed the gap when Tomas Inciarte crossed the whitewash but his effort was disallowed when television replays revealed an indiscretion from Diana at a ruck in the build-up.

Thank you to all of our fans for your support this week.

We have defeated @RugbyUruguay 45-10 in our third #RWC2019 pool match!#AUSvURU #GoldBlooded #TeamRugby pic.twitter.com/bRf8MtB7PU

— Wallabies (@wallabies) October 5, 2019

That meant the Wallabies were leading 19-3 at half-time and shortly after the restart Kuridrani crossed for his second five-pointer after a bullocking run in the build-up from Taniela Tupou, who came on as a replacement at the start of the second half.

Australia were in control during the rest of the half as they dominated most facets of play.  In the 53rd minute a strong run from Jack Dempsey was rounded off by Genia, who burst through a gaping hole in Los Teros’ defence before dotting down.

On the hour-mark, Genia turned provider when he offloaded to Slipper, who barged over from close quarters for his first Test try and Haylett-Petty sealed the win when he crossed for his second try in the 68th minute.

To their credit, Uruguay did not surrender and were rewarded when Diana scored their only try from close range in the game’s dying moments.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Haylett-Petty 2, Petaia, Kuridrani 2, Genia, Slipper
Cons:  Lealiifano 5
Yellow Cards:  Coleman, Salakaia-Loto

For Uruguay:
Try:  Diana
Con:  Berchesi
Pen:  Berchesi

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Jordan Petaia, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 David Pocock, 21 Will Genia, 22 Samu Kerevi, 23 Adam Ashley-Cooper

Uruguay:  15 Rodrigo Silva, 14 Federico Favaro, 13 Tomas Inciarte, 12 Andres Vilaseca (c), 11 Nicolas Freitas, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustin Ormaechea, 8 Manuel Diana, 7 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Franco Lamanna, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 German Kessler, 1 Juan Echeverria
Replacements:  16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Joaquin Jaunsolo, 18 Juan Pedro Rombys, 19 Ignacio Dotti, 20 Juan Manuel Gaminara, 21 Santiago Arata, 22 Felipe Etcheverry, 23 Agustin Della Corte

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Clinical Springboks thrash 14-man Italy

South Africa’s impressive recent form at the Rugby World Cup continued when they notched a deserved 49-3 victory over Italy in Shizuoka on Friday.

Although the Springboks dominated for long periods, the complexion of the match changed in the 43rd minute when Italy’s Andrea Lovotti received a red card for upending Duane Vermeulen in a tackle and dumping him on his head.

South Africa were leading 17-3 at the time and with a numerical advantage they dominated the rest of the match.

They eventually ran in seven unanswered tries with Cheslin Kolbe (2), Bongi Mbonambi, Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, RG Snyman and Malcolm Marx all crossing the whitewash.

Handre Pollard finished with a 14-point haul courtesy of four conversions and two penalties while Italy’s only points came via a penalty from Tommaso Allan.

Italy suffered an early setback when Simone Ferrari was forced off the field with a leg injury in the third minute.  His replacement, Marco Riccioni, was soon on the back foot at a scrum and he was penalised for illegal scrummaging.

The Boks put the resulting penalty into touch on the Azzurri’s 22-metre line and went on the attack deep inside their opponents’ half.  After setting up a couple of phases, the ball came out to Willie le Roux, who threw a long pass to Kolbe, and the diminutive flyer showed his class as he stepped past Michele Campagnaro and Matteo Minozzi before crossing in the right-hand corner.

Pollard added the extras from close to the touchline but Allan opened Italy’s account when he slotted a penalty in the ninth minute after Mbonambi had infringed at a ruck.

Three minutes later, Italy’s backs strayed offside on defence and Pollard made no mistake off the kicking tee which gave his side a 10-3 lead.

Italy were dealt another blow in the 18th minute when Riccioni also had to leave the field for a HIA which he failed and that meant there would be uncontested scrums for the rest of the match.

Despite being neutralised in the scrums, the Boks continued to dominate the other tight phases and in the 27th minute they launched a lineout drive inside Italy’s 22 from which Mbonambi crossed for his side’s second try.

The Azzurri needed a response if they wanted to win the match and they too had an opportunity from a lineout inside South Africa’s 22 but the Boks’ defence did well to stop them in their tracks and soon won a penalty close to their try-line.

The rest of the half petered out with neither side managing to score further points and the Boks had their tails up with the score 17-3 in their favour at half-time.

Full-time | Cheslin Kolbe scores twice as @Springboks beat Italy by 46 points #RSAvITA #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/wqBqRGBY3H

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 4, 2019

Italy made a bright start to the second half and three minutes after the restart they were on the attack close to South Africa’s try-line after a brilliant line break from Braam Steyn.

That all came to nothing, however, as Italy were soon reduced to 14 men after Lovotti’s moment of madness and the Boks soon regained the initiative.

Shortly afterwards, Du Toit dotted down after running onto a pass from Pollard but that effort was disallowed after television replays revealed that Siya Kolisi had obstructed Tito Tebaldi in the build-up.

The Boks did not panic, however, and a penalty from Pollard in the 51st minute was followed by another try from Kolbe, after gathering a cross-field kick from the pivot.  And five minutes later, they secured their bonus-point try when Am crossed the whitewash after good work from Le Roux in the build-up.

With the game in the bag, the Boks upped the ante on the attack and the final quarter was a one-sided affair.  They sealed an emphatic win with late tries from Mapimpi, Snyman and Marx, and are now on course to reach the quarter-finals.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Kolbe 2, Mbonambi, Am, Mapimpi, Snyman, Marx
Cons:  Pollard 4
Pens:  Pollard 2

For Italy:
Pen:  Allan
Red Card:  Lovotti

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre 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 Mbongeni 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

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

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Ireland struggle to victory over Russia

Ireland garnered their second victory of the 2019 Rugby World Cup after sealing a 35-0 bonus-point triumph over Russia in Kobe on Thursday.

It still wasn’t a convincing performance by the Irish, despite opening up a 21-0 lead at the interval via Rob Kearney, Peter O’Mahony and Rhys Ruddock tries.

The Russians were spirited and they forced Joe Schmidt’s side into mistakes, and the bonus-point wasn’t assured until Andrew Conway touched down in the 61st minute.

That should have opened the floodgates against Lyn Jones’ tiring outfit but they could only add one more try through Garry Ringrose.

After the shock of the Japan defeat, this was supposed to be the ideal match for Ireland to get their campaign back on track but, although they ultimately emerged with a comfortable victory, it was an error-strewn display.

The start was positive enough, however, as just one minute had elapsed when the Irishmen opened the scoring through Kearney.  The full-back, who hadn’t scored a Test try for four years before September, touched down for his third in three successive matches.

O’Mahony soon followed his team-mate across the whitewash as Johnny Sexton grubbered through after spotting space in behind the Bears’ defensive line.

#IREvRUS #RWC2019 #RWCKobe pic.twitter.com/B5vOA8uNBd

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 3, 2019

To Russia’s credit, they battled and prevented their opponents from adding to their lead over the next 20 minutes, but Schmidt’s men gradually increased the pressure and that resulted in a yellow card for Bogdan Fedotko.

With the second-row off the field, Ireland went over once again as Ruddock touched down from close range for a 19-point buffer.  Sexton converted for the third time but it would be one of the fly-half’s final actions as the Leinsterman was replaced by Jack Carty at the break.

Carty has shown some good touches in the early stages of his international career but he struggled to get the Irish on the front foot in the third quarter.  Russia defended excellently and, as a result, the 2018 Six Nations winners were frustrated by their opponents.

Although ill-discipline was a problem for the Russians with Andrei Ostrikov being sin-binned for a dangerous ruck clearout on John Ryan, Ireland initially failed to take advantage.

Instead, a series of errors saw a number of scrums take place in the middle of the pitch and Jones’ men kept it scoreless for the majority of those 10 minutes.

They were eventually breached, though, when Carty and Keith Earls combined to send Conway across the whitewash before another excellent move saw Ringrose complete the win late on.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Kearney, O’Mahony, Ruddock, Conway, Ringrose
Cons:  Sexton 3, Carty 2

For Russia:
Yellow Cards:  Fedotko, Ostrikov

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Jordan Larmour

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Igor Galinovskiy, 12 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 11 Denis Simplikevich, 10 Ramil Gaisin, 9 Dmitry Perov, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Anton Sychev, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrey Garbuzov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Evgeny Matveev, 1 Andrei Polivalov
Replacements:  16 Stanislav Selskii, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Vladimir Podrezov, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Evgeny Elgin, 21 Sergey Ianiushkin, 22 Roman Khodin, 23 Vladimir Ostroushko

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Seven-try Fiji blow Georgia away

Fiji registered their first victory of the 2019 Rugby World Cup when they beat Georgia 45-10 in their Pool D encounter in Higashiosaka on Thursday.

After losing their two previous matches against Australia and Uruguay, there was plenty of pressure on John McKee’s troops but they were full value for their win as they dominated most facets of play.

The match kicked off with heavy rain pelting down but despite the atrocious weather conditions, the Pacific Islanders stayed true to their attacking roots, although they had little reward initially.  The rain subsided as the match progressed and they eventually outscored their opponents by seven tries to one.

Semi Radradra was his team’s hero as he scored a brace of tries and set up three other five-pointers.  Waisea Nayacalevu, Frank Lomani, Josua Tuisova, Semi Kunatani and Apisalome Ratuniyarawa also crossed the whitewash while Ben Volavola succeeded with five conversions.

For Georgia, Mamuka Gorgodze scored a try and Soso Matiashvili added a conversion and a penalty.

The Lelos had a chance to open the scoring in the 15th minute when Kunatani was penalised for an illegal hit on Giorgi Tkhilaishvili but Matiashvili was off target with his shot at goal.

That proved a costly miss as five minutes later Fiji took the lead in spectacular fashion.  This, after Volavola stabbed a teasing grubber kick through just inside Georgia’s half and Radradra gathered the ball brilliantly close to the left-hand touchline before throwing an inside pass to Nayacalevu, who outsprinted the cover defence on his way over the try-line.

That score seemed to jolt Georgia into life as they upped the ante on attack after that and they were soon camped inside Fiji’s half.

In the 33rd minute, the Lelos launched a brilliant attack from close to their try-line and after several phases, they found themselves deep inside Fiji territory.  They were unlucky not be rewarded for their efforts, however, when Giorgi Nemsadze lost the ball while crossing the whitewash.

Fiji’s backs had strayed offside in the build-up to that effort and Matiashvili slotted the resulting penalty which meant the teams changed sides at half-time with the Pacific Islanders holding a slender 7-3 lead.

FT: @fijirugby 45 @GeorgianRugby 10

Semi Radradra double helped Fiji to a 35 point win over Georgia. #GEOvFIJ #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/mJyDDhP9co

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 3, 2019

Fiji were fastest out of the blocks in the second period and six minutes after the restart Tuisova and Radradra combined brilliantly before the latter offloaded to Lomani, who crossed for his side’s second try.

Five minutes later, Radradra joined the Fiji line at pace and drew in the defence before offloading to Tuisova close to the right-hand touchline.  The burly wing still had work to do but beat the last defender with ease and crossed for a deserved try.

Despite those setbacks, Georgia came back strongly and in the 53rd minute Gorgodze showed great power and determination before dotting down from close range.  Matiashvili added the extras but that would be the last time the Lelos would score points as Fiji dominated the rest of the match with Radradra leading the onslaught.

In the 61st minute a superb back-line move, after a scrum close to Georgia’s 10-metre line, created space for Radradra out wide and he showed his class to outpace the cover defence before crossing for his side’s bonus-point try.

That score knocked the wind out of Georgia’s sails as it was all Fiji during the game’s final quarter.

Kunatani and Ratuniyarawa crossed the whitewash in quick succession before Radradra sealed the win with his second try in the game’s closing stages.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Try:  Gorgodze
Con:  Matiashvili
Pen:  Matiashvili

For Fiji:
Tries:  Nayacalevu, Lomani, Tuisova, Radradra 2, Kunatani, Ratuniyarawa
Cons:  Volavola 5

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

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Peceli Yato, 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 Tuvere Vugakoto, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Peni Ravai, 19 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Jale Vatubua, 23 Josh Matavesi

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Barrett brothers all score as All Blacks ease to win

The Barrett brothers, who became the first sibling trio since the Vunipolas to start a World Cup match, all touched down as the All Blacks thrashed Canada 63-0 in Ōita.

Fe’ao, Elisi and Manu Vunipola were in the Tongan team that played Scotland in 1995, but the Barretts went better than that with Jordie, Beauden and Scott touching down.

Two of those players went over in the first half as Steve Hansen’s men took a 28-0 advantage at the break.  Sonny Bill Williams also crossed the whitewash, while they were awarded a penalty try, which opened up a comfortable buffer at the interval.

Rieko Ioane then scored in the second period before Scott Barrett completed a fine day for the family.  New Zealand were not done there, however, with Shannon Frizell and Brad Weber (twice) completing an easy victory.

It was always going to be a long evening for the Canadians and immediately they were put under pressure by the three-time World Cup winners.  From the kick-off, the All Blacks collected and went through the phases, almost touching down via captain Kieran Read.

Kingsley Jones’ charges did well to hold him up but, from the resultant scrum, New Zealand’s forward eight surged towards the line and they were awarded a penalty try for a 7-0 lead.

A second score was soon forthcoming when Richie Mo’unga’s excellent cross-field kick was collected and finished by wing Barrett.

They are the only trio of brothers to start in an @AllBlacks Rugby World Cup match, and they have now all scored a try in #NZLvCAN. #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/80FX7W2KmT

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2019

Against the quality of the defending champions, it was a long way back and, when Williams touched down following an impressive step, the Canucks were 21-0 in arrears after 16 minutes.

Canada almost hit back, however, as Gordon McRorie and Lucas Rumball combined to send Peter Nelson clear, but the scramble defence was impressive to prevent the fly-half from going over.

Following the break down of that attack, Hansen’s men reasserted their authority and had the bonus-point secured before the half-time whistle.  Although Scott Barrett initially missed a glorious chance to score, dropping the ball over the line, brother Beauden wasn’t so profligate and they held a 28-point buffer at the interval.

Conditions were difficult, which led to several handling errors in the first half, but they were well and truly eradicated in the third quarter.  Just one minute had elapsed when Ioane crossed the whitewash before second-row Barrett followed him soon after.

Canada’s heads duly dropped and the All Blacks were simply irresistible at times with the axis of Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett combining superbly.

With the talented duo dictating play Frizell increased their lead, taking Ioane’s off-load and touching down, before Weber twice sprinted clear after good work from the two playmakers.

The game then became loose in the latter stages and New Zealand failed to add to their 63 points, but the All Blacks remained stout in defence and kept the Canadians scoreless.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Penalty try, J Barrett, Williams, B Barrett, Ioane, S Barrett, Frizzell, Weber 2
Cons:  Mo’unga 8

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Jordie Barrett, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Atu Moli
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Ryan Crotty, 23 Ben Smith

Canada:  15 Patrick Parfrey, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Lucas Rumball, 5 Conor Keys, 4 Evan Olmstead, 3 Cole Keith, 2 Eric Howard, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Mike Sheppard, 20 Josh Larsen, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Taylor Paris, 23 Andrew Coe

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzere (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

France hold off spirited USA

France consolidated their position amongst the front-runners in Pool C courtesy of a 33-9 victory against the USA in Fukuoka City on Wednesday.

Despite the big winning margin, Les Bleus were made to work very hard for this result as the game was evenly balanced for long periods and they only secured their win when they scored three tries late in the second half.

But, in the end, France’s class came through as they outscored the USA by five tries to none with Yoann Huget, Alivereti Raka, Gael Fickou, Baptiste Serin and Jefferson Poirot crossing the whitewash while Camille Lopez added three conversions and Thomas Ramos one.

For the USA, who were competitive for long periods, AJ MacGinty succeeded with three penalties.

Les Bleus dominated from the outset and opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Huget gathered a teasing chip kick from Lopez inside the Eagles’ 22 before crossing for a deserved try.

Lopez added the extras but despite that setback, the USA played well during the next 15 minutes and narrowed the gap to four points when MacGinty slotted his first penalty midway through the half.

France regained the initiative, however, and were rewarded with their second try in the 24th minute – Raka crossing the whitewash this time, after collecting a perfectly weighted cross-field kick from Lopez deep inside his opponents’ half.

Lopez was off target with his conversion attempt which meant France were leading 12-3 and the rest of the half would prove to be frustrating for them as they battled to gain the ascendancy.

The USA showed considerable improvement as the half progressed while France were penalised on several occasions during that period.

On the half-hour mark, Les Bleus’ forwards were blown up for straying offside on defence and MacGinty added his second penalty.  That meant the match was evenly balanced at half-time with France holding on to a slender 12-6 lead.

FT at #RWCFukuoka @FranceRugby 🇫🇷 defeat @USARugby 🇺🇸 in Pool C #RWC2019 #FRAvUSA pic.twitter.com/bGwpCuhONL

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2019

Although they had the bulk of the possession after the restart, Les Bleus continued to be frustrated and battled to take control of the match.

In the 50th minute, France thought they had extended their lead when Raka crossed the whitewash after gathering a long pass from Sofiane Guitoune inside the Eagles’ 22, but Raka was called back by referee Ben O’Keeffe, who ruled that Guitoune’s pass went forward.

The next 15 minutes was evenly contested and the USA narrowed the gap to three points when MacGinty succeeded with his third shot off the kicking tee, after Maxime Medard held onto the ball at a ruck.

France came alive after that penalty and were soon camped inside the Eagles’ half.  And after setting up 15 phases, the ball came out to Fickou, who crashed over for their third try from close range in the 67th minute.

It was all France during the game’s closing stages and in the 70th minute Serin broke through the USA’s defence before crossing for his side’s bonus point try with Lopez’s conversion putting more daylight between his side and the Eagles.

Les Bleus continued to dominate and just before the end Poirot sealed their win when he crossed the whitewash off the back of a lineout drive deep inside USA territory.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Huget, Raka, Fickou, Serin, Poirot
Cons:  Ramos, Lopez 3

For USA:
Pens:  MacGinty 3

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Alivereti Raka, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles (c), 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Arthur Iturria, 5 Paul Gabrillagues, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Emerick Setiano, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Jefferson Poirot, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Gregory Alldritt, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Maxime Medard

USA:  15 Mike Teo, 14 Blaine Scully (c), 13 Marcel Brache, 12 Bryce Campbell, 11 Martin Iosefo, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Shaun Davies, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 6 Tony Lamborn, 5 Nick Civetta, 4 Nate Brakeley, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Joe Taufetee, 1 Eric Fry
Replacements:  16 Dylan Fawsitt, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Ben Pinkelman, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Will Magie, 23 Thretton Palamo

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Scotland kick-start campaign by hammering Samoa

Scotland got their Rugby World Cup campaign back on track with a dominant 34-0 triumph over an awful Samoa team in Kobe on Monday.

The Scots were excellent in the first half and went 20-0 ahead at the interval via converted Sean Maitland and Greig Laidlaw tries, while Laidlaw added a penalty and Stuart Hogg kicked a drop goal.

Steve Jackson’s men, meanwhile, were quite frankly abysmal.  Disorganised, passive and lacking any sort of idea of what they were supposed to be doing, the Samoans barely troubled the 2015 quarter-finalists.

They remained on the back foot in the second period as Scotland controlled possession and territory, leading to a penalty try for the Six Nations side.  All that was needed for the ideal 80 minutes was the bonus-point score and it came via another penalty try.

After the disappointment of their display against Ireland, this was the ideal way to respond by the Scots.  The intensity was prevalent as they regularly smashed their opponents’ forwards backwards while there was plenty of ambition in attack.

Conditions made free-flowing rugby difficult, however, and Laidlaw’s early penalty were the only points in the opening quarter.

Both teams were making a number of errors but Scotland were in the ascendancy and they were soon rewarded for their endeavour.  Having overplayed slightly, the half-backs took control and three brilliantly executed kicks led to the first try as Russell found Maitland out wide to finish.

#RWC2019 #ITVRugby @Scotlandteam

📁My Computer

📁 Rugby World Cup

📁 Best Passes

📂 Finn Russell pic.twitter.com/LGAoKEQ6SV

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 30, 2019

It was thoroughly deserved on the balance of play and, buoyed by that score, the Scotsmen soon touched down for the second time.  Once again, the playmakers were prominent when their fly-half broke through and found Jamie Ritchie.  The flanker then passed to Laidlaw and the scrum-half did the rest, evading Tim Nanai-Williams’ poor attempted tackle before crossing the whitewash.

The scrum-half converted for the second time for a 17-point buffer before that was increased to 20 after Hogg’s excellently taken drop goal.

Jackson needed a response from his charges but Samoa continued to struggle in the second period and it was only a matter of time until Scotland extended their lead.

They were far too good for the disappointing Pacific Islanders and duly moved closer to securing the bonus-point when they were awarded a penalty try.

Ed Fidow was yellow carded as a result of the indiscretion and it left the Samoans in disarray.  To their credit, they battled and prevented their opponents taking advantage of the extra man.

It was only after Fidow returned did the Scots finally manage to score the crucial fourth try.  Once more, Samoa’s – and the left wing’s – discipline was at the heart of it when Maitland went charging towards the line.

With the Saracens player using the wet conditions to dive early, Fidow slid in illegally with his knee to prevent him touching down.  Unsurprisingly, another penalty try and yellow card, which resulted in a red, was forthcoming and ended a miserable night for Jackson’s men.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Maitland, Laidlaw, Penalty try 2
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pens:  Laidlaw
Drop goal:  Hogg

For Samoa:
Yellow Cards:  Fidow 2

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

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

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Wales hold on to deny Australia

Wales continued with their fine start to the Rugby World Cup when they notched a 29-25 win against Australia in their Pool D clash in Tokyo on Sunday.

In a fast-paced and entertaining clash, momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed throughout with Wales dominating the first half before Australia launched a superb comeback in the second period but, in the end, Wales held on for a hard-fought victory.

Wales employed an expansive game-plan which stretched Australia’s defence during the first half and they were rewarded with early tries from Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies.  Their other points came via a drop goal and conversion from Dan Biggar while Rhys Patchell added 14 points after also succeeding with a drop goal, three penalties and a conversion.

For Australia, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Dane Haylett-Petty and Michael Hooper scored tries while Matt Toomua succeeded with two conversions and a penalty and Bernard Foley also slotted a penalty.

Wales made a terrific start courtesy of Biggar’s drop goal just 36 seconds into the match after the Wallabies lost possession from the kick off.

Warren Gatland’s men continued to dominate the early exchanges and had a chance to extend their lead when Ashley-Cooper infringed at a ruck in the third minute but Biggar was off target with the shot at goal.

10 minutes later, Biggar made up for that miss when he launched an inch-perfect cross-field kick which Parkes gathered from under the nose of Marika Koroibete, before crossing the whitewash for the game’s opening try which was converted by Biggar.

Despite being on the back foot, the Wallabies did not panic and midway through the half Ashley-Cooper caught a perfectly weighted cross-field kick from Foley before stepping past Josh Adams on his way over the try-line.

Foley failed with the conversion attempt but that try was a shot in the arm for the Wallabies as they were the dominant side over the next 10 minutes.

And their opponents were dealt a setback in the 28th minute when Biggar was forced off the field for a HIA – which he failed – after preventing a certain try from Samu Kerevi by throwing himself in front of the onrushing Wallaby deep inside Wales territory.

Shortly afterwards, Foley reduced the deficit to two points when he succeeded with a penalty but that effort was cancelled out when Patchell, who came on as Biggar’s replacement, also added a three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 33rd minute.

Just like Biggar, Patchell was also on the receiving end of a big Kerevi hit, which was deemed illegal by referee Romain Poite, and the Wales pivot slotted the resulting penalty which gave his side a 16-8 lead by the 37th minute.

Just before half-time, Davies extended his side’s lead when he scored his side’s second try after intercepting a pass from Will Genia close to the Wallabies’ 10-metre line and Patchell made no mistake with the shot at goal which meant Wales were leading 23-8 at the interval.

FULL TIME at #RWCTokyo@WelshRugbyUnion and @wallabies left everything out there in a brilliantly brutal clash 💪

Wales took the win after a brave Australian fightback 👏#RWC2019 #AUSvWAL pic.twitter.com/5WtsvN65Xq

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2019

Wales continued to dominate when the second half started and four minutes after the restart Patchell landed his drop goal from 35 metres out which hammered home his side’s advantage.

The Wallabies needed a response and brought on Toomua as a replacement for Foley which proved a masterstroke as the game’s complexion changed immediately, with Toomua bringing a sharper edge to Australia’s attacking skills.

The Wallabies were soon on the attack inside Wales’ half and after taking the ball through several phases, David Pocock offloaded to Haylett Petty, who crossed for his side’s second five-pointer.

That try seemed to reinvigorate Australia and they had most of the possession and also dominated the territorial stakes over the next 20 minutes.

They spent most of that time camped inside Wales’ half and were rewarded in the 66th minute when Hooper scored under the posts after Allan Alaalatoa and Nic White went close in the build-up.

Toomua added the conversion and also succeeded with a penalty in the 68th minute which meant Wales held a narrow 26-25 lead in the game’s closing stages.

Wales eventually struck back when Patchell landed another penalty in the 72nd minute after Australia’s backs strayed offside on defence.

The closing stages were tense as the Wallabies went in search of the win but they were kept out by a resilient defensive effort from Wales, who move to the top of Pool D’s standings with this win.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Ashley-Cooper, Haylett-Petty, Hooper
Cons:  Toomua 2
Pens:  Foley, Toomua

For Wales:
Tries:  Parkes, G Davies
Cons:  Biggar, Patchell
Pens:  Patchell 3
Drop goals:  Biggar, Patchell

Australia:  15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 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 Sekope Kepu, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 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 Nicky Smith, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin

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

Five-try Georgia too good for Uruguay

Georgia registered their first win at the 2019 Rugby World Cup when they beat Uruguay 33-7 in their Pool D encounter in Saitama on Sunday.

The Lelos were full value for their win as they were in control for long periods and their forwards deserve special praise as they laid the platform for this victory with a dominant display especially in the tight exchanges.

Uruguay, who announced themselves at the global event with a stunning win over Fiji in their tournament opener, could not replicate that performance and although they were competitive during the first half, they faded badly after half-time.  Los Teros finished the match with 14 men when Facundo Gattas was red carded for a shoulder charge to the head of Shalva Sutiashvili in the closing stages.

For Georgia, Alexander Todua, Otari Giorgadze, Levan Chilachava, Jaba Bregvadze and Giorgi Kveseladze crossed the whitewash and Tedo Abzhandadze succeeded with four conversions.

Andres Vilaseca scored Uruguay’s only try which was converted by Felipe Berchesi.

Georgia did most of the early attacking and were camped inside Uruguay’s half during the game’s first quarter.  In the ninth minute, the Lelos launched an attack from a scrum on Uruguay’s five-metre line and the ball was shifted wide to Todua, who opened the scoring when he dotted down in the left-hand corner.

The next 20 minutes was a slugfest as the sides tried to gain the ascendancy but that period was characterised by numerous unforced errors from both teams.

Georgia still held the upper hand though and on the half-hour mark they extended their lead when Giorgadze showed great power and determination before barging over for his team’s second try off the back of a scrum close to Los Teros’ try-line.

Abzhandadze slotted the conversion which meant Georgia held a deserved 12-0 lead but it did not take long for Uruguay to respond as shortly afterwards they narrowed the gap with a well-taken try.

This, after Los Teros launched an attack from a lineout just outside Georgia’s 22 with Rodrigo Silva breaching his opponents’ defence with a powerful run, before throwing an inside pass to Andres Vilaseca, who had an easy run-in next to the posts.

Berchesi added the extras and had a chance to score further points soon after when Guram Gogichashvili was penalised for an indiscretion at a ruck, but the Uruguay pivot pushed his shot at goal wide of the mark.

Congratulations to @Mastercard Player of the Match Otari Giorgadze who clocked up some huge stats during #GEOvURU

19 carries (#1)
81 metres (#1)
4 defenders beaten
1 clean break
2 offloads
1 try#StartSomethingPriceless #POTM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/4RmQBGooGP

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2019

That meant that the match was evenly poised as the teams changed sides at the interval with Georgia holding a slender 12-7 lead.

But the Lelos were fastest out of the blocks in the second period and scored two unanswered converted tries inside the half’s first quarter.

First, another powerful run from Giorgadze inside Uruguay’s 22 was rounded off by Chilachava at close quarters in the 43rd minute, before Bregvadze secured the bonus point for his team when he crossed from a driving maul in the 52nd minute.

Two minutes later, the Georgian captain delivered a teasing chip kick which Silva gathered close to his try-line but he was caught in possession and spilled the ball before Kveseladze gathered and scored an easy five-pointer.

The final quarter was evenly contested but Uruguay’s misery was compounded when Gattas received his marching orders in the 75th minute, with Georgia easing to a victory that puts them third in Pool D.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Todua, Giorgadze, Chilachava, Bregvadze, Kveseladze
Cons:  Abzhandadze 4

For Uruguay:
Try:  Vilaseca
Con:  Berchesi
Red card:  Gattas

Georgia:  15 Lasha Khmaladze, 14 Zura Dzneladze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Lasha Malaguradze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Gela Aprasidze, 8 Otari Giorgadze, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Lasha Lomidze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Jaba Bregvadze (c), 1 Guram Gogichashvili
Replacements:  16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Beka Gigashvili, 18 Giorgi Melikidze, 19 Mamuka Gorgodze, 20 Beka Gorgadze, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Merab Sharikadze, 23 Soso Matiashvili

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

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Nine-try Springboks put 50 past Namibia

South Africa proved too strong for Namibia as they ran out 57-3 winners in their Rugby World Cup clash at the City of Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

As expected, the Springboks were on the front-foot from the kick off as they dominated most facets of play and had too much firepower for their opponents.

The Boks eventually ran nine unanswered tries past their hapless opponents with Bongi Mbonambi and Makazole Mapimpi scoring a brace apiece.

Their other tries were scored by Francois Louw, Lukhanyo Am, Warrick Gelant and Schalk Brits, while Elton Jantjies contributed 12 points after slotting six conversions.

Namibia’s only points came courtesy of a first half penalty from Cliven Loubser.

South Africa started brightly and in the fifth minute Brits grounded the ball against an upright but his effort was ruled out when television replays revealed that he knocked on in the build-up.

That did not deter the Boks and five minutes later they opened their account when Mbonambi crossed the whitewash from a lineout drive and that tactic proved successful again soon after when Louw scored in similar fashion.

Things went from bad to worse for the Welwitchias in the 17th minute when they were reduced to 14 men after Adriaan Booysen was yellow carded for deliberately knocking down a Springboks pass deep inside his half.

It did not take long for South Africa to capitalise on their numerical advantage as two minutes after Booysen’s exit Mbonambi scored again, after another strong Bok lineout drive deep inside Namibian territory.

Although the Boks had the bulk of the possession during the latter stages of the opening period, Namibia scored next courtesy of a penalty from Loubser after Tendai Mtawarira infringed at a ruck.

The Boks eventually regained the initiative and secured their bonus-point try when Mapimpi dotted down in the 27th minute, and on the stroke of half-time Am also crossed the whitewash after running onto a well-timed pass from Brits.

That meant the Boks held a comfortable 31-3 lead at the interval and they continued to dominate after the restart as Gelant scored his try in the 50th minute after good work from Am in the build-up.

⏱️ FULL-TIME

9⃣ tries scored
0⃣ conceded
5⃣ points in the bag

🇳🇦 A big thank you to our African neighbours for a great game
🤞 Good luck for the rest of the tournament!#StrongerTogether #RWC2019 #RSAvNAM pic.twitter.com/6eBZ3gqZJT

— Springboks (@Springboks) September 28, 2019

Shortly afterwards, Brits turned provider again when he threw an inside pass to Mapimpi after breaking away from a lineout drive just outside Namibia’s 22 and the Bok flyer showed the Namibian defence a clean pair of heels on his way over the try-line.

With the game in the bag, South Africa made several changes to their run-on side and shortly after his introduction Kolisi crossed for his side’s eighth try.

Namibia suffered another setback in the 64th minute when Johannes Coetzee was also sent to the sin-bin for an off-the-ball shoulder charge on Brits.

The Bok skipper would have the last laugh though as he went over for his side’s ninth try after another good lineout drive deep inside Namibian territory in the 64th minute.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Mbonambi 2, Louw, Mapimpi 2, Am, Gelant, Kolisi, Brits
Cons:  Jantjies 6

For Namibia:
Pen:  Loubser
Yellow Cards:  Booysen, Coetzee

South Africa:  15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Schalk Brits (c), 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Steven Kitshoff, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Eben Etzebeth, 19 Siya Kolisi, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Damian de Allende, 23 Cheslin Kolbe

Namibia:  15 Johan Tromp, 14 Chad Plato, 13 JC Greyling, 12 Peter John Walters, 11 Lesley Klim, 10 Cliven Loubser, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Adriaan Booysen, 7 Muharua Katjijeko, 6 Thomasau Forbes, 5 Tjiuee Uanivi (c), 4 Johan Retief, 3 AJ de Klerk, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen, 1 Desiderius Sethie
Replacements:  16 Obert Nortje, 17 Andre Rademeyer, 18 Johannes Coetzee, 19 Prince Gaoseb, 20 Janco Venter, 21 Wian Conradie, 22 Helarius Axasman Kisting, 23 Johan Deysel

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Outstanding Japan stun Ireland in Fukuroi

Japan set the 2019 Rugby World Cup alight with a stunning display to give themselves a huge opportunity of reaching the quarter-finals following a superb 19-12 triumph over Ireland in Fukuroi.

It was a thrilling encounter as the Brave Blossoms showed plenty of spirit to get back into the contest after going 12-3 down after two early tries for Garry Ringrose and Rob Kearney.

Yu Tamura kicked successive penalties to go with his earlier three-pointer to keep them in the contest at the interval before they came out firing in the second half.

The Japanese put their opponents under significant duress and deservedly went ahead via Kenki Fukuoka.  At that point, there was only four points separating the teams but Tamura’s fifth successful effort off the tee sealed an incredible victory.

Jamie Joseph’s men were poor in the opening exchanges of their game against Russia.  Nerves evidently played a part and it set the tone for a lethargic display, but they were outstanding on Saturday.

Japan began with pace and were unfortunate not to take the lead when the bounce of the ball just evaded Kotaro Matsushima.  They then had a penalty opportunity in front of the posts but Tamura was awry with the effort and that profligacy was to prove costly.

Ireland’s power and intelligence with ball in hand was too much for the hosts with Conor Murray and Jack Carty dictating play well from half-back.

It was initially a case of no Johnny Sexton, no problem for the Irish with the replacement fly-half showing impressive composure and control to help them into the lead.  His kicking game in attack was particularly excellent as a cross-field dink resulted in Ringrose touching down out wide.

Although the home side reduced the arrears through Tamura, the pivot’s opposite number was once again to the fore when he kicked ahead under penalty advantage.  The Connacht man chased his own ‘up and under’ and somehow managed to tap it back for Kearney to finish.

At that stage, Ireland were comfortable and dominating territory, but Japan got back into the game through some resilient defence and impressive set-piece.

Joe Schmidt may have the bigger men at his disposal but the hosts are so technically proficient and, as a result, they forced their opponents to infringe and that allowed Tamura to cut the deficit.  By the interval, the Irishmen were just three points in front thanks to a pair of penalties from the Brave Blossoms’ playmaker.

UNBELIEVABLE!

On home turf, Japan have achieved an incredible win over Ireland! Shizuoka is rocking!

FT: Japan 19-12 Ireland #RWC2019 #JPNvIRE pic.twitter.com/ng798ka6gp

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 28, 2019

Japan took that momentum into the second half and dominated the third quarter, playing with vibrancy and patience.  They initially didn’t get their reward but Joseph’s men kept their composure and exceptional hands on the left gave Fukuoka an easy run to the line.

It was proving to be a stunning effort from the hosts and that attacking effort was matched by their defence as they withstood a series of Ireland attacks.

The Japanese were under pressure but they were simply outstanding without the ball and, when they did get it, the hosts made the most of it, scoring a penalty to extend their buffer.

That duly got them home as Japan rugby enjoyed their greatest day since they famously defeated South Africa in the 2015 World Cup.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Try:  Fukuoka
Con:  Tamura
Pens:  Tamura 4

For Ireland:
Tries:  Ringrose, Kearney
Con:  Carty

Japan:  15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Lomano Lava Lemeki, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Pieter Labuschagne (c), 6 Kazuki Himeno, 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 Michael Leitch, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Kenki Fukuoka

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Chris Farrell, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Carty, 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 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Argentina get the better of Tonga

Argentina got their Rugby World Cup campaign back on track courtesy of a 28-12 victory over Tonga in their Pool C encounter in Higashiosaka on Saturday.

Hooker Julian Montoya was Los Pumas’ hero as he led the way with a hat-trick of tries – all scored during the first half – but Argentina went off the boil in the second period which was dominated by Tonga.

In the end, Argentina outscored the Pacific Islanders by four tries to two with Santiago Carreras also crossing the whitewash and their other points came via the boot of Benjamin Urdapilleta, who added four conversions.

For Tonga, Telusa Veainu scored a brace of tries and Sonatane Takulua succeeded with a conversion.

Argentina dominated from the kick off and held a 21-0 lead midway through the half courtesy of tries from Montoya (2) and Carreras.

Montoya’s first five-pointer came after a fine lineout move on Tonga’s five-metre line in which he ran onto a pass from Tomas Lezana at the front of the set-piece before crashing over in the right-hand corner in the seventh minute.

10 minutes later, Montoya got his name onto the scoresheet again when he crossed for his second try off the back of a lineout drive deep inside the Pacific Islanders’ half.

Despite being on the back-foot, Tonga launched several attacks but their execution was poor and in the 20th minute a wayward pass from James Faiva was scooped up by Carreras, close to the halfway line, and he outpaced the cover defence before crossing the whitewash.

Five minutes later, Argentina thought they had scored again when Urdapilleta crossed Tonga’s try-line but his effort was disallowed by the television match official, who ruled that it was inconclusive whether he had grounded the ball.

Shortly afterwards, Montoya got over for his hat-trick – and his team’s bonus-point try – when he scored from close range after Los Pumas’ forwards had set up several phases in the build-up.

Tonga needed a response and that came on the half-hour mark when an excellent passage of play was rounded off by Veainu, who did well to step past a couple of defenders close to Argentina’s try-line before dotting down.

Takulua added the extras which meant Argentina were leading 28-7 and just before half-time David Halaifonua went over in the left-hand corner but he was bundled into touch by Tomas Lavanini, with what looked like a shoulder charge but he was not penalised for his challenge.

After becoming the first hooker to score a hat-trick at a Rugby World Cup since 1999, Julian Montoya was the deserved winner of the @Mastercard Player of the Match for #ARGvTGA #StartSomethingPriceless #POTM #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/UYgypmM5B2

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 28, 2019

Argentina came out firing after the restart and spent most of the early stages of the half camped inside Tonga’s half.

In the 52nd minute, Tomas Cubelli got over the try-line but television replays revealed that a desperate tackle from Takulua had knocked the ball from his grasp and the try was disallowed.

That superb cover tackle seemed to inspire the Pacific Islanders and they held the upper hand during the rest of the match.  They launched several attacks from inside their half and Argentina battled to keep them at bay.

And in the 66th minute, Tonga were rewarded for their attacking endeavour when Veainu rounded of brilliantly in the right-hand corner after gathering a superb offload from Cooper Vuna.

The closing stages were frantic as Tonga tried to narrow the gap but although they spent long periods inside Argentina’s half, they could not narrow the gap and Los Pumas held on for the win.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montoya 3, Carrerras
Cons:  Urdapilleta 4

For Tonga:
Tries:  Veainu 2
Con:  Takulua

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

Tonga:  15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Viliami Lolohea, 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 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Siegfried Fisi’ihoi
Replacements:  16 Sosefo Sakalia, 17 Vunipola Fifita, 18 Ma’afu Fia, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Nasi Manu, 21 Leon Fukofuka, 22 Latiume Fosita, 23 Cooper Vuna

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Improving England thrash USA to go two from two

England will go into their key encounter against Argentina with a perfect record following a comfortable 45-7 triumph over the USA in Kobe.

It was a better display from the Red Rose, who held a 19-0 advantage at the break thanks to George Ford, Billy Vunipola and Luke Cowan-Dickie tries, before they built on that lead in the second half.

Joe Cokanasiga (twice), Ruaridh McConnochie and Lewis Ludlam all touched down as the 2016 and ’17 Six Nations winners eased to another victory.

Eddie Jones’ men were poor in the early stages of their match against Tonga but they were slightly more efficient on Thursday, dominating the initial exchanges and building pressure inside the opposition 22.  It put the Eagles’ defence under significant duress and Ford scythed through a gaping hole to score and give them a 7-0 advantage.

Buoyed by that try, England continued to control proceedings and create opportunities but the USA defended well and forced mistakes from one of the pre-tournament favourites.

The Red Rose did not panic, however, and went back to their trusty maul.  Jones’ charges had the ascendancy in the set-piece and a powerful drive resulted in Vunipola crossing the whitewash.

They then repeated that tactic and the North Americans were powerless to halt the surge as Cowan-Dickie was the beneficiary of his team-mates’ good work.  Although Ford was awry with the conversion, England held a comfortable 19-point buffer at the interval.

TRY!

Fancy footwork from Joseph gets Cokanasiga close to the try line and when you are 18 stone and 6ft 4", nobody is stopping you from two-yards out#ITVRugby #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/CfhT5qEXT4

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 26, 2019

England went in search of the bonus-point at the start of the second period with the USA struggling to make any impact on the game and some Jonathan Joseph brilliance helped seal the full five.  Joseph displayed excellent decision-making to hold onto the ball and weave his way towards the line before Cokanasiga finished off from close range.

The Red Rose have struggled for fluency so far in this World Cup but they started to find a bit more rhythm and a well-constructed attack ended in McConnochie touching down for his first international try.

Ludlam soon followed him for his debut Test score as Tom Curry and Ford linked nicely to send the openside flanker across the line.

Jones’ side hadn’t given their opponents a sniff and the Eagles were evidently frustrated, leading to an awful John Quill shoulder charge on Owen Farrell, which inevitably led to a red card.

With the Eagles down to 14 men, England went over for the seventh time when Ellis Genge’s brilliant run was finished by Cokanasiga before there was a frantic end to the game.

It went back and forth but, to the Eagles’ immense credit, they managed to get on the scoreboard through Bryce Campbell.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Ford, Vunipola, Cowan-Dickie, Cokanasiga 2, McConnochie, Ludlam
Cons:  Ford 5

For USA:
Try:  Campbell
Con:  MacGinty
Red Card:  Quill

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

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

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Seven-try Italy cruise past Canada

Italy continued their fine start to their Rugby World Cup campaign when they notched a 48-7 bonus-point win over Canada in Fukuoka on Thursday.

The Azzurri were full value for their victory as they dominated most facets of play and had the bulk of possession and territory.

They eventually outscored their hapless opponents by seven tries to one with Braam Steyn, Dean Budd, Sebastian Negri, Mattia Bellini, Federico Zani and Matteo Minozzi all crossing the whitewash, and they were also awarded a penalty try.

Tommaso Allan contributed nine points, after succeeding with three conversions and a penalty, while Carlo Canna also added a conversion.  For Canada, Andrew Coe scored a try which was converted by Peter Nelson.

Italy held the upper hand from the kick off and opened the scoring as early as the third minute courtesy of a penalty from Allan.  They continued to dominate as the half progressed and were up 17-0 after 13 minutes thanks to two well-taken converted tries from Steyn and Budd.

Steyn’s try came in the eighth minute after a barnstorming run off the back of a scrum on the Canucks’ five-metre line and he showed great determination to power his way over, despite the attentions of two defenders.

Five minutes later, Budd took the ball into contact on the edge of Canada’s 22 and burst through a poor tackle from Matt Tierney before racing away to score under the posts.

Canada held a slight edge during the next 10 minutes but, despite spending most of that time inside the Azzurri’s half, they had nothing to show for their efforts.  Midway through the half, they wasted a golden opportunity to open their account when Matt Heaton knocked on a pass from Tyler Ardron with the try-line at his mercy.

The rest of the half was characterised by several unforced errors from both teams which prevented further points from being scored during that period.  In the 31st minute, a flowing move from the Canucks deep inside the Azzurri’s half came to nothing when Gordon McRorie stepped into touch.

Italy also had a chance to extend their lead shortly before half-time when they launched a lineout drive close to Canada’s try-line but they could not breach their opponents’ defence.

Full-time | Impressive display from @Federugby.

They get their 2nd win at #RWC2019 after beating @RugbyCanada 48-7 #ITAvCAN#RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/0BeKSPEUlE

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

That meant the Azzurri were 17-0 up at the interval and they extended that lead shortly after the restart when Negri crossed for their third try, after the ball went through several phases in the build-up.

The next 15 minutes was an arm wrestle as Italy went in search of their bonus-point and that came on the hour-mark when Heaton illegally halted a lineout drive close to his try-line, resulting in a penalty try and yellow card for his indiscretion.

Shortly afterwards, the Azzurri went further ahead when Bellini gathered a perfectly-weighted long pass from Negri before outpacing the cover defence on his way over the try-line, which meant his side were cruising with the score 36-0 in their favour.

Despite being well and truly beaten, Canada did not surrender and were rewarded in the 70th minute when Andrew Coe beat Giulio Bisegni with outstanding footwork before diving over in the right-hand corner.

Nelson added the extras which added some respectability to the score but Italy finished stronger and sealed an emphatic win with late tries from Zani and Minozzi.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Steyn, Budd, Negri, Penalty try, Bellini, Zani, Minozzi
Cons:  Allan 3, Canna
Pen:  Allan

For Canada:
Try:  Coe
Con:  Nelson
Yellow Card:  Heaton

Italy:  15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 Giulio Bisegni, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Braam Steyn, 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd (c), 4 David Sisi, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Federico Zani, 17 Nicola Quaglio, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Maxime Mbandà, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Mattia Bellini

Canada:  15 Patrick Parfrey, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ben Lesage, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Michael Sheppard, 5 Josh Larsen, 4 Conor Keys, 3 Matt Tierney, 2 Eric Howard, 1 Hubert Buydens
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Duru-Sears, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Luke Campbell, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Ciaran Hearn, 23 Andrew Coe

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)