Rugby Union Thread

[Panda]

Pool D:

ARGENTINA 19-10 SAMOA

Argentina get their campaign back on track with an attritional win over Samoa.

1. England 2-9 (+39)
2. Samoa 2-5 (+24)
-----------------------
3. Japan 2-5 (+8)
4. Argentina 2-4 (-8)
5. Chile 2-0 (-63)

[Panda]

Pool B:

SOUTH AFRICA 8-13 IRELAND

A statement of intent from Ireland as they beat the world champions in a gripping contest. The world champions were made to rue 8 points that went begging from the boots of Manie Libbock and Faf de Clerk.


Pool C:

GEORGIA 18-18 PORTUGAL

A dramatic finish saw the honours shared after Portugal had threatened a first ever World Cup win. Having trailed 13-0, the Portuguese fought back to lead 18-13 before a late try pulled Georgia level. Portugal then missed a penalty with the last kick of the match that would have given them victory.


Pool D:

ENGLAND 71-0 CHILE

Henry Arundell scored 5 of England's 11 tries as they cruised to victory against Chile. It's the first time England have held their opponents to 0 points at a World Cup.


Tables:

POOL B
1. Ireland 3-14 (+122)
2. South Africa 3-10 (+86)
----------------------
3. Scotland 1-0 (-15)
4. Tonga 1-0 (-43)
5. Romania 2-0 (-150)

POOL C
1. Wales 2-10 (+26)
2. Fiji 2-6 (+1)
----------------------
3. Australia 2-6 (+13)
4. Georgia 2-2 (-20)
5. Portugal 2-2 (-20)

POOL D
1. England 3-14 (+110)
2. Samoa 2-5 (+24)
-----------------------
3. Japan 2-5 (+8)
4. Argentina 2-4 (-8)
5. Chile 3-0 (-134)

[Panda]

Pool B:

SCOTLAND 45-17 TONGA

Scotland overpowered Tonga to pick up their first win and keep their quarter-final hopes alive but with South Africa holding the tie breaker over them if they're level on points, it looks a big ask for them to progress, even if they beat Ireland.


Pool C:

WALES 40-6 AUSTRALIA

Wales absolutely outplayed Australia to become the first team officially through to the quarter-finals and leave the Wallabies on the brink of a humiliating pool stage exit. Fiji just need 5 points from their final 2 games against Georgia and Portugal to send the Aussies home early.


Tables:

POOL B
1. Ireland 3-14 (+122)
2. South Africa 3-10 (+86)
----------------------
3. Scotland 2-5 (+13)
4. Tonga 2-0 (-71)
5. Romania 2-0 (-150)

POOL C
1. Wales (Q) 3-14 (+60)
2. Fiji 2-6 (+1)
----------------------
3. Australia 3-6 (-21)
4. Georgia 2-2 (-20)
5. Portugal 2-2 (-20)

[Panda]

Quarter-finals as it stands:

Wales v Samoa
Ireland v Italy
England v Fiji
France v South Africa

[Good Old Days]

Pitiful game for Australia, even Portugal was much better in their game against Wales.

[Panda]

Pool A:

URUGUAY 36-26 NAMIBIA

Namibia come agonisingly close to a first-ever World Cup win, having led 23-12 early in the second half but cards proved costly and Uruguay pulled clear after Namibia had been reduced to 13 men in the final 15 minutes. Namibia end this World Cup having extended their tournament record to played 26, lost 26. Uruguay's win means they've won a game at 4 of their 5 World Cup appearances. Uruguay still have a mathematical chance of reaching the quarter-finals but given their progress would depend on them earning a bonus point win over New Zealand and other results going their way, it's pretty safe to say they won't be progressing.


Table:
1. France 3-13 (+125)
2. Italy 2-10 (+65)
------------------------
3. New Zealand 2-5 (+54)
4. Uruguay 3-5 (-26)
5. Namibia 4-0 (-218)

[Panda]

Pool D:

JAPAN 28-22 SAMOA

Japan held off a late fightback from 14-man Samoa to pick up their second win of the tournament and set up a likely final game showdown with Argentina for a quarter-final place. The result means Samoa can't reach the quarters and England's place in the last 8 is now confirmed.

Table:
1. England (Q) 3-14 (+110)
2. Japan 3-9 (+14)
--------------------
3. Samoa 3-6 (+18)
4. Argentina 2-4 (-8)
5. Chile 3-0 (-134)

[Panda]

Quarter-finals as it stands:

Wales v Japan
Ireland v Italy
England v Fiji
France v South Africa

[Panda]

Pool A:

NEW ZEALAND 96-17 ITALY

The All Blacks run riot against Italy, scoring 14 tries to all but seal their place in the quarter-finals, barring a shock defeat against Uruguay. Italy can still make the last 8 but must beat France in their final game to avoid a 10th consecutive first round exit.

This was the 6th World Cup meeting between New Zealand and Italy. New Zealand have won all 6 by a combined scoreline of 444-68. They've been drawn together in the pool stage at 7 of the 10 World Cups that have taken place but their match at the 2019 World Cup was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis.


Table:
1. France 3-13 (+125)
2. New Zealand 3-10 (+133)
------------------------
3. Italy 3-10 (-14)
4. Uruguay 3-5 (-26)
5. Namibia 4-0 (-218)

[Panda]

Quarter-finals as it stands:

Wales v Japan
Ireland v New Zealand
England v Fiji
France v South Africa

[Panda]

Pool B:

SCOTLAND 84-0 ROMANIA

Scotland routed Romania with a 12-try victory to set up a crucial winner-takes-all (probably) clash with Ireland next weekend.


Pool C:

FIJI 17-12 GEORGIA

Fiji came from 9-0 down at half-time to edge to victory against Georgia. The result means they just need a bonus point from their last game against Portugal, even if they lose, to reach the quarter-finals and eliminate Australia.


Pool D:

ARGENTINA 59-5 CHILE

Argentina won the first all-South American clash at the World Cup to set up a final day decider against Japan to see who progresses to the quarter-finals.


Tables:

POOL B
1. Ireland 3-14 (+122)
2. South Africa 3-10 (+86)
----------------------
3. Scotland 3-10 (+97)
4. Tonga 2-0 (-71)
5. Romania 3-0 (-234)

POOL C
1. Wales (Q) 3-14 (+60)
2. Fiji 3-10 (+6)
----------------------
3. Australia 3-6 (-21)
4. Georgia 3-3 (-25)
5. Portugal 2-2 (-20)

POOL D
1. England (Q) 3-14 (+110)
2. Argentina 3-9 (+46)
--------------------
3. Japan 3-9 (+14)
4. Samoa 3-6 (+18)
5. Chile 4-0 (-189)

[Panda]

Quarter-finals as it stands:

Wales v Argentina
Ireland v New Zealand
England v Fiji
France v South Africa

[Panda]

Catching up with Sunday's games:

Pool B:

SOUTH AFRICA 49-18 TONGA

A bonus point win for the world champions but the game was much closer than the scoreline suggests. That takes the Springboks top and through to the quarter-finals barring an unlikely scenario in which Scotland beat Ireland by at least 21 points but Ireland still score a bonus point.


Pool C:

AUSTRALIA 34-14 PORTUGAL

Australia head out of the World Cup with something of a whimper (unless Fiji bottle it in their last game), not putting Portugal away until the latter stages.


Tables:

POOL B
1. South Africa 4-15 (+117)
2. Ireland 3-14 (+122)
----------------------
3. Scotland 3-10 (+97)
4. Tonga 3-0 (-102)
5. Romania 3-0 (-234)


POOL C
1. Wales (Q) 3-14 (+60)
2. Australia 4-11 (-1)
----------------------
2. Fiji 3-10 (+6)
4. Georgia 3-3 (-25)
5. Portugal 3-2 (-40)

[Panda]

Quarter-finals as it stands:

Wales v Argentina
South Africa v New Zealand
England v Australia
France v Ireland

[Panda]

Pool A:

NEW ZEALAND 73-0 URUGUAY

It took New Zealand 20 minutes to score against Uruguay but the floodgates soon opened with the All Blacks running in 11 tries to confirm their place in the quarter-finals. New Zealand go top but France will finish ahead of them if they beat Italy. Should Italy beat France, they would finish 2nd in the pool behind New Zealand. There is a scenario whereby Italy could beat France but still not qualify. This would occur if Italy win without securing a bonus point and France manage to pick up 2 bonus points in the game (one for losing by 7 or fewer points and one for scoring 4 tries). It may sound unlikely but this actually happened in 2015 when Japan beat South Africa.


Table:
1. New Zealand (Q) 4-15 (+206)
2. France 3-13 (+125)
------------------------
3. Italy 3-10 (-14)
4. Uruguay 4-5 (-99)
5. Namibia 4-0 (-218)

[Panda]

Pool A:

FRANCE 60-7 ITALY

A comprehensive win for the hosts sends them through to the quarter-finals as pool winners, while Italy fail to reach the knockout stages yet again.


Table:
1. France (Q) 4-18 (+178)
2. New Zealand (Q) 4-15 (+206)
------------------------
3. Italy 4-10 (-67)
4. Uruguay 4-5 (-99)
5. Namibia 4-0 (-218)

[Good Old Days]

It was the biggest win for France against Italy. The previous record was 60-13 from 1967 year.

[Panda]

Pool B:

IRELAND 36-14 SCOTLAND

The most eagerly-anticipated match of the weekend turned didn't live up to expectations as Ireland blew the Scots away inside the first 20 minutes. Ireland finish top of the group and will face New Zealand in the quarter-finals next week. Scotland reached the knockout stages in each of the first 6 World Cups but have exited in the 1st round of 3 of the last 4.



Pool C:

WALES 43-19 GEORGIA

Louis Rees-Zammit scored a hat-trick of tries as Wales sealed 1st place in the pool with a bonus point win. However, Taulupe Faletau will miss the rest of the tournament after suffering a broken arm. Wales will face the winner of tomorrow's match between Argentina and Japan in the quarter-finals.


Pool D:

ENGLAND 18-17 SAMOA

With 1st place already guaranteed, England produced the kind of lacklustre, ham-fisted performance most were expecting before the tournament as they scraped to victory over Samoa. Behind for most of the game, Danny Care's late converted try denied Samoa a first-ever win over England. Owen Farrell became England's all-time leading points scorer but also suffered the indignity of being the first player in the tournament to be timed out by the shot clock when taking too long to kick a penalty, depriving his team of a certain 3 points. England will need to be much better if they are to beat Fiji in the quarter-finals.



Tables:

POOL B
1. Ireland (Q) 4-19 (+144)
2. South Africa (Q) 4-15 (+117)
----------------------
3. Scotland 4-10 (+75)
4. Tonga 3-0 (-102)
5. Romania 3-0 (-234)


POOL C
1. Wales (Q) 4-19 (+84)
2. Australia 4-11 (-1)
----------------------
3. Fiji 3-10 (+6)
4. Georgia 4-3 (-49)
5. Portugal 3-2 (-40)


POOL D
1. England (Q) 4-18 (+111)
2. Argentina 3-9 (+46)
--------------------
3. Japan 3-9 (+14)
4. Samoa 4-7 (+17)
5. Chile 4-0 (-188)

[o]

Timed out for a kick? That's schoolboy stuff surely?

[Panda]

+++ FIJI BOTTLE JOB KLAXON +++