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City of Toyota Stadium - Monday, 23 September 2018 KO: 19:15 HT: 29-0 Att: 35,545
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Wales vs Georgia Final preparations are done in the changing rooms and the teams are ready to take the pitch
Wales vs Georgia The atmosphere in the stadium is electric as the beating of the drums accompany the teams….now it’s time for the anthems
Wales vs Georgia The Japanese locals appear to have adopted Wales, thanks to the hard work put in by the WRU before the tournament as they join in with the anthem!
Wales 0-0 Georgia 1m From the kick-off the ball is lost forward and the Welsh forwards have an early opportunity to experience the first Georgian scrum, but the ball is out quickly and Jon Davies makes a break but the ball is stripped
Wales 5-0 Georgia 2m Another scrum and again it’s quick ball, Jon Davies runs a superb line to cross under the posts for the first try. Biggar somehow hits the posts with the simple conversion attempt
Wales 5-0 Georgia 4m We have time-off with the TMO involved checking for Foul Play in mid air but common sense prevails and we’re back to the line-out
Wales 5-0 Georgia 5m Wales drive off the line-out with Georgia pinged for off-side. Referee Pearce is playing advantage but we go back for the kick. Up steps Biggar to make amends…
Wales 8-0 Georgia 6m This time it’s straight through the posts as Wales extends the lead
Wales 8-0 Georgia 7m Another handling error and this time it’s a statement of intent from the Welsh forwards, as despite the reputation of the Georgian scrum, the creakiness of the Welsh scrum in the warm-ups, Wales secure a penalty
Wales 8-0 Georgia 10m Wales kick for possession but strong defence from Georgia clears. Wales knock-on and this time it’s a Georgian put-in
Wales 13-0 Georgia 12m Georgia kick to touch on halfway, but Wales secure possession, Gareth Davies makes a sniping run but he can’t quite get there, the ball is recycled…and Justin Tipuric dives in under the posts
Wales 15-0 Georgia 13m This time Biggar is on target as he adds the extras
Wales 15-0 Georgia 16m From the restart, Georgia secure a good attacking position in the Welsh half, but Welsh defence holds firm, possession goes back and forth neither team making any real ground
Wales 20-0 Georgia 19m Ken Owens finds his man at the line-out and again the Welsh attacking lines leave the Georgian defence in disarray as Josh Adams races towards the try-line and dives over for try number 3
Wales 22-0 Georgia 20m Biggar again adds the extras as Wales open up a commanding lead
Wales 22-0 Georgia 23m Georgia attack the Welsh defensive line and initially find themselves in the Welsh half but they may have the possession, but are going backwards
Wales 22-0 Georgia 25m Georgia finally manage to find a hole in the Welsh defence, Wales are penalised, but it could be a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on…we go to the TMO…
Wales 22-0 Georgia 26m Pearce corrects his on-field decision as he deems that the ball goes backwards, Georgia have the scrum put-in in the Welsh 22
Wales 22-0 Georgia 30m A strong scrum from Georgia, but again Gareth Davies disrupts the ball, this time it goes forward and we have another scrum and this time they secure a penalty
Wales 22-0 Georgia 31m Georgia kick for the corner and recycle the ball well, before Kveseladze knocks on and Wales have the scrum
Wales 22-0 Georgia 33m Gareth Davies passes to Biggar who clears the ball but Georgia secure their line-out ball and launch another attack before Wales are penalised for off-side
Wales 22-0 Georgia 34m Wales disrupt the Georgian line-out, Gareth Davies kicks down-field but Georgia are pinged for not releasing as ‘Land of My Fathers’ rings out in Toyota
Wales 22-0 Georgia 36m Wales continue their attack but for the time being, play is confined to the halfway area. Wales are pinged for a neck roll
Wales 22-0 Georgia 38m But it’s Wales who look like they could end the half with the score as Jonathan Davies breaks through in midfield…
Wales 29-0 Georgia 40m He’s brought down short, but manages to get the off-load in to Liam Williams who crosses for Wales’ bonus point try. Biggar adds the conversion as the clock turns red for the end of the first half
Wales 29-0 Georgia HT T: Jonathan Davies, Tipuric, Adams, Liam Williams C: Biggar (3) P: Biggar | -
Wales 29-0 Georgia HT A solid start from the last of the Home Nations to begin their campaign. All four tries so far have been scored by backs, running impressive lines – a few tweaks from the incoming Stephen Jones possibly?
Wales 29-0 Georgia 41m Georgia get the second half underway and secure the turnover, they drive off the line-out and secure another penalty deep in the Welsh 22
Wales 29-0 Georgia 42m The gigantic Georgian forwards drive over the try-line and it appears that Shalva Mamukashvili has scored Georgia’s first try. We go to the TMO for confirmation…
Wales 29-7 Georgia 43m It’s good, the extras are added and Georgia are finally on the scoreboard
Wales 29-7 Georgia 46m Georgia ring the changes with a completely new front row: Levan Chilachava, Guram Gogichashvili & Jaba Bregvadze on for Beka Gigashvili, Mikheil Nariashvili & Mamukashvili
Wales 29-7 Georgia 46m Biggar chips over but Liam Williams spills the ball over the try-line
Wales 29-7 Georgia 47m Georgia are penalised for collapsing the maul…referee Pearce decides against awarding a penalty try, but replacement Hooker, Bregvadze is shown a yellow card a matter of seconds after getting on the pitch!
Wales 29-7 Georgia 48m In the meantime, Dillon Lewis and Tomos Williams have replaced Tomas Francis and Gareth Davies
Wales 29-7 Georgia 49m Wales continues working through the phases with a series of pick and drives, but Georgia manage to secure possession and Modebadze clears the lines
Wales 29-7 Georgia 50m Ross Moriarty replaces Aaron Wainwright while Shalva Sutiashvili is on for Konstantine Mikautadze
Wales 29-7 Georgia 52m Another turnover ball and Georgia have a line-out just outside the Welsh 22, but Wales disrupt the line-out and replacement Moriarty drives forward
Wales 29-7 Georgia 54m Georgia are pinged for off-side and suddenly we’re back in the Georgian 22 but play is stopped as Ken Owens goes down injured
Wales 29-7 Georgia 55m Fortunately he appears to be ok, though Elliot Dee will probably make an appearance soon. Giorgi Tkhilaishvili goes off to make room for the temporary return of Mamukashvili…and the seven men of Georgia secure a penalty at the scrum
Wales 29-7 Georgia 57m As suspected, Owens is replaced by Dee and also Nicky Smith comes on for Wyn Jones to complete the changes in the Welsh front row. A clear penalty for foul play is missed, but Wales are have the possession at the scrum as Georgia are back up to 15
Wales 29-7 Georgia 58m Beka Saginadze comes on to send Mamukashvili back to the bench, now his work is done
Wales 29-7 Georgia 59m Leigh Halfpenny replaces Liam Williams while Gela Aprasidze & Otari Giorgadze are on for Vasil Lobzhanidze & Mamuka Gorgodze
Wales 29-7 Georgia 59m Biggar is safe under the high ball and set up an attack, but North is beaten by the touchline and Georgia have the line-out
Wales 29-7 Georgia 60m Georgia are on the attack again, but smart defence from the Welsh pays off and Wales again make the changes as they prepare to attack off the scrum
Wales 29-7 Georgia 61m Aaron Shingler replaces Jake Ball
Wales 29-7 Georgia 62m Georgia are pinged offering Biggar the opportunity to kick downfield. Replacement Shingler secures the ball as the Welsh drive forward
Wales 34-7 Georgia 65m The improvement in Georgia in the second half is evident but George North kicks downfield, chased by Tomos Williams who just manages to touchdown before the ball goes dead
Wales 34-7 Georgia 66m Rhys Patchell replaces Biggar
Wales 36-7 Georgia 67m Pearce decides against checking the score and Biggar adds the extras before being replaced by Rhys Patchell
Wales 36-12 Georgia 69m Georgia aren’t giving up! With a replacement front row, the scrum isn’t as efficient and Georgia take full advantage as Chilachava powers over for Georgia’s second try
Wales 36-14 Georgia 70m Abzhandadze adds the conversion. There’s very tired bodies out there but it appears that Wales are suffering more from fatigue rather than the big Georgians
Wales 36-14 Georgia 73m Wales attack through the backs, the ball is picked up by Tipuric who darts down the touchline but sneaks a toe in touch and Georgia have the line-out
Wales 36-14 Georgia 74m Wales secure the line-out as Williams box kicks, but Georgia lose the ball and we’re playing advantage….Tipuric’s tackle and chase is just immense
Wales 43-14 Georgia 76m The attack continues with a break from Tomos Williams who off-loads to George North, you’re not going to stop him from 5m out. Halfpenny’s superb kick adds the extras
Wales 43-14 Georgia 77m Lasha Khmaladze & Beka Gigashvili are on for posterity for Tamaz Mchedlidze & Levan Chilachava
Wales 43-14 Georgia 78m Wales’ Jake Ball is awarded Player of the Match
Wales 43-14 Georgia 79m Georgia are offered a final chance to get on the scoreboard as they secure a penalty at the scrum in the Welsh 22, with the clock in the red, they kick for the corner…
Wales 43-14 Georgia 80m But they aren’t able to secure the ball and Wales are off to a winning start to their World Cup campaign
REVIEW
Every time Wales have scored more than 20 points in their opening RWC game, they have either exited in the pool stages or the quarter-finals. Both their runs to the last four (1987 and 2011) came when they scored less than 20 points in their opening match.).
George North scored his first World Cup try in eight years and his fourth in total. His last came against Fiji in October 2011.
North scored 16 tries since the end of the 2015 RWC, more than any other Wales player in this period.
Jonathan Davies equalled Tom Shanklin’s Welsh record of 16 tries for a centre.
Captain Alun Wyn Jones equalled Gethin Jenkins’s record 129 caps for Wales.
Jones broke Jenkins’s record for most Rugby World Cup starts; he made his 14th against Georgia.
For the fourth time Georgia have scored multiple tries in a World Cup match and for the first time it was against a Tier 1 nation.
Georgia have lost 11 out of 11 Rugby World Cup games against Tier 1 opposition.
Georgia's hooker Shalva Mamukashvili scored the first try by a hooker for Georgia at the RWC since Davit Dadunashivili, who scored their first ever Rugby World Cup try against South Africa back in 2003.
15 Liam Williams 14 George North 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Josh Adams 10 Dan Biggar 9 Gareth Davies 1 Wyn Jones 2 Ken Owens 3 Tom Francis 4 Jake Ball 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 6 Aaron Wainwright 7 Justin Tipuric 8 Josh Navidi BENCH: 16 Elliot Dee 17 Nicky Smith 18 Dillon Lewis 19 Aaron Shingler 20 Ross Moriarty 21 Tomos Williams 22 Rhys Patchell 23 Leigh Halfpenny
SCORERS T: Jonathan Davies, Tipuric, Adams, Liam Williams, Tomos Williams, North C: Biggar (4), Halfpenny P: Biggar
Russia v Samoa It's 15 minutes to KO at Kumagaya, central Japan north of Tokyo.
Russia v Samoa The anthems are underway for these two rivals, Russia only appearing in a RWC for a second time, while Samoa have been at them all - and the Pacific Islanders are players of some monstrous note - passionate & huge!
Russia v Samoa Another Island team...another haka! 😆 And the Siva Tau is no less powerful than the Cibi or Sipi Tau... Russia 0-0 Samoa 1min And we have KO from Tim Nanai-Williams of Samoa - Cardiff Blues Nick Williams' brother, and cousin of All Blacks' Sonny Bill Williams
Russia 0-0 Samoa 2mins Samoa are already down to 14 men as Ed Fidow is getting attention for a knock to the head..
Russia 0-0 Samoa 3mins ...and so far play has been pretty even, with huge hits coming in already from both sides; you wouldn't want to bump into either front row in a dark alley! 🙊
Russia 0-0 Samoa 4mins Russia traverse into Samoan territory, bulldozing their way through, but Stanislav Selskii needs two Samoans to bundle him into touch
Russia 0-0 Samoa 5mins Ah - not Selskii but Kirill Golosnitskiy into touch for a Samoa lineout in their own 22...
Russia 0-0 Samoa 6mins ...resulting in a defensive Samoan scrum which they deftly execute to shift play to the midfield, and a penalty sets up an attacking 22 lineout
Russia 0-0 Samoa 8mins The setpiece is good and Nanai-Williams offloads to Fidow in space near touch but he fumbles the ball and that opportunity fizzles out...
Russia 0-0 Samoa 8mins Russia have a defensive scrum, but not until Tagir Gadzhiev has the medics out to fix his bashed nose, only broken three weeks ago!
Russia 0-0 Samoa 10mins After the scrum is reset, Logovi'i Mulipola is pinged for going early and Yury Kushnarev kicks the Samoans back up to the midfield with some panache
Russia 0-0 Samoa 11mins There are some matches that you just know from the outset are going to be worth watching for the balance in the sides, and the tendency to play for their lives on a world stage - this is one
Russia 0-0 Samoa 13mins Samoa blow another attacking lineout, and Russia again execute their defensive scrum awfully well, despite the state of the pitch - the kind of grass that's cutting up already
Russia 0-0 Samoa 14mins The Samoans are on the attack again, but the Russian defence is not to be sniffed at, slowing down any momentum, making the opposition work twice as hard to make any significant yards
Russia 0-5 Samoa 15mins But persistence and skill allow Rey Lee-Lo to release to Alapati Leiua who flies over in the corner for the first try
Russia 0-5 Samoa 16mins Evgeny Matveev is on for Stanislav Selskii who is off for a Head Injury Assessment
Russia 0-5 Samoa 17mins Tusi Pisi misses the conversion, but the scoreboard is alive in the first quarter
Russia 3-5 Samoa 19mins However, Samoa almost immediately cut their advantage, infringing with Russia in attack, handing Kushnarev a simple 3 points
Russia 3-5 Samoa 21mins Russia deftly carry out their next defensive scrum on their 22 from the restart, and Samoa are back up at halfway, primed to head quickly back onto Russian territory...
Russia 3-5 Samoa 23mins ...but the attack is thwarted and as Russia head in a more favourable direction, Vasily Dorofeev makes a delightful break toward the Samoa 22
Russia 3-5 Samoa 24mins Leiua shuts the scrum half down, and the pace switches from electric to almost static, but the Russians go 8 phases, crawling forward before the penalty comes their way
Russia 6-5 Samoa 25mins And Kushnarev wastes no time in adding a second penalty kick at the uprights to steal the lead from Samoa
Russia 3-5 Samoa 26mins Selskii has passed his HIA and returns to the park
Russia 6-5 Samoa 27mins Play is halted and TMO Graham Hughes is called in to officiate Lee-Lo's dangerous tackle on captain Vasily Artemyev 🙊
Russia 6-5 Samoa 27mins Lee-Lo tackles, his shoulder hitting Artemyev's head in the process of wrapping and taking him down - would be red if there are no mitigating circumstances...
Russia 6-5 Samoa 27mins ...good reffing notes Artemyev was dipping and so Lee-Lo and Samoa breathe a sigh of relief only being sent off with a yellow card for 10 minutes, and not permanently dismissed
Russia 6-5 Samoa 28mins The resulting penalty has Russia on the attack quickly, but the collisions are coming in dangerously hard...
Russia 6-5 Samoa 29mins ...and with the same protocol employed on the last yellow card, this time it's Motu Matu'u hitting Artemyev again, the dip mitigating a red card, and Russia suddenly have a two-man advantage
Russia 6-5 Samoa 30mins Matu'u is oddly not sent directly to the medical unit for a Head Injury Assessment after his head bounced off Artemyev and stays out on the naughty step instead
Russia 6-5 Samoa 31mins The Russians are not yet taking advantage of their numbers, Ray Niuia temporarily replacing Afaesetiti Amosa for hooking requirements before a Samoa lineout which gives them territory
Russia 6-5 Samoa 33mins The Samoans continue to hold play close and tight, not allowing the Russians a look in, knowing the need to hold out from allowing Russia to score during a 2-man deficit
Russia 6-5 Samoa 35mins A churlish penalty from Russia just inside their own half gives Samoan stalwart Pisi to take back the lead, and from inside halfway, in front of the posts, he has the distance, but not the accuracy
Russia 6-5 Samoa 36mins Pisi did, however, take every second available to wind down the clock for the yellow cards - like the Samoans collectively have slowed down the pace for the same effect
Russia 6-5 Samoa 37mins Lee-Lo is back on the park and the Samoans have so far weathered two yellow cards well
Russia 6-5 Samoa 38mins Russia's attacking scrum gaining them some ground but they kick away possession, which luckily for them Nanai-Williams fumbles badly deep in his own 22...
Russia 6-5 Samoa 39mins ...and a comedy of errors ensues with the players unimpressive as the ball bounces all of the goal area, eventually the bounce of the ball favouring Vladimir Ostroushko before bouncing into touch, leaving him lost Russia 6-5 Samoa 40mins Ref Poite has to calm the boys down before Russia have a 5m attacking scrum, but despite losing a man to injury momentarily, Samoa hold them off the whitewash after the gong gong's
Russia 6-5 Samoa HT Well, both those yellow cards were rather contentious - there will be much debate over whether they should've been red...
Russia 6-5 Samoa 40mins The teams are returned, Samoa are back up to XV, and Melani Matavao has replaced Dwayne Polataivao at scrum half
Russia 6-5 Samoa 41mins Now is Russia's time to take advantage of their slight lead, and they waste no time breaching the Samoan 22 on the attack...
Russia 6-5 Samoa 42mins ...but quickly Samoa take the upper hand and promptly kick the Russians away, setting up a defensive lineout up by their 10m line
Russia 6-5 Samoa 43mins A solid lineout has Leiua making a superb break deep into Russian territory - he does get shut down eventually, but the pace has been set at 5th gear and they keep going...
Russia 6-10 Samoa 44mins ...with lightning hands and feet through Fidow and Nanai-Williams and Matavao to Amosa who despite the high tackle, forges his way over the whitewash to score
Russia 6-10 Samoa 45mins Pisi blows another kick at goal, maintaining is 100% record 🙄, but far worse, time is off and Amosa is in some serious leg pain and has to be carried of the pitch on a stretcher
Russia 6-10 Samoa 46mins Josh Tyrell is on for Amosa, while Kirill Gotovtsev is sent off to the naughty step for his high tackle on the injured Amosa
Russia 9-10 Samoa 47mins Play resumes and Kushnarev shows off his skills from the restart, and from quick ball from the breakdown, he nails an excellent drop goal to reduce the deficit to just one
Russia 9-15 Samoa 48mins Well, Samoa is not taking this lying down, and from the restart and the ensuing breakdown, Fidow collects and sprints like lightning through the minimal defence to score right under the posts!
Russia 9-17 Samoa 49mins And finally Pisi breaks his duck and converts the try - but he couldn't have missed it if he tried from directly in front o f the posts in the 22
Russia 9-17 Samoa 50mins Jordan Lay replaces Mulipola in the front row
Russia 9-17 Samoa 51mins That must have been some team talk from the Samoan coaches, and the boys deservedly celebrate before resuming play
Russia 9-22 Samoa 53mins A rare poor kick from Kushnarev allows Leiua to cause havoc again, from his own 22 charges toward the Russian half with such speed, excellent hands in play with Fidow taking the final offload, sprinting to score again Russia 9-24 Samoa 54mins Pisi has found his kicking boots as Samoa begin to leap ahead
Russia 9-24 Samoa 55mins As play resumes after a short time off, Paul Alo-Emile is on for Michael Ala'alatoa in the front row, while Gotovtsev has done his time and it's XV apiece again
Russia 9-24 Samoa 56mins Dmitry Perov, Ramil Gaisin & Anton Sychev on for Dorofeev, Kushnarev & Gadzhiev
Russia 9-24 Samoa 57mins As the pace slows back down from that frantic Samoan action, Evgeny Matveev replaces Selskii in the front row
Russia 9-24 Samoa 59mins Despite the refreshment of the Russian squad, it's Samoa that is definitely looking far more alert and determined, winning a solid attacking scrum
Russia 9-29 Samoa 62mins ...and they run circles around the defence for Lee-Lo to score a fifth try, having already secured the bonus point through Fidow's brace
Russia 9-29 Samoa 64mins Pisi is having a rotten day at the office, missing yet another two points for Samoa with no conversion
Russia 9-29 Samoa 65mins Sychev, Andrey Garbuzov, Vladislav Sozonov on for Vavilin, Ostrikov & Gerasimov
Russia 9-29 Samoa 66mins The Russians are on the attack while the Samoans also make significant changes: Senio Toleafoa, AJ Alatimu & Ulupano Seuteni on for Paulo, Pisi & Nanai-Williams
Russia 9-29 Samoa 68mins A Russian 22 lineout forces play wide and they make a couple of yards with advantage being played, and the penalty comes so they go to the corner again for a 5m lineout..
Russia 9-29 Samoa 69mins Again the ball is retained and the Russians drive forward - pick and go - again and again…
Russia 9-29 Samoa 70mins Despite all the impressive efforts of the Samoan defence for the last four minutes, the Russians camped out on the Samoa tryline look to have scored a try...but > TMO
Russia 9-29 Samoa 70mins After a shock of replays, the officials go with Ref Poite's initial assessment of no try, and it's a 5m attacking scrum for Russia, so the effort and opportunity is not lost
Russia 9-29 Samoa 71mins Before the scrum is set, Azamat Bitiev replaces Gotovtsev; the setpiece ensues but Russian ball is promptly stolen by Samoan hands and now all that effort is gone with Samoa running the ball away
Russia 9-29 Samoa 73mins The ball is cleared and the Russians have to start again from the midfield, winning a penalty giving them another attacking scrum but at the 22...
Russia 9-29 Samoa 75mins ...the Samoan defence continues to frustrate and not much ground is made, but another penalty allows Russia to set up an attacking lineout in the 22
Russia 9-29 Samoa 76mins The setpiece is more than efficient, but the Samoans are not going to let the Russians through to even get close to score again...
Russia 9-29 Samoa 77mins ...and they quickly have Russia going backwards up toward the 22m and clear to the 10m to force Russia to start all over again
Russia 9-29 Samoa 78mins .Russia can't be faulted for effort and persistence, but the handling errors have mounted to favour Samoa and break Russia
Russia 9-34 Samoa 79mins Samoa begin a final flourish with an attacking scrum just inside halfway, the ball quickly flying from Matavao to Leiua for an easy run in and a brace
Russia 9-34 Samoa 80+1mins The gong has gone, and with the try almost in the corner, it's an awkward conversion for Alatimu who fractionally misses the far post
Russia 9-34 Samoa FT That was plenty frenetic and a bit bonkers. Another enjoyable RWC encounter, and Samoa top Pool A after their first showing at the 2019 tournament. But all the debate will be about those yellow and not red cards
REVIEW
Samoa (includes Western Samoa) have now won seven of their eight Rugby World Cup openers, the only exception being a 59-7 defeat by eventual champions South Africa to start their RWC 2007 campaign with.
Russia also lost their sixth RWC match and are now one of three countries to have featured in at least six, losing all: Namibia (20), Russia (6) and Zimbabwe (6).
Russia have lost their first two matches at RWC 2019. Only two teams managed to survive an RWC pool phase despite two defeats: Fiji in 1987 and France in 2011.
Ed Fidow scored a double, raising his career try total to 10 in his first nine test appearances. Other players to achieve this include Bryan Habana, Shane Williams and Tana Umaga.
Alapati Leiua and Ed Fidow both scored doubles, the first time since 15 October, 2003, that the two Samoa wingers achieved that in an RWC match (Brian Lima and Maurie Fa'asavalu v Uruguay).
Alapati Leiua scored the first and last tries of this match. His 163 metres gained were the highest in a match in the tournament so far, 38 metres ahead of Marika Koroibete who carried for 125 metres against Fiji.
Rey Lee-Lo also scored a try in the 36-33 defeat by Scotland at RWC 2015.
Yury Kushnarev took his career points total to 772 and among players present at RWC 2019 only trails Owen Farrell (832) He overtook Johnny Sexton (767).
Vili Alaalatoa saw son Mike (Samoa team) make his RWC debut tonight, after cheering on son Allan (Australia team) earlier in this tournament. He became the first person to play in the World Cup and then see TWO of his sons do the same, although he might be joined in that by Uruguay's Ormaechea family later at RWC 2019.
For only the second time in RWC history Manu Samoa had multiple players sin-binned in a match. They had three players yellow carded against Japan at RWC 2015.
Three teams have played at RWC 2019 and have yet to concede a try: Ireland, England and Samoa.
Samoa flanker TJ Ioane made 22 tackles, the most in one match in this tournament, team-mate Kane Le'aupepe made 20 tackles, the second-most in the tournament. Le'aupepe won three turnovers, also the most in the match.
Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium - Wednesday, 25 September 2018 KO: 14:15 HT: 12-24 Att: 14,025
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Fiji vs Uruguay And we’re about to kick-off today’s match at the Kamaishi Recovery Stadium
Fiji vs Uruguay The teams are out and we have a minute’s silence before the anthems for the tragedy that hit Kamaishi, devastated by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Fiji vs Uruguay The anthems are done, and it's time for the Fijian haka, the Cibi, before the main business of the day gets underway…
Fiji 0-0 Uruguay 1m Uruguay get things underway at this historic stadium but the ball is lost in contact, offering the huge Fijian forwards their first scrum
Fiji 0-0 Uruguay 3m Uruguay are pinged offering Fiji the opportunity to kick play into the Uruguay half. They secure possession, Josh Matavesi chips over as the men in white continue their attack
Fiji 0-0 Uruguay 5m But possession is lost, Uruguay take it quickly and launch an attack before losing the ball and the Fijians run some typical 7’s style rugby. Uruguay are pinged for being off their feet
Fiji 5-0 Uruguay 7m Fiji kick for the corner and in a typical training pitch move, Leone Nakarawa collects the ball from the jumper and quickly passes it back to his hooker, Mesulame Dolokoto strolls over in the corner in his RWC debut
Fiji 5-0 Uruguay 8m However, Matavesi’s tricky conversion attempt from as far away as is possible is wide of the mark
Fiji 5-0 Uruguay 9m From the re-start Uruguay regain the ball, but are pinged and we have a Fiji line-out on the half way line
Fiji 5-0 Uruguay 11m Fiji spread the ball wide in their own half and Nicolas Freitas attempts the intercept, but he can’t quite gather and Fiji are awarded the defensive scrum
Fiji 5-7 Uruguay 14m Fiji again launch an attack, still in their own half but the ball is lost and gathered by Scrum Half, Santiago Arata who races over under the posts for Uruguay’s first try. Felipe Berchesi adds the easy extras
Fiji 5-7 Uruguay 16m From the restart Uruguay are pinged for a knock on, Fiji win the free kick from the ensuing scrum on halfway.
Fiji 5-7 Uruguay 17m From a 5m attacking lineout, Fiji end up going backwards to the 22 ensuing scrum on halfway. But they drive towards the try line, their huge forwards inching closer to the try line…
Fiji 12-7 Uruguay 19m Prop, Eroni Mawi powers over from close range for Fiji’s second try and Matavesi is able to add the extras
Fiji 12-14 Uruguay 20m But Uruguay hit back from the re-start. The ball is charged down and the men in blue have line-out deep in the Fijian 22, attempting to drive to the whitewash but are halted in their endeavours
Fiji 12-14 Uruguay 21m However, another penalty gives them another 5m lineout with number 8 Manuel Diana crossing with some skill. Berchesi adds the simple conversion
Fiji 12-14 Uruguay 23m The ball goes forward following the re-start, Fiji secure their lineout and launch an attack, the ball is spread wide but it’s slightly sloppy as the ball is lost forward
Fiji 12-14 Uruguay 24m It’s real end-to-end stuff with the Fijians attacking, but the ball goes into touch, prompting Los Teros to start their attack from deep in their own half with a defensive lineout
Fiji 12-19 Uruguay 25m Uruguay quickly head over halfway, and are relentless in attack as the ball is recycled, with Uruguay putting in some Fiji-esque passing before Juan Manuel Cat races over for Uruguay’s third try…and what a try it was!
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 27m Berchesi appears to have his kicking boots on today as he slots over his third successful conversion to further extend Uruguay’s lead
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 28m Fiji need to rethink their gameplan if they are to halt this unexpected assault from Los Teros. Uruguay have visited the Fijian 22 on three occasions so far, and have come away with a converted try every time
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 30m Uruguay's possession has only been 32% so far, while territory is more balanced; Fiji set an attacking scrum outside the Uruguay 22. They breach the 22 and reach within 3 metres of the tryline but are forced from touch to play back infield and are shut down further back ;
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 32m Uruguay secure a defensive scrum deep in their 22, Fiji pinged for going early, and clear well but the ball doesn't find touch; Semi Radradra's offload finds only the ground and Andres Vilaseca chips it ahead and chases it…
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 33m Uruguay are not living up to their ‘underdog’ tag as the kick downfield from yet another Fijian error creates a race to the try-line and we go to the TMO to check who gets there first…
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 33m Vilaseca couldn't quite get his hand to it first and knock on is the decision - no try, but Uruguay certainly look like they could secure the bonus point before the end of the half
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 34m But it's a Fijian defensive scrum in their 22, and they clear well enough to set a lineout on their 10m, but it's stolen by Uruguay who fiercely attack again, Santiago Civetta breaching the 22...
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 35m The Uruguayans go eight phases, but the Fijian defence is forcing them back out of the 22
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 36m Los Teros go 13 phases before we have a break in play due to an accidental clash of heads between Juan Manuel Cat and Api Ratuniyarawa
Fiji 12-21 Uruguay 38m Ratuniyarawa is fine and passes on-field check, but though Cat has every intention of staying on, he is hauled off a Head Injury Assessment for Tomas Inciarte to replace him
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay 38m Uruguay are awarded the penalty for Berchesi to convert into another 3-pointer, and Los Teros look to go into the lead with a healthy advantage
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay 40m From the restart, another Uruguay touch clearance doesn't quite reach its destination and Fiji are again in possession in the midfield, but promptly knock on yet again. Uruguay have the scrum just inside their own half after the gong has rung out, but on exit Rodrigo Silva is forced into touch for HT
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay HT What a half from Uruguay, they have taken full advantage of Fijian handling errors, but Juan Manuel Cat’s try was just brilliant! Will we have a different Fiji in the second half or a major upset?
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay 40m Fiji gets the second half underway, and it’s a strong start for the men in white but Freitas is back to cover; Cat passed his HIA and has returned to the paddock
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay 42m The men in white secure the line-out but the ball is lost forward and Uruguay have put-in at the scrum offering them the opportunity to kick out of the 22
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay 44m Fiji have possession and launch an attack, Uruguay are pinged for tackling the man without the ball and it speaks volumes that they opt for the posts rather than the corner…
Fiji 12-24 Uruguay 45m It’s a relatively straight forward kick, but Fiji’s woes continue as Matavesi is wide with his penalty attempt
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 47m Fiji finally get over the try-line with Northampton’s Ratuniyarawa crossing after Scarlets bound Ratuva was brought down just short. However, Matavesi again misses the opportunity to add the extras
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 48m However, Matavesi misses the easiest conversion by a country mile! He laughs - because he knows just how rubbish that was
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 49m Juan Rombys replaces Arbelo in the front row
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 50m Again the handling errors are costing Fiji with Uruguay launching another attack but the pass is slightly forward
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 51m Ben Volavola - a formidable kicker - replaces fullback Alivereti Veitokani
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 52m It’s end to end once more, almost like a typical sevens game. Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 53m Uruguay attack well and Vilaseca chips ahead again, Volavola collecting it in front of the posts, but he's isolated. Eventually Filipo Nakosi turns up but all but forgets the ball on the touchline
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 54m Fiji are pinged offering Berchesi an opportunity to extend Uruguay’s lead. But this time he’s wide of the posts from a difficult position out on touch. Both sides make changes at Scrum Half, with Nikola Matawalu and Agustin Ormaechea coming on for Henry Seniloli and Arata
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 56m Both sides make changes at Scrum Half, with Nikola Matawalu and Agustin Ormaechea coming on for Henry Seniloli and Arata. Also for Los Teros, Juan Diego Ormaechea & Facundo Gattas are on for Diana and Mateo Sanguinetti
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 56m You’d expect Uruguay to be tiring by now, but again they secure possession and build up the phases, driving forward through the forwards
Fiji 17-27 Uruguay 58m They are awarded for their efforts with a penalty as Fiji are pinged for being off their feet
Fiji 17-27 Uruguay 60m Berchesi adds a further penalty to extend his side’s lead to 10 points
Fiji 17-27 Uruguay 61m Campese Ma'afu and Levani Botia on for Mawi and Filipo Nakosi | Felipe Etcheverry on for Gaston Mieres
Fiji 17-27 Uruguay 61m Fiji launch a further attack, but lose the ball in the air and again Uruguay are able to clear their line, but despite the errors, Fiji look threatening
Fiji 17-27 Uruguay 63m An awful throw-in from Fiji, Uruguay opt for the scrum but Matawalu rips the ball away and launches an attack, Nakarawa takes play almost into the Uruguay 22
Fiji 17-27 Uruguay 65m The men in white continue their attack, but Uruguay hold firm before Vatubua finds a gap…Fiji are inches from their bonus point try
Fiji 22-27 Uruguay 67m Matawalu, who started the move finally darts through for the score, following a patient, error-free period from the Fijians after 17 phases. Replacement, Volavola is unable to add the extras
Fiji 22-27 Uruguay 68m For Los Teros, Franco Lamanna and Tomas Inciarte come on for Ignacio Dotti and Cat
Fiji 22-27 Uruguay 69m For Fiji, Tuvere Vugakoto, Samuel Matavesi, Tevita Cavubati and Lee Roy Atalifo replace Dolokoto, Mosese Voka, Ratuva and Manasa Saulo
Fiji 22-27 Uruguay 69m Fiji look to run the ball from their own 22 as their confidence grows but Berchesi bumps Radradra into touch and Uruguay have the line-out
Fiji 22-27 Uruguay 71m Despite securing the line-out Uruguay lose the ball and Fiji counter-attack, but the ball goes out on the full and Uruguay have a line-out on half way
Fiji 22-27 Uruguay 72m Uruguay set up the maul from the line-out, Berchesi puts in a kick, but Matavesi gathers. Fiji again lose the ball offering Uruguay the chance to counter
Fiji 22-30 Uruguay 74m Fiji are pinged for not rolling away and up steps Berchesi to put Uruguay two scores ahead. His kick sails through the posts!
Fiji 22-30 Uruguay 76m Fiji look to attack from their own half as the clock ticks towards the end of the half. Botia offloads to Matawalu who breaks in mid-field
Fiji 22-30 Uruguay 77m Dotti has returned to the park for Lamanna, while Guillermo Pujadas is the final replacement, on for German Kessler
Fiji 22-30 Uruguay 78m Again the ball is lost forward, Fiji are awarded a free kick at the scrum but they are unable to find any gaps in the Uruguay defensive wall
Fiji 22-30 Uruguay 79m Uruguay are pinged for not rolling away, and another 10 added on as Fiji launch a last gasp bid for a losing bonus point
Fiji 22-30 Uruguay 80m Uruguay kill the ball on the line, advantage is played and Volavola appears to have sneaked in, but we’re going to the TMO…
Fiji 27-30 Uruguay 80+1m No try. Fiji opt for the scrum and Matawalu darts over for the try to secure the losing bonus point
Fiji 27-30 Uruguay 80+2m As has been typical in this game, Volavola again misses the conversion as the goal kicking, coupled with handing errors cost Fiji dearly. But it’s congratulations to Uruguay on an historic victory
Fiji 27-30 Uruguay FT The rebuilding through rugby which was a fundamental part of the recovery of this amazing town, but to end like this with the first shock of the Rugby World Cup, we’ve never seen such sobbing tears of happiness after a well-deserved win by Los Teros. Bravo Uruguay.
REVIEW
For the third time in RWC history a team lost despite scoring two tries more than their opponents. On both previous occasions, that team lost to England (Argentina in 1995 and Wales in 2003).
Fiji equalled the RWC record for most tries scored in a losing cause. Wales scored five tries against Fiji at RWC 2007, only to lose 38-34.
Fiji scored four tries and lost by less than eight points, therefore earning two bonus points. Under the current rules theirs is only the fifth such performance in RWC history. The previous four included Samoa v Scotland in 2015 and South Africa v Japan in 2015.
On 30 points, Uruguay improved on their largest points tally in a World Cup match. They put up 27 against Spain in 1999.
Uruguay had won only two of their previous 11 RWC matches, against Spain (27-15) in 1999 and Georgia (24-12) in 2003.
Felipe Berchesi set a Teros RWC record by posting 15 points in a match. The previous record had been nine.
Berchesi also equalled Kotaro Matsushima (three tries v Russia) and Owen Farrell (three penalty goals, two conversions v Tonga) as the players with the most points in a match at RWC 2019 (15). Berchesi scored three conversions and three penalties.
Fiji have lost their first two matches at RWC 2019. Only two teams managed to survive an RWC pool phase despite two defeats: Fiji in 1987 and France in 2011.
Both Ormaechea brothers, Agustin and Juan came on. Their father Diego featured in the Rugby World Cup.
15 Gaston Mieres 14 Nicolas Freitas 13 Juan Manuel Cat 12 Andres Vilaseca 11 Rodrigo Silva 10 Felipe Berchesi 9 Santiago Arata 1 Mateo Sanguinetti 2 German Kessler 3 Diego Arbelo 4 Ignacio Dotti 5 Manuel Leindekar 6 JUAN MANUEL GAMINARA(C) 7 Santiago Civetta 8 Manuel Diana BENCH: 16 Guillermo Pujadas 17 Facundo Gattas 18 Juan Pedro Rombys 19 Franco Lamanna 20 Juan Diego Ormaechea 21 Agustin Ormaechea 22 Felipe Etcheverry 23 Tomas Inciarte
Italy v Canada 5 minutes from kick off for Match No. 11 at #RWCFukuoka on Day 7 of #RWC2019 already! Time flies, eh?
Italy v Canada While the anthems are ongoing, The Officials: Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU) Asst. Referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Karl Dickson (RFU) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU) Italy v Canada These two last met at a RWC four years ago today at Elland Road, the Azzurri winning 23-18. Of their 9 ever encounters, Canada have only won twice
Italy 0-0 Canada 1min Tommy Allan kicks off proceedings which Gordon McRorie clears away from his 22
Italy 0-0 Canada 1min Matteo Minozzi makes a superb break and chasing the kick to the corner, he reaches it in an attempt to score but Patrick Parfrey almost certainly reaches it first
Italy 0-0 Canada 2mins TMO Rowan Kitt confirms and it's a 5m attacking scrum for the Azzurri who set and drive quickly, the Canadians gifting a crucial penalty...but that's better than 7!
Italy 3-0 Canada 3mins Allan tees up and opens the account for the Azzurri with ease
Italy 3-0 Canada 4mins With this intent, Conor O'Shea's side should automatically qualify for #RWC2023 with no problem after winning this game.
Italy 3-0 Canada 5mins The Italians are looking remarkably fresh having only played on Sunday, while this is Canada's opening match. Italy have made 10 changes though since beating Namibia
Italy 3-0 Canada 6mins Jake Polledri shows his mettle, time off is called for medics, the pitch is pushed back down where it has lifted horribly, and we have a Canadian defensive lineout...
Italy 8-0 Canada 7mins ...and they perform underwhelmingly for Italy to have an attacking scrum in the 22, well executed and it's Italy's other -not so famous- No.8 Braam Steyn who almost waltzes over to score
Italy 10-0 Canada 8mins Allan adds the extras while Ciaran Hearn replaces Nick Blevins who got a knock earlier
Italy 10-0 Canada 10mins If Canada don't find their defence, this could be a cricket score; they can no longer rely on poor Italian fitness since O'Shea has put paid to that nonsense
Italy 10-0 Canada 11mins The Canucks venture into the Azzurri 22 momentarily, but are swiftly despatched back up to the midfield by the opposition
Italy 15-0 Canada 12mins Another missed tackle results in another Azzurri score, this time from captain Dean Budd who almost effortlessly slips in under the posts from the breakdown
Italy 17-0 Canada 13mins Allan could kick these conversions over blindfolded all day they are so well positioned...
Italy 17-0 Canada 15mins Time off as Lucas Rumball is replaced by Matt Heaton, who four years ago was a paying spectator in the stands at Elland Road; also very odd to see Richard Wigglesworth on the coaching bench for Canada!
Italy 17-0 Canada 16mins Better effort from Canada as they attack the 22 and are 13 phases in with captain Tyler Ardron making the break and a shoo-in but he offloads to Heaton who fumbles and knocks the ball on under the posts!
Italy 17-0 Canada 18mins That was 7 points gone begging! What a crying shame - it would've given Canada just the confidence they needed so desperately
Italy 17-0 Canada 19mins Heaton is on the attack again - this time with ball in hand- but he's stripped of it quite deftly by Budd
Italy 17-0 Canada 21mins Again the Canadians attack and set up a 22 lineout - but it fails for the Azzurri to run the ball away
Italy 17-0 Canada 22mins Canada ARE finding their feet, and need a little more finesse in execution, instead of the Azzurri nicking the ball far too easily and charging way with it
Italy 17-0 Canada 22mins Time off as strapping is applied to ankles and thighs before an Italian defensive 22 lineout
Italy 17-0 Canada 23mins The lineout is solid and the ball is cleared to over halfway for Hearn to attack, offloading to DTH van der Merwe but he's promptly shut down by Budd
Italy 17-0 Canada 24mins Azzurri lineout back in their 22, and that is more than efficient, the ball run to halfway before Michele Campagnaro is pinged for not releasing properly - and he gets a lecture from Ref Nige
Italy 17-0 Canada 26mins Canada take the penalty which puts them back in the Italian 22 rather swiftly, five phases in but Michael Sheppard spills it!
Italy 17-0 Canada 27mins So many opportunities - and so many ball handling errors which have ensured Canada cannot take advantage; van der Merwe has a clear run but spills the ball...
Italy 17-0 Canada 29mins Oh and another! van der Merwe hurtles toward the 22, offloads to McRorie but he's hurled into touch by Minozzi with some vigour
Italy 17-0 Canada 30mins So much effort, so much promise, but the basic skills are missing of ball retention for Canada. And the chunks kicking up from the pitch aren't helping anyone either.
Italy 17-0 Canada 32mins It's likely Italy's time now - they've not visited the Canadian half for a while now...
Italy 17-0 Canada 34mins ...but the Azzurri blow an attacking lineout, and rather than ending up in the Canada 22, are kicked back to halfway
Italy 17-0 Canada 35mins However, it's still Italian ball and they secure the lineout, setting a scrum on halfway - which has to be reset before we can get going...
Italy 17-0 Canada 36mins Could that be a little complacency creeping in to the Azzurri squad? They've had to work hard in defence in this second quarter, but pretty sure they've not even seen the Canadian 22
Italy 17-0 Canada 36mins Time off as Hubert Buydens gets some attention, after Canada hand over another penalty
Italy 17-0 Canada 37mins That's better form the Azzurri who drive deep into the Canadian 22 and the muddy arena that was once a rugby pitch near the corner, advantage being played...
Italy 17-0 Canada 38mins ...TMO pops up for Ardron Running out of the line at the ruck while Italy were ready to attack; Ref Nige is itching for a yellow card, but is overruled by asst ref Wayne Barnes and the TMO - penalty only
Italy 17-0 Canada 39mins 5m attacking scrum, and the Canucks are waiting for Steyn - who goes left toward the corner instead of the expected right, throwing the defence for a second but...
Italy 17-0 Canada 40mins ...despite the pick and go from the Azzurri shifting closer into the centre, and good defensive effort from Sheppard who steals possession, and Canada only have to wait for the gong to kick the ball out for HT
Italy 17-0 Canada HT T: Steyn, Budd C: Allan (2) P: Allan | -
Italy 17-0 Canada HT Djustice Duru-Sears replaced Buydens in the final minutes of the first half in the front row. Well, that score doesn't reflect all the effort, possession & territory from Canada, but fair dues to the Azzurri!
Italy 17-0 Canada 40mins And we're back. Can Canada convert opportunity into points in the next 40 minutes? 🤔
Italy 17-0 Canada 41mins Mattia Bellini has replaced Tommaso Benvenuti , but more worryingly, Minozzi is down injured - time off...
Italy 22-0 Canada 42mins Time's back on and the Azzurri are back on the attack - like rhinos! And it's Sebastian Negri who bulldozes his way over the whitewash to score a third try from close range
Italy 24-0 Canada 43mins Tommy Allan adds the extras while Canada must rethink, regroup, and get their proverbial **** together to have any impact on the scoreboard
Italy 24-0 Canada 45mins One has to wonder what's going through the heads of the Canada coaching team, knowing they've given the players the tools - but can't do anything from the stands 🙈
Italy 24-0 Canada 46mins Nicola Quaglio & Marco Riccioni are on for Andrea Lovotti & Simone Ferrari in the front row, while the Azzurri are back in possession after Canada lose another ball, and hand over an 8th penalty
Italy 24-0 Canada 48mins Some comedy from Ref Nige as he's all confused over who's charged what down and who's offside - it's all blue to him!
Italy 24-0 Canada 49mins A brief medic time off before Callum Braley gees up his pack ahead of a Canada scrum on halfway
Italy 24-0 Canada 50mins Superb effort from Canada as they sprint from halfway right up to the corner, but Minozzi (who has wholly recovered) has other ideas and he bundles the Canucks into touch to prevent a score
Italy 24-0 Canada 51mins Last minute replacement Cole Keith comes on for Matt Tierney as the Azzurri set their defensive scrum almost on top of their tryline - play is hurtling toward the midfield in no time Italy 24-0 Canada 52mins Time off as the players are super-glued back together after Italy charge like a bullet train toward the Canada 22, Minozzi missing a final pass to halt momentum
Italy 24-0 Canada 53mins It's Canada's ball to lose, and they do once they breach Azzurri territory again... 🙈 The Azzurri have a defensive scrum to work from, and you just know they'll not cough it up
Italy 24-0 Canada 54mins It takes a while, but Canada do regain possession and have a scrum set on halfway, but not until Federico Ruzza replaces David Sisi...
Italy 24-0 Canada 55mins However, the Canucks are offside quickly and the Italians can attack from the midfield, advantage being played - van der Merwe kicks the ball out to touch to prevent a try
Italy 24-0 Canada 56mins Azzurri lineout in the Canada 22 is good, and they attack again well, heading closer to the uprights; the ball goes loose from the ruck but the whistle goes as the ball is hacked away by a red foot
Italy 24-0 Canada 57mins Time off as Ref Nige gives Ardron a lecture on giving away penalties, and a final warning, to him and his team before Tommy Allan kicks to touch for a 5m lineout
Italy 24-0 Canada 58mins Good work from the Azzurri as they heave over the tryline, but asst ref (and former Quins scrum half) Karl Dickson calls it for no grounding - off to the TMO
Italy 31-0 Canada 58mins The officials got it right, however, it ain't that simple is it! They have a closer look at Heaton who did pull down the maul so it's off to the naughty step for him and a penalty try to the Azzurri
Italy 31-0 Canada 59mins Meanwhile, Federico Zani is on for Luca Bigi, while Benoît Piffero has replaced Eric Howard
Italy 36-0 Canada 61mins Just delightful play from the Azzurri as they secure the bonus point via Polledri for Bellini to score in the corner after a mammoth sprint
Italy 36-0 Canada 62mins Awkward conversion for Allan doesn't find it's mark
Italy 36-0 Canada 63mins After an almighty collision in the air between Ben Lesage, Minozzi and Jayden Hayward, the ball falls for Canada and it's Ardron who reaches it to score almost under the posts! Huzzah! Except...
Italy 36-0 Canada 64mins ...time off and the officials have a closer look at the air clash - did that ball come back off Minozzi or forward off LeSage? According to Kitt & Nige, it's the latter. No try...😟☹️
Italy 36-0 Canada 65mins With Heaton still in the bin, Maxime Mbandà & Carlo Canna are on for Steyn and Allan, while Andrew Coe has replaced Jeff Hassler
Italy 36-0 Canada 66mins Jamie Mackenzie replaces McRorie at scrumhalf
Italy 36-0 Canada 67mins The Azzurri hand over a penalty in the scrum, deep in the Canada 22 - the Canucks clear well though...
Italy 36-5 Canada 67mins ...and from the far side lineout just inside their own half, the Canadians finally find their way through Nelson to Parfrey who sprints and jinks to the tryline to score almost in the corner! Italy 36-7 Canada 69mins There's no doubt this time, and Nelson adds the conversion to finally get Canada on the scoreboard
Italy 36-7 Canada 70mins Canada are back up to their full XV after Heaton's naughty step stint…
Italy 36-7 Canada 71mins The Italians aren't having that, and they attack with some ferocity, more than edging their way deeper into Canadian territory and set up a 5m lineout...
Italy 41-7 Canada 71mins ...from which their setpiece move operates like clockwork to drive over the whitewash, Zani with the score
Italy 41-7 Canada 72mins Guglielmo Palazzani replaces Braley at scrum half
Italy 41-7 Canada 73mins Canna pops over the conversion for the Azzurri, and Mr O'Shea can be pretty happy with his side, despite no Parisse in sight! (That had to happen soon - he can't go on forever 🙊)
Italy 41-7 Canada 75mins But Canada don't want to let this go with such a measly result on the scoreboard, which actually doesn't reflect the game so far...and they go back into attack mode...
Italy 41-7 Canada 76mins ...and a lovely pass goes from Hearn to LeSage who can't capitalise, so instead a kick goes across field to the far corner for Ardron to chase...
Italy 41-7 Canada 77mins ...but Minozzi is all over it too, both in the air to save/score. Minozzi wins. The Canadians question the officials on Minozzi's intention and action to knock on - it's nonsense
Italy 46-7 Canada 78mins Is there anywhere Minozzi isn't?! A sublime offload from Polledri playing scrumhalf and Minozzi flies over the tryline to score!
Italy 46-7 Canada 78mins In the meantime, Luke Campbell is the final player off the bench, on for Sheppard
Italy 48-7 Canada 79mins Canna's conversion goes awry, but far worse - I've left Italy short of 2 points for an age 🙈🙄
Italy 48-7 Canada 80mins There's only just time for the restart as the gong goes; Nelson kicks off to Negri who thumps into touch for the excellent win
Italy 48-7 Canada FT Well that's a result - a good one for the Azzurri. But expect big changes for the next match against the #Springboks next week
REVIEW
For the first time in history, Italy have started a Rugby World Cup campaign with back-to-back victories.
Italy also won their last match at RWC 2015, against Romania. The Azzurri have won three consecutive RWC matches for the first time in history.
Just as against Namibia, the Azzurri strung together seven tries (of which one was a penalty try).
Italy have registered four or more tries in three successive RWC matches. They only achieved that three times in their first 27 RWC matches.
Italy have seen their bench produce 31 points already. They have 50 points from their starters, 31 from their bench and 14 from penalty tries (95 points in total).
Two of Braam Steyn's last three tries have been scored on Japanese soil. He also crossed over against Japan in Oita on 9 June, 2018.
Dean Budd became the fifth captain to run in a RWC try for Italy, following Marzio Innocenti (1987), Massimo Cuttitta (1995), Alessandro Troncon (2007) and Sergio Parisse (two in 2011).
Sebastian Negri became the first number six to score an RWC 2019 try. Jersey number six was the only among 1-15 (starters) that had not yet scored a try at RWC 2019. Among replacements, 17 and 19 have not scored yet.
Mattia Bellini also scored a try against Namibia, although many initially credited team-mate Edoardo Padovani with the score. Officially, it now sits with Bellini. Bellini has run in eight tries in his last seven test appearances.
Italy were also awarded another penalty try. Only Argentina have been awarded more penalty tries in RWC history (six) than Italy (five).
15 Matteo Minozzi 14 Tommaso Benvenuti 13 Michele Campagnaro 12 Jayden Hayward 11 Giulio Bisegni 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Callum Braley 1 Andrea Lovotti 2 Luca Bigi 3 Simone Ferrari 4 David Sisi 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 6 Sebastian Negri 7 Jake Polledri 8 Braam Steyn BENCH: 16 Federico Zani 17 Nicola Quaglio 18 Marco Riccioni 19 Federico Ruzza 20 Maxime Mbandà 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Carlo Canna 23 Mattia Bellini
SCORERST: Steyn, Budd, Negri, PT, Bellini, Zani, Minozzi C: Allan (3), Canna P: Allan
15 Patrick Parfrey 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ben Lesage 12 Nick Blevins 11 DTH van der Merwe 10 Peter Nelson 9 Gordon McRorie 1 Hubert Buydens 2 Eric Howard 3 Matt Tierney 4 Conor Keys 5 Josh Larsen 6 Michael Sheppard 7 Lucas Rumball 8 TYLER ARDRON(C) BENCH: 16 Benoît Piffero 17 Djustice Duru-Sears 18 Cole Keith 19 Luke Campbell 20 Matt Heaton 21 Jamie Mackenzie 22 Ciaran Hearn 23 Andrew Coe
SCORERS T: Coe C: Nelson Heaton
Man of the Match: Jake Polledri
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU) Asst. Referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Karl Dickson (RFU) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)
England vs USA Next we head to #RWCKobe for this Pool C fixture….
England vs USA England make 10 changes with George Ford captaining the side for the fifth time. Meanwhile, the Eagles make their debut in this World Cup, making 5 changes from their last outing against Canada
England vs USA The teams are out…time for the anthems; England are in their away red strip to complement and differentiate from the USA Eagles' white
England 0-0 USA 1m Captain George Ford gets things underway as England continue their indoor tournament and set up an early attack
England 0-0 USA 1m We all know you can't hit anyone in the head anymore. Piers Francis maybe didn't get the memo, but his hit on Will Hooley in the opening seconds goes unnoticed entirely by any official. The post-match replays will no doubt earn him a citation
England 0-0 USA 2m Subsequently, England are pinged, offering the Eagles a defensive scrum but Willi Heinz is penalised for tackling the man without the ball offering USA the chance to clear from their 22
England 0-0 USA 3m We have an early injury with the young 19 year old David Ainuu being forced off the pitch. He’s replaced by Olive Kilifi
England 0-0 USA 4m The Eagles secure their line-out just inside the England half but England weather the USA attack and are soon back in attack. A combination of pace and excellent handling sees them in the Eagles 22
England 7-0 USA 5m George Ford breaks through a gaping hole to score the first try under the posts. He slots over the simple conversion
England 7-0 USA 7m USA Captain, Blaine Scully puts in a huge tackle on Cokanasiga and combines well with John Quill who secures the turnover
England 7-0 USA 10m But England are back in control with Ford putting in a testing kick for Hooley, despite pressure from Elliot Daly
England 7-0 USA 11m The Eagles are pinged as Ben Landry for a neck roll on Lewis Ludlam at the breakdown
England 7-0 USA 13m The Eagles are pinged for accidental off-side as they attempt to halt the England attack, giving England a good attacking scrum but Heinz is pinged for playing the ball on the floor
England 7-0 USA 15m Eagles’ Hooker, Joe Taufete’e attempts to launch an attack from the back of the line-out but is hauled down by George Kruis
England 7-0 USA 17m England secure the line-out in the USA 22 and Billy Vunipola attempts to find some space to break through but for the time being, the USA are defending well and England can’t seem to find any space
England 7-0 USA 18m Francis continues the attack, finds some space and has support outside but the Eagles’ rush defence narrows his options and secure a turnover through scrumhalf Shaun Davies
England 7-0 USA 20m Centre Paul Lasike puts in a huge boot, but despite the strong start, and the majority of the territory and possession England haven’t been able to penetrate their way through to increase their lead
England 7-0 USA 22m The Eagles continue with their impressive defensive display with centre, Marcel Brache forcing the knock-on from Joe Launchbury, USA have the scrum
England 12-0 USA 24m But England again claim the ball, and USA are pinged for failing to release the ball… Captain Ford opts for the corner.. the ball is driven forward with Vunipola going over for the score England 14-0 USA 25m Ford again adds the extras as the men in red extend their lead
England 14-0 USA 28m USA attempt some almost 7s-style rugby as they aim to launch an attack with AJ MacGinty offloading well to Iosefo but he’s bundled into touch and we have another line-out
England 14-0 USA 30m Play is again deep in the USA half and it looks likely that the England juggernaut will soon be claiming try number 3
England 19-0 USA 32m England secure the ball and drive towards the try-line…there’s no way the Eagles can stop this as Luke Cowan-Dickie claims the try
England 19-0 USA 33m Ford is unable to add the extras on this occasion as his kick bounces off the posts
England 19-0 USA 36m England appear to be in control now with Ford again kicking back into the USA 22, but the Eagles secure the line-out and finally find themselves in the England half
England 19-0 USA 38m But as the half draws to a close, another powerful scrum from the England forwards offers Ford the opportunity to secure the bonus point as he puts in a cross-field kick for Cokanasiga to chase
England 19-0 USA 40m However, Hooley collides with Cokanasiga and the first half of England dominance comes to an end as the Eagles remain score-less
England vs USA HT T: Ford, Vunipola, Cowan-Dickie C: Ford (2) | -
England 19-0 USA HT It’s been a solid half for England, but an impressive defensive performance from the Eagles which will surely have drained them, so it’s likely that an early bonus point try from
England could open the floodgates for a high-scoring fixture
England 19-0 USA 40 England make 3 changes for the second half: Mark Wilson, Ellis Genge & Kyle Sinckler on for Vunipola, Joe Marler and Dan Cole – all tactical, but the Eagles remain unchanged
England 19-0 USA 41m England begin the second half as they left off, building up the phases with Daly racing into the USA 22. Ref Berry is playing advantage and eventually blows up and England look like they’re going to kick for the corner
England 19-0 USA 43m Paul Mullen & Mike Te'o come on for Titi Lamositele & Hooley, the latter for a blood injury
England 19-0 USA 44m Ford kicks for the corner, but it’s not his best attempt. However, England launch an attack but Launchbury loses the ball and the Eagles kick down-field. England re-gather the ball and run from their own 22
England 19-0 USA 45m The men in red keep the ball tight but the Eagles re-gain possession before MacGinty kicks for touch, but England keep the ball in play and secure a penalty for not releasing
England 24-0 USA 47m England again launch another attack with great work from Jonathan Joseph who manages to get his pass in before Cokanasiga powers over from close range England 24-0 USA 49m Again, Ford isn’t unable to add the extras
England 24-0 USA 50m The Eagles also bring on the changes: Greg Peterson & Ruben de Haas on for Nick Civetta & Shaun Davis
England 24-0 USA 50m England make more tactical changes: Ben Youngs, Courtney Lawes & Owen Farrell on for Heinz, Launchbury & Francis
England 24-0 USA 51m England secure a scrum in their own half, offering replacement Youngs the opportunity to kick back into the USA half. The ball is lost and USA have a defensive scrum and the opportunity to launch an attack from deep
England 24-0 USA 52m Hooley is back on from his bloody stoppage - wearing shirt no. 24 🤔
England 24-0 USA 53m But England regain and again test the tiring Eagles defence. England have the put-in in an attacking scrum deep in the USA 22
England 24-0 USA 55m However, with so many changes, the games has most definitely lost its shape, despite England on the front foot, in front of the posts...
England 24-0 USA 56m The scrum is re-set and eventually USA are pinged, Youngs takes the ball quickly as England drive towards the whitewash led by Wilson, but he gets shut down 2 metres short…
England 24-0 USA 57m England go again, this time its Lawes only inches short, the defence holding well and the ball has to be recycled again
England 31-0 USA 58m Youngs spreads the ball wide through Ford, Farrell, Joseph and finally McConnochie who dives over for England’s fifth try. Ford adds the extras with a superb kick
England 31-0 USA 59m McConnochie already has an Olympic Silver medal from Rio 2016 in 7s, and now he's excelling in XVs with quite some panache too
England 31-0 USA 60m Hanco Germishuys, Bryce Campbell & Dylan Fawsitt are on for Lamborn, Lasike & Taufete’e
England 31-0 USA 60m Daly kicks through for a defensive line-out in the Eagles 22. England secure the ball and again inch closer to the try line, keeping the ball tight amongst the forwards; Antony Watson replaces McConnochie
England 31-0 USA 61m But the Eagles defence forces the error and they have the put-in in the scrum and the opportunity to clear the ball out of their 22
England 31-0 USA 63m Te'o is back on, this time for Martin Iosefo, while the Eagles are again defending their 22 with a scrum in front of the posts and MacGinty clears but…
England 31-0 USA 64m ...Ford puts the pressure on and he finds Daly with his kick. England continue their attack, though it is a little scrappy at times
England 31-0 USA 65m Daly's grubber kick is repelled but JJ makes the break and offloads just before his is hurled into touch by Te'o; it's recovered by MacGinty for de Haas to clear
England 38-0 USA 67m After Tom Curry is halted in his attack, Ford and Farrell combine well to put Lewis Ludlam clear to dive in the corner for England’s sixth try
England 38-0 USA 68m Another superb kick from Ford adds the extras while Jack Singleton is on for his RWC debut for Luke Cowan-(No Suggestions)
England 38-0 USA 69m England attempt to run the ball from deep after Scully is pinged in attack for not releasing, but a very dangerous tackle from John Quill on Farrell stops play. Handbags more than threaten and we go to the TMO but it looks like we could have the first red card of the tournament
England 38-0 USA 69m There’s little doubt that the tackle was a dangerous one and Quill is off, likely for the rest of the tournament. The tackle is no armed, led by Quill's shoulder right into Faz's head. The Eagles will play the remaining 10 minutes with 14 men
England 38-0 USA 70m From deep in their own 22, Ford shifts focus to the midfield and the England team barrel into Eagles' territory, continuing to test the defence of the Americans
England 38-0 USA 71m Replacement Watson continues the England attack as he bounces off the USA tackle, Farrell kicks through for Cokanasiga to chase but he can’t gather the ball in the corner. USA have a defensive scrum to clear their lines
England 38-0 USA 73m Another wave of attack from England but the ball is lost forward on and the Eagles have the put-in on half way
England 38-0 USA 74m MacGinty puts boot to ball in attempt to get play into the England half, but finds touch, offering England the opportunity to drive off the line-out
England 45-0 USA 75m A superb break from Genge off the back off the maul who bulldozes his way through and shedload of the defence before Youngs steps in and the ball is recycled to Cokanasiga who crosses just shy of the uprights for his second try. Ford adds the conversion
England 45-0 USA 77m We have a break in play as Hooley goes down injured, landing awkwardly after returning to the ground under a high ball
England 45-0 USA 78m Hooley -stretchered off- is replaced by Iosefo and we go back for an England scrum, Ref Berry is playing advantage
England 45-0 USA 78m Another solid attack and Sinckler breaks but leaves the ball behind 🙈 and the Eagles have a defensive scrum in their 22
England 45-0 USA 79m They continue their attack with Te’o breaking through, recycling well and Te'o goes again up toward the England 22 but lose the ball and it looks likely that their will end the game without a score as England counter England 45-5 USA 80m The gong is long gone yet England attack once more and Youngs is just shy of the Eagles' 22 but Germishuys steals it at the breakdown for Iosefo to break to halfway…
England 45-5 USA 80+1m …and de Haas powers towards the tryline, evading Daly with ease but his offload can't find Germishuys! The Eagles recycle the ball well and despite Faz ripping it away 1 metre short of the whitewash, MacGinty effects the turnover, offload to the far side of the uprights and finally that elusive try comes with Bryce Campbell diving over under the posts for the biggest cheer of the night
England 45-7 USA 80+2m MacGinty adds the simple conversion for the last play of the game as England make it two from two with Captain, George Ford leading by example as he is confirmed as Man of the Match
REVIEW
England record their highest ever score against USA at a Rugby World Cup, bettering the 37 points they put past them when they beat them 37-9 at RWC 1991.
This was the first time since 1995 that England's opponents had failed to score in the first half of a Rugby World Cup match.
Joe Cokanasiga's double means he has now scored five tries in his past five matches since the beginning of August. Four years ago, Fijian-born Cokanasiga was part of the warm-up entertainment before England played Fiji, performing at Twickenham as part of a pool of Fijian cultural dancers.
Luke Cowan-Dickie has now scored four tries in his past six matches, all in 2019, having previously failed to score for England in his first 11 tests.
Of the 18 Rio Olympians competing at this Rugby World Cup, Ruaridh McConnochie becomes the first to score a try. McConnochie won rugby sevens silver for Great Britain at Rio 2016.
George Ford became the fourth England captain to score a RWC try after Mike Harrison (1987), Will Carling (1991, 1995), and Martin Corry (2007).
Player of the match Ford scored 15 points (one try, five conversions). This is the equal highest points total by a player in a match at this Rugby World Cup. It is equalled by Kotaro Matsushima (JPN, 15 points v Russia), Owen Farrell (ENG, 15 points v Tonga) and Felipe Berchesi (URU, 15 points v Fiji).
USA's wait for their first RWC win since 2011 continues. Their last RWC success was a 13-6 win over Russia.
John Quill became the first USA player ever to be sent off at a RWC. Tonga's Ngalu Taufo'ou is the only other player to have been sent off against England at a RWC, in 1999. Before going off, Quill had been the best USA defender. He had made 12 tackles with no misses.
This match took place on the four-year anniversary of the 28-25 victory for Wales over England at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
15 Elliot Daly 14 Ruaridh McConnochie 13 Jonathan Joseph 12 Piers Francis 11 Joe Cokanasiga 10 GEORGE FORD(C) 9 Willi Heinz 1 Joe Marler 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie 3 Dan Cole 4 Joe Launchbury 5 George Kruis 6 Tom Curry 7 Lewis Ludlam 8 Billy Vunipola BENCH: 16 Jack Singleton 17 Ellis Genge 18 Kyle Sinckler 19 Courtney Lawes 20 Mark Wilson 21 Ben Youngs 22 Owen Farrell 23 Anthony Watson
15 Will Hooley 14 BLAINE SCULLY (C) 13 Marcel Brache 12 Paul Lasike 11 Martin Iosefo 10 AJ MacGinty 1 David Ainuu 2 Joe Taufete’e 3 Titi Lamositele 4 Ben Landry 5 Nick Civetta 6 Tony Lamborn 7 John Quill 8 Cam Dolan 9 Shaun Davies BENCH: 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
SCORERS T: Campbell C: MacGinty John Quill
Man of the Match: George Ford
Referee: Nic Berry (ARU) Asst. Referees: Paul Williams (NZRU), Federico Anselmi (UAR) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)
Pumas vs Tonga It's 15 minutes til KO in #RWCHanazono in Osaka, the oldest dedicated rugby union stadium in Japan
Pumas vs Tonga The Officials for a match which has only seen these two face each other once at #RWC2015 where the Pumas won 46-15: Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU) Asst. Referees: Ben O'Keeffe (NZRU), Brendon Pickerill (NZRU) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)
Pumas vs Tonga The passionate anthems are underway at #RWCHanazono, and I'm pretty sure the Pumas players haven't just got dust in their eyes to make them water! 🇦🇷🏉🇹🇴
Pumas vs Tonga The Sipi Tau has been duly performed by Tonga, and we are moments away from KO under the watchful eye of Ref Peyper
Pumas 0-0 Tonga 1min Benjamin Urdapilleta kicks off the encounter and the Pumas secure the ball quickly before attacking toward the 22 before the ball flies forward for the Tongans
Pumas 0-0 Tonga 2mins The Pumas are cleared back to the 10m for a lineout but it's the Tongans who come away with the ball but are forced back to their own 22 before they can clear their lines again
Pumas 0-0 Tonga 4mins We have a time off already as Viliami Lolohea needs the medics after a clash with Emiliano Boffelli
Pumas 0-0 Tonga 5mins Tonga have the scrum in the midfield, but knock on promptly as they breach Argentinian territory for the Pumas to reciprocate with a slightly defensive scrum of their own
Pumas 5-0 Tonga 6mins The Pumas are up in the Tongan 22 quickly and their penalty allows a 5m attacking lineout, executed like clockwork for hooker Julian Montoya to sneak over for the first try
Pumas 7-0 Tonga 7mins Urdapilleta converts beautifully, despite the kick being from touch
Pumas 7-0 Tonga 9mins The Tongans have only a day less than the Pumas to prep for this game, both coming off hard-fought matches against #EnglandRugby & #XVdeFrance respectively
Pumas 7-0 Tonga 11mins Tonga most definitely aren't at the level they were against England last weekend, and so far it's not the match we expected - hard and fast
Pumas 7-0 Tonga 13mins Cooper Vuna is a blood replacement for captain Siale Piutau who's off for some stitches over his brow before play resumes on halfway
Pumas 7-0 Tonga 14mins The Pumas, in possession, set up a 22 lineout and drive the maul to within 3 metres of the whitewash before Tonga are pinged for entering from the side..
Pumas 7-0 Tonga 16mins So the Pumas go to the corner again - a 5m lineout and Tonga infringe yet again, rushing up too early, but more importantly, taking out the player in the air
Pumas 12-0 Tonga 17mins Clockwork setpiece from the Pumas after a third lineout and again it's Montoya who claims the score
Pumas 14-0 Tonga 18mins Urdapilleta makes the conversion, again from a difficult spot, and again executing with such ease
Pumas 19-0 Tonga 19mins No time to snooze for the Pumas as Santiago Carreras steals the ball from the Tongans with such ease for him to sprint -or maybe that's a jog- unhindered to the whitewash to score a third try already Pumas 21-0 Tonga 21mins Urdapilleta not only maintains his 100% record, but is keeping up the Pumas score to a point a minute...
Pumas 21-0 Tonga 23mins The restart has the Pumas with an attacking scrum in the Tongan 22 yet again, Urdapilleta sprinting off the back of it to breach the whitewash but we're off to TMO Rowan Kitt to find a grounding...
Pumas 21-0 Tonga 24mins ...the ball is clearly held up over the line by a Tongan arm so it's not try, but another 5m scrum for the Pumas looms
Pumas 26-0 Tonga 25mins It's not such an easy attack this time and the Pumas are forced to come infield recycling long the way, but the chasm appears for Montoya to jink his way through for a hat trick
Pumas 28-0 Tonga 27mins Urdapilleta makes it a fourth converted try for the Pumas, and Tonga are just lost here, needing to find any foothold - but they need possession and ball retention for more than a nanosecond for that
Pumas 28-5 Tonga 29mins The Tongans find that much needed opportunity, this time moving ahead steadily and firmly to build 9 phases to the Pumas 22 for Telusa Veainu to reach over the tryline to score
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 31mins Sonatane Takulua does not falter in converting the try, and the boost required for Tonga to be electrified into participating actively in the game has been delivered
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 33mins The Tongans have arrived, and they promptly shut down the attack from Marcos Kremer who is crushed under a heap of Tongan bodies
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 35mins The Pumas attack from the midfield, securing a scrum just outside the Tongan 22 - every time they've ventured over this way before, it's 7 points they walk away with
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 36mins The scrum is secured and the Pumas come wide infield with solid hands, until the ball reaches Matías Orlando who knocks it on before a quick time off
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 38mins Tonga defend their 22 well with a scrum and clear to Boffelli in the Pumas 22 who kicks it right back for a midfield Tongan lineout
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 39mins The Pumas steal the ball and are back on the front foot through Boffelli but his offload is intercepted by Piutau to halt that onslaught
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 40mins The magnificent gong has rung out across the stadium while the Pumas are pinged for not releasing and Tonga have an attacking lineout in the hope of a final score before the break...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 40+1mins ...Tonga prove themselves worthy from their setpiece and David Halaifonua gathers and heads to the corner to score but Tomas Lavanini has other ideas and hurls him off kilter
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 40+2mins The TMO confirms the tackle is perfectly legal, despite the protestations of observers not paying attention, but Halaifonua's elbow finds the touchline before he grounds the ball, and that's HT
Pumas 28-7 Tonga HT Lavanini's tackle has become a bone of contention in the break - the replay clearly shows his right arm wrapping Halaifonua, but the charge was shoulder-led. 🤔
Pumas 28-7 Tonga HT In other news, #England Rugby's Piers Francis has been cited for that dangerous tackle on #USA Rugby's Will Hooley, while John Quill has been suspended for 3 weeks after smashing Owen Farrell
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 40mins Tonga have hopefully reset enough to not allow the Pumas such an easy run in this second half...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 41mins Ma'afu Fia has replaced Ben Tameifuna in the front row for Tonga
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 42mins Argentina, however, have other plans, and quickly breach Tongan territory after another Tonga change...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 43mins ...Vuna returns to the paddock, this time for Lolohea while the Pumas are into the Tongan 22
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 44mins Tonga repel the Pumas efficiently, stealing the ball at the breakdown and forcing play back up to the midfield, as changes ring in for the Pumas already as well
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 45mins Agustín Creevy, Mayco Vivas & Santiago Medrano on for Montoya, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro & Juan Figallo
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 47mins Tongan loose play loses them the ball again and the Pumas take full advantage as they return to the Tongan half
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 48mins Pumas attacking scrum is set and they retain possession for only a minute, but the ball spills and Tonga can clear the Pumas back up to the 10m Pumas 28-7 Tonga 50mins Another change was also made earlier with captain Pablo Matera replaced by Javier Ortega Desio, while the Pumas win their lineout and are determined to reach the Tongan 22 again...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 51mins ...and they do for Tomás Cubelli to force his way over the whitewash under the posts. However...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 52mins ...the matter is referred to the TMO who confirms that Takulua manages to dislodge the ball from Cubelli's control as it is grounded and it's no try
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 54mins After Sosefo Sakalia & Nasi Manu replace Paula Ngauamo & Zane Kapeli, Tonga do an excellent job in clearing the Pumas out of their 22 with a defensive scrum
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 56mins Nicolás Sánchez & Matías Alemanno have replaced Urdapilleta & Lavanini while the Pumas have yet another attacking scrum on the 22 and they edge closer to the whitewash...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 58mins ...until Maama Vaipulu smashes Kremer and the Pumas are again attacking from setpiece, this time a 5m lineout
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 60mins The lineout is won, but he ball is turned over and Tonga clear the Pumas away again - that defence is quite impressive, considering how much time the Pumas have spent camped out in the Tonga 22
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 62mins Tonga finally cross halfway again and with ball in hand, Cubelli infringes at the breakdown outside the Pumas 22 and it's Tongan scrum..
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 64mins ...which has to be reset before we go anywhere with this, the Tongans making inroads before they hand over another penalty for Pumas to attempt to escape this attack
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 65mins But the Pumas reciprocate by handing back possession for a far better positioned attacking scrum for Tonga where they bring on Sitiveni Mafi and Leon Fukofuka for Sione Kalamafoni and Takulua
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 66mins And from Fukofuka to Faiva to Vuna to Veainu who reaches the corner and acrobatically grounds the ball before landing in touch in the corner, confirmed by the TMO!
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 67mins In the meantime, Bautista Delguy is on for Matías Orlando and Vunipola Fifita for Siegfried Fisi'ihoi
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 68mins However, the conversion can't be secured, so it's still a monster task for Tonga to overcome in the last 12 minutes
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 70mins The Pumas are getting frustrated and tackles are becoming more erratic and dubious, but still just within the rules
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 72mins Tonga are still defending well, and keeping the pumas at bay, seemingly having got handling a little more under control...
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 73mins ...and when they do gift a penalty, it's outside their 10m for Sánchez to attempt to punish with a kick at the uprights, but it's a kick too far
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 74mins Felipe Ezcurra is on for Cubelli while Latiume Fosita is on for Veainu
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 76mins A time off before the Pumas are in an attack position again, but the game has lost all its shape
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 77mins The Pumas drive into Tongan territory again, but are quickly repelled away while missing crucial tackles
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 78mins For Tonga it's been poor ball handling, for the Pumas poor tackling, but Tonga are winning this half by not allowing the opposition to score a point and their on the attack again finally too
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 80mins The Tongans go 10 phases before the Pumas infringe and the penalty gives Tonga a 22 attacking lineout for one final flourish...
Pumas 28-12 Tonga 80mins The gong sounds, the lineout is stolen and that's game over for Tonga, but the Pumas haven't come out looking too fabulous, despite an excellent first half hour
REVIEW
Argentina have won their past 12 RWC matches against Tier 2 opposition, after losing their first three World Cup encounters against them.
This was Argentina’s first test match win in more than a year. Their last victory dated back to 15 September, 2018, when they defeated Australia 23-19.
Julian Montoya set the record for most tries by a hooker in a World Cup career (6).
Montoya also became the second hooker to register a hat-trick in a World Cup match following Keith Wood's four-try performance against USA on 2 October, 1999.
Telusa Veainu has now scored in consecutive appearances for Tonga. His previous appearance was against USA on 19 November, 2016. Remarkably, that was his only appearance in between the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups.
Veainu became the first Tonga player to score multiple tries against a Tier 1 nation in a Rugby World Cup match.
Sione Kalamafoni and Siale Piutau have played their 10th Rugby World Cup match, one shy of the team record of 11 (shared by Soane Tonga'uiha and Vunga Lilo).
15 Emiliano Boffelli 14 Matías Moroni 13 Matías Orlando 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente 11 Santiago Carreras 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta 9 Tomás Cubelli 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro 2 Julian Montoya 3 Juan Figallo 4 Guido Petti 5 Tomas Lavanini 6 PABLO MATERA(C) 7 Marcos Kremer 8 Tomas Lezana BENCH: 16 Agustín Creevy 17 Mayco Vivas 18 Santiago Medrano 19 Matías Alemanno 20 Javier Ortega Desio 21 Felipe Ezcurra 22 Nicolás Sánchez 23 Bautista Delguy
Japan vs Ireland Just over 10 minutes till KO at #RWCShizuoka; a change for Japan since yesterday; this afternoon's officials at #RWCShizuoka in Fukuroi City: Referee: Angus Gardner (ARU) Asst. Referees: Jérôme Garcès (FFR), Matthew Carley (RFU) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)
Japan vs Ireland A magnificent setting with a full house for the hosts to show off their wares. Can they repeat their 2015 shock and take Ireland out as they did the Boks? It would be incredible for Japanese rugby
Japan vs Ireland The Japanese anthem is fascinating - it does sound more like a dirge; will have to look up the words at some point soon. Ireland anthem underway...
Japan 0-0 Ireland 1min We have KO at #RWCShizuoka from Ireland and it's quickly a lineout for Rory Best to marshal well
Japan 0-0 Ireland 2mins Two minutes, two Irish lineouts but they have not made any ground as the Japanese defence is right in their face, pushing and preening to put the hosts in Irish territory
Japan 0-0 Ireland 3mins Kotaro Matsushima makes a magnificent break, evading Rob Kearney, and he sprints over the whitewash to chase the ball but overruns it with Jacob Stockdale preventing any try
Japan 0-0 Ireland 5mins Peter O'Mahony hands over an early penalty to the hosts and it's an opportunity for Yu Tamura to opening the scoring, outside the 10m and in front of the posts - but he knocks it wide
Japan 0-0 Ireland 6mins Ireland need to compose themselves; the Japanese are not here to make up the numbers and have every intention to take the game to their opposition
Japan 0-0 Ireland 8mins Amanaki Mafi is pinged at the breakdown on his 22 and Ireland attack, and a crosskick to Keith Earls is caught but he bounces into touch ahead of the corner Japan 0-0 Ireland 10mins Again the ball heads to the corner in the next phase of play, and again Earls bounces into touch in the same position, this time collecting the ball on the wrong side
Japan 0-0 Ireland 12mins Ireland are bringing wave upon wave of attack, in fierce fashion, but the defence is frustrating them...
Japan 0-5 Ireland 13mins ...until quick ball gets back to Jack Carty in front of the posts who cross kicks to Garry Ringrose in the same corner but this time, this centre collects and runs over to slide in a good try
Japan 0-5 Ireland 14mins Carty, however, misses the conversion; Ireland had the advantage anyway so even it that crossfield kick had gone awry, they would've had 3 anyway
Japan 0-5 Ireland 16mins But another penalty comes to Japan from Ireland in front of the posts, even if it is way back almost at halfway; discipline needs to be controlled
Japan 3-5 Ireland 17mins This time Tamura is far more controlled, takes his time, and splices the uprights to open Japan's account beautifully
Japan 3-5 Ireland 18mins From the restart, Ireland have a midfield scrum and Keita Inagaki is pinged to give Ireland the penalty
Japan 3-5 Ireland 20mins An attacking lineout for the visitors ensues and is well carried out, the attempted drive goes nowhere so the ball is played infield as the Irish creep closer to the whitewash...
Japan 3-5 Ireland 20mins ...a couple of attempts to reach it are thwarted so Cary kicks the ball high to his right, he tries to get under it but it's collected by Kearney who gets over the line - but the Ref is not there > TMO
Japan 3-10 Ireland 21mins TMO Skeen informs Ref Gardner that the ball is knocked backwards by Carty and Kearney safely grounds the ball for the try
Japan 3-12 Ireland 22mins Carty would be hard-pressed to miss this conversion, and he doesn't
Japan 3-12 Ireland 23mins Japan have a solid scrum in defence and push the Irish back, but they come back hard with intent, breaching the 22...Mafi protecting the ball near touch
Japan 3-12 Ireland 25mins The hosts set up a defensive lineout on their 22, and they execute this awfully well, offloading in excellent fashion and charging to the Irish 22...
Japan 3-12 Ireland 26mins ...and Matsushima again chases the kick through to the tryline but Josh van der Flier gets their first and offloads for the ball to be efficiently cleared
Japan 3-12 Ireland 27mins Japan have no fear of huge tackles, but the last one gives Ireland a scrum penalty, albeit right back in their 22
Japan 3-12 Ireland 28mins The scrum has to be reset, and once we do get going, there's no quick ball and eventually Conor Murray kicks to touch for a Japan lineout
Japan 3-12 Ireland 29mins The Japanese are now outside the 22 and the lineout is fine, but they are pinged for not releasing at the breakdown so Ireland can clear the hosts back
Japan 3-12 Ireland 30mins Mafi is in some discomfort and eventually Ref Gardner notices and Michael Leitch replaces the No.8 before play resumes
Japan 3-12 Ireland 31mins Leitch's impact is immediate, even more than Mafi's, and before you know it, Ireland have their defensive lineout stolen for the hosts to breach the Irish 22
Japan 6-12 Ireland 33mins Murray is pinged for not releasing at the breakdown and Tamura knocks over another three points to punish the opposition
Japan 6-12 Ireland 34mins Despite Leitch arriving, Pieter Labuschagne retains the captaincy for the hosts; meanwhile the tackles coming in from Japan are huge, and two on one to disrupt the Irish gameplan Japan 6-12 Ireland 35mins A penalty results and Ireland have an attacking scrum on the Japan 22 - but the hosts shove with ferocity and win the scrum, much to the glee of the crowd who roar in delight
Japan 6-12 Ireland 36mins The hosts clear the Irish back up toward the midfield, and don't stop there...
Japan 6-12 Ireland 37mins ...forcing their way over halfway, going 8 phases with advantage being played, and van der Flier is pinged at the breakdown for a penalty again in front of the posts
Japan 9-12 Ireland 39mins Tamura's matchday nerves are truly abated as he splices the uprights for a third time from 39m out
Japan 9-12 Ireland 40mins The gong reverberates for 40 minutes while Japan set their scrum on halfway as the crowd applaud them on...
Japan 9-12 Ireland 40+1mins The scrum is solid and 10 phases is, Japan are up toward the Irish 22, much to the ire of Ireland...
Japan 9-12 Ireland 42+1mins ...16 phases as the hosts go back to the 10m, come forward again, recycling, going wide and a chip through from Ryoto Nakamura gets them so much closer - but the ball finds touch! And it's HT
Japan 9-12 Ireland 40mins Part two of 🇯🇵🏉🇮🇪! If Japan can keep up the pace and momentum, then we have a game on our hands!
Japan 9-12 Ireland 41mins Japan kick off but promptly knock on for and Irish scrum on halfway, which they win but the ball is quickly in Japanese hands again
Japan 9-12 Ireland 43mins A lineout just inside the Irish half and Japan are on the front foot again, making a few yards and going 11 phases...
Japan 9-12 Ireland 44mins ...but the ball goes loose near touch and Asst Ref Jérôme Garcès says the Irish knocked that back so they bolt ahead back into Japanese territory
Japan 9-12 Ireland 44mins However, the Irish don't protect the ball at the breakdown, Japan easily staling it deep in their own half, but they run it out hard...
Japan 9-12 Ireland 45mins A little knock to Tadhg Furlong has him off the pitch for Andrew Porter, while David Kilcoyne replaces Cian Healy so that's fresh props for Ireland
Japan 9-12 Ireland 46mins Japan make it to the midfield before handing over a scrum penalty to Ireland, but a time off first for some patching up
Japan 9-12 Ireland 47mins the scrum gains the Irish a few yards before they are put on the backfoot in their own half, kick long and Ryohei Yamanaka gets under it but fumbles the ball
Japan 9-12 Ireland 48mins It's an Irish attacking scrum outside the 10m and it takes forever to set -after a time off- and Leitch is pinged for his eagerness with the ball still in the scrum
Japan 9-12 Ireland 50mins Irish 22 lineout is lost to the hosts and they run the ball out of their 22 - the Irish hit back and are quickly back in the 22 but...
Japan 9-12 Ireland 51mins ...the ball is deftly intercepted and the hosts run the ball up toward the midfield before a kick goes long to Stockdale who runs it back
Japan 9-12 Ireland 52mins A couple of kicks either way before Ireland build six phases, but way back in their own half and the visitors are struggling to make ground or even stick to any vague gameplan
Japan 9-12 Ireland 53mins Ireland are pinged just inside their half for not moving away, but it's not quite in front of the posts and Tamura pushes his kick at the uprights just wide 🙈
Japan 9-12 Ireland 54mins Previously, Kenki Fukuoka and Asaeli Ai Valu have come on for Yamanaka and Jiwon Koo, while Japan are on the attack again
Japan 9-12 Ireland 56mins Japan make some serious inroads as Ireland flounder, but Leitch coughs up the ball and goes down - time off
Japan 9-12 Ireland 57mins Rhys Ruddock on and Furlong returns for O'Mahony and Porter; also, Fumiaki Tanaka on for Yutaka Nagare. Ireland have a defensive scrum inside their own half...
Japan 9-12 Ireland 58mins ...but the hand over possession for an accidental offside and the Japanese boys attack like their lives depend on it!
Japan 14-12 Ireland 59mins Wave after wave of assault from Japan as they shift along the tryline, waiting for that glimmer of a gap, and it's Fukuoka who finds it with such panache
Japan 16-12 Ireland 60mins Tamura is calm as a star-filled silent night ocean and coolly puts over the conversion! This is superb!
Japan 16-12 Ireland 61mins I'm the meanwhile, Sean Cronin, Andrew Porter, Joey Carbery and Jordan Larmour replace Best, Furlong, Carty and Chris Farrell
Japan 16-12 Ireland 63mins Ireland fight back from the restart, and go 14 phases before the ball finds touch; Isileli Nakajima & Wimpie van der Walt replace Keita Inagaki and an exhausted Luke Thompson Japan 16-12 Ireland 65mins From an attacking lineout, Ireland go eight phases toward the Japan 22, breaching it coming from far touch to the nearside, and once in, they get turned over with some almighty roars from the crowds as Japan halt them
Japan 16-12 Ireland 66mins Japan lineout is back up close to halfway, just inside their half and they lose possession for the Irish to attack again
Japan 16-12 Ireland 67mins The Irish manage another 11 phases and head almost to the 22 of the hosts but knock the ball forward - for which Murray has a tantrum, though it's clear this is correct as checked with TMO
Japan 16-12 Ireland 68mins Luke McGrath and Tadhg Beirne have replaced Iain Henderson and Kearney while Japan set their scrum and ready to escape their half again...
Japan 16-12 Ireland 70mins ...and they do, hoping for a drop goal opportunity but they are pushed back somewhat before Ireland gift another penalty 🙊
Japan 19-12 Ireland 71mins Tamura has another long range penalty - Ireland hasn't made it easy for him! And with the crowd cheering behind with joy, he extends the lead to 7!
Japan 19-12 Ireland 72mins This is utterly brilliant for Japan, keeping their composure and discipline - just too cool. From the restart, Ireland knock giving Japan yet another penalty and advantage is being played too...
Japan 19-12 Ireland 74mins ...but Japan don't make too much yardage before Ireland do eventually regain possession, kicking to touch for an attacking lineout
Japan 19-12 Ireland 75mins The Irish are getting antsy as the hosts take their time reaching the lineout - because they can 😜 but eventually it gets going and Ireland retain their ball...while Shota Horie is named Man of the Match Japan 19-12 Ireland 77mins ...and the Irish go 15 phases against this controlled and solid defence before they are again intercepted by Fukuoka this time who charges from his own 22 deep into the Irish 22 before Earls takes him down!
Japan 19-12 Ireland 78mins But the Irish have again given away a penalty, right under the posts and it's time off for a water break before the 5m attacking scrum is set...
Japan 19-12 Ireland 79mins ...it has to be reset as Murray is allowed to loom over Tanaka 🙄, but Japan get the ball out and there's nothing Ireland can do as we're seconds from the gong...
Japan 19-12 Ireland 80mins Nakajima loses the ball at the breakdown and Carbery kicks it clear just as the gong would've deafened the stadium if the crowd weren't so loud in their appreciation of the host! The ball finds touch & it's done! Japan 19-12 Ireland FT Well that was utterly magnificent from a superb Japan and superb hosts and so completely deserved! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🇯🇵🏉
Japan 19-12 Ireland FT And as a result, Japan reach their highest ever World Rugby ranking at 8
REVIEW
There have now been 11 RWC victories by a Tier 2 side over Tier 1 opponents and Japan have accounted for the last two. They also beat South Africa at RWC 2015.
Other Tier 2 teams who beat Tier 1 teams are (Western) Samoa (five), Fiji (two) and Tonga (two).
Japan won by a seven-point margin. This is the joint-biggest win for a Tier 2 nation against a Tier 1 inside a Rugby World Cup match since 1995. Samoa beat Wales by seven in 1999.
Ireland lose for the first time in 16 RWC encounters with Tier 2 opposition.
Japan defeated Ireland for the first time in eight test encounters between the two.
Ireland have now lost all of their five RWC encounters facing tournament hosts that were actually playing on home soil.
With Ireland conceding their first try of the tournament, Samoa are the only team at RWC 2019 who have not yet conceded a try.
At RWC 2015, Japan became the first team in RWC history not to reach the knockout phase despite three pool-stage victories.
Kenki Fukuoka scored his fifth try in his last six test appearances. He was born in Fukuoka.
Garry Ringrose ran in his first test try since 3 November, 2018, when he scored in a 54-7 triumph over Italy. He has scored three of his seven career test tries on Japanese soil.
Rob Kearney also scored RWC tries in 2011 (1) and 2015 (3). He became the third player representing Ireland to score a try at three different World Cups, following Brian O'Driscoll (4) and Rory Best (3).
Kearney has now scored two tries in his last two tests. Before that, he had not scored for Ireland since RWC 2105.
15 Ryohei Yamanaka 14 Kotaro Matsushima 13 Timothy Lafaele 12 Ryoto Nakamura 11 Lomano Lemeki 10 Yu Tamura 9 Yutaka Nagare 1 Keita Inagaki 2 Shota Horie 3 Jiwon Koo 4 Luke Thompson 5 James Moore 6 Kazuki Himeno 7 PIETER LABUSCHAGNE (C) 8 Amanaki Mafi BENCH: 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
SCORERS T: Fukuoka C: Tamura P: Tamura (4)
15 Rob Kearney 14 Keith Earls 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Chris Farrell 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Jack Carty 9 Conor Murray 1 Cian Healy 2 RORY BEST (C) 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Iain Henderson 5 James Ryan 6 Peter O'Mahony 7 Josh Van der Flier 8 CJ Stander BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 David Kilcoyne 18 Andrew Porter 19 Tadhg Beirne 20 Rhys Ruddock 21 Luke McGrath 22 Joey Carbery 23 Jordan Larmour
SCORERST: Ringrose, Kearney C: Carty
Man of the Match: Shota Horie
Referee: Angus Gardner (ARU) Asst. Referees: Jérôme Garcès (FFR), Matthew Carley (RFU) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)
City of Toyota Stadium - Saturday, 28 September 2018 KO: 18:45 HT: 31-3 Att: 36,449
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Boks vs Namibia Well how on earth does one follow that?! But it's time for 🇿🇦🏉🇳🇦 at #RWCCityOfToyota
Boks 0-0 Namibia 1min We have kick in Toyota as the Boks appear in their white away strip against Namibia's blue; it's the professionals against the amateurs - but expect fire!
Boks 0-0 Namibia 2mins Unsurprisingly, the Boks are all over the Namibian tryline and under the posts, but well-played Namibia who hold them off the line!
Boks 5-0 Namibia 3mins It's Namibia in the driving seat with a 5m scrum, but it is quite obviously in defence and Bok captain Schalk Brits - at 8 not hook - carries to the line and scores on the post
Boks 0-0 Namibia 4mins However, Ref Raynal decided to pop up to TMO Graham Hughes to check the grounding - and the replay shows Brits dropped the ball before he picked it up to hit the base of the post - no try
Boks 0-0 Namibia 6mins It's another attacking scrum for the Boks and the Namibians cough up a penalty immediately - scrum no.#3 incoming...
Boks 0-0 Namibia 7mins It takes a while before Mbongeni Mbonambi feeds the scrum and this time the Boks go wide to the right, then take it left toward the corner while advantage is being played
Boks 0-0 Namibia 8mins It's JC Greyling who gave that penalty away and Elton Jantjies kicks to the corner for a 5m lineout
Boks 5-0 Namibia 9mins Discombobulated brain after Japan - it was obviously Herschel Jantjies who fed that scrum 🙈 Now, the lineout is textbook and Mbonambi forces his way over the tryline to score
Boks 7-0 Namibia 11mins Elton J converts the try and one would suspect a lot more scores are to come from the Boks; Namibia can't do a Brave Blossoms, sadly
Boks 7-0 Namibia 13mins From the Namibian restart, it takes the Boks precisely 90 seconds to reach the opposition 22 again...
Boks 7-0 Namibia 14mins A penalty comes for a high tackle from Lesley Klim on S’busiso Nkosi and Elton J kicks to touch for a 5m lineout in the Namibia 22
Boks 12-0 Namibia 15mins It's clockwork for the Boks and it's Francois Louw who claims the score, but Elton J 's conversion pings off the post Boks 12-0 Namibia 16mins Adriaan Booysen is sent to the naughty step for a cynical infringement the ball - penalty to the Boks...
Boks 17-0 Namibia 17mins It's Nkosi who's the recipient of that last penalty too, and the Boks score again from another 5m lineout, this time it's Mbonambi who claims a brace already
Boks 19-0 Namibia 18mins This time Elton J finds his mark and the Boks are scoring a point a minute so far
Boks 19-0 Namibia 20mins Namibia have possession but are pinned in their own half and get stripped of the ball by Brits efficiently
Boks 19-0 Namibia 22mins However, it comes good for the Namibians and they have ball in hand in Greyling and Cliven Loubser takes it further before Gelant knocks it on to give them a penalty
Boks 19-0 Namibia 23mins Loubser tees up the penalty kick - we already know how good he is from the match v Italy
Boks 19-3 Namibia 24mins The minnows are on the board! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Boks 19-3 Namibia 25mins The restart, however, has the Boks threatening again and the Namibian defence needs to step up, not give them space
Boks 24-3 Namibia 26mins But it doesn't, and Warrick Gelant makes a break, offloading to Mapimpi who sprints along the touchline and runs in another try
Boks 24-3 Namibia 27mins The TMO confirms there is no foul play in the run up to the try; meanwhile Booysen returns from his 10 minute rest
Boks 24-3 Namibia 28mins Elton J, however, is having a rotten time of it with his boot, and he misses another. It won't matter though against Namibia, and the Boks have just scored the quickest try bonus point in the tournament so far
Boks 24-3 Namibia 30mins There may some tedium with this match, especially after the excitement of 🇯🇵🏉🇮🇪, and we have the Boks on the attack in Namibian territory again...
Boks 24-3 Namibia 31mins The Boks hand over another penalty giving Namibia a scrum just inside their own half, from which the ball is promptly stolen
Boks 24-3 Namibia 32mins It's time off, but it's not eternal before Namibia have the scrum on halfway
Boks 24-3 Namibia 33mins The ball is cleared well by Eugene Jantjies and they win a penalty for an attacking scrum on the Bok 22 after Mapimpi is isolated and battered by the Namibians
Boks 24-3 Namibia 34mins It's another time off, and the crowd are getting impatient as Bok coach Rassie Erasmus is mightily annoyed at that penalty while Namibia coach Phil Davies is in stitches
Boks 24-3 Namibia 35mins However, when we do get going again, the put in is not 'straight' 👀 and Ref Raynal hands the free kick to the Boks
Boks 24-3 Namibia 36mins The clearance gives the Namibia a lineout on halfway, and the do well to make some territory before Frans Steyn is pinged for a coat-hanger tackle on Greyling
Boks 24-3 Namibia 37mins Greyling is checked by the medic before play resumes and the Namibians have ball in hand - they just need to hang onto it for more than a few seconds
Boks 24-3 Namibia 39mins Namibia attacks but lose possession to the Boks at the breakdown on their own 22 and the ball is well cleared
Boks 24-3 Namibia 40mins The gong has gonged but play continues, the Boks eventually reaching halfway and they try to find a way through for a bonus point score before the break...
Boks 29-3 Namibia 40+1mins so from Nkosi to Gelant to Kwagga Smith to the breakdown out wide, they make yards into the 22 and Brits waits for it, pops it out to Lukhanyo Am to score a 4th try
Boks 31-3 Namibia 40+2mins Elton J adds the extras and that's the first half done
Boks 31-3 Namibia HT What a donkey 🙄 Boks have nailed five tries already!
Boks 31-3 Namibia 40mins One final half left of a crazy day of a lot of internationals and the Boks are on the front foot already
Boks 31-3 Namibia 41mins But Gelant knocks on in attack and time is off as newbie international PJ Walters gets a bit of medic attention to his leg
Boks 31-3 Namibia 42mins Namibia's scrum outside the Bok 22 and they do well to entice a penalty from the Boks for Loubser to tee up from in front of the posts, further back than the 10m
Boks 31-3 Namibia 43mins It's got the distance, but the ball rebounds off the right upright and the three points melt away
Boks 31-3 Namibia 44mins The restart gives Namibia another scrum inside the Bok 10m and they do make some yards but the ball is spilled before they reach the 22
Boks 31-3 Namibia 45mins Thomas du Toit replaced Koch in the front row before the Bok defensive scrum is set...
Boks 31-3 Namibia 47mins ...and they clear to touch for a defensive Namibia lineout on their 22 - won and ball kicked away over halfway to Gelant...
Boks 36-3 Namibia 48mins ...the ball flies across field through great hands to Am who offloads it back to Gelant who runs in an easy try with the defence not in sight
Boks 38-3 Namibia 49mins Elton J adds the simple conversion - he couldn't mess that up if he tried
Boks 38-3 Namibia 50mins Andre Rademeyer, Johannes Coetzee, Wian Conradie, Janco Venter & Johan Deysel on for Desiderius Sethie, AJ de Klerk, Thomasau Forbes, Booysen & Walters
Boks 38-3 Namibia 51mins The ball flies behind the goal line and it's kicked it to touch, but it doesn't make it and just as the Boks attack, first Chad Plato then newly arrived Johan Deysel take out both players and handbags threaten
Boks 38-3 Namibia 52mins They all calm down and it's handshakes all round (after a patronising pat on the head) and Siya Kolisi replaces Smith
Boks 43-3 Namibia 54mins Meanwhile, the Boks haven't scored for an age(!) so Mapimpi oh so easily runs in a brace for himself and a 7th for the Boks
Boks 45-3 Namibia 55mins Elton J adds the extras while Damian de Allende replaces Am
Boks 45-3 Namibia 57mins Eben Etzebeth and Cobus Reinach replace Herschel Jantjies and RJ Snyman while Namibia brace themselves from another impending onslaught...
Boks 50-3 Namibia 58mins ...and it comes this time through the Boks #RWC captain, Kolisi, who waltzes in for an eighth try
Boks 50-3 Namibia 60mins There's no conversion this time again from Elton J and that drops his kicking rate to under 60% which is not impressive for world-class rugby
Boks 50-3 Namibia 62mins The Boks take a break from scoring, giving the opposition a much needed breather, and a time off has the messages sent on
Boks 50-3 Namibia 63mins Namibia have a defensive lineout at their 22, but play is halted after Coetzee shoulder charges Brits at the back of the lineout with no arms - the Namibian prop is rightly off to the naughty step
Boks 55-3 Namibia 64mins From a 5m attacking lineout, Brits respond to that little knock by flying over the tryline for a score of his own, while Franco Mostert replaces Mbonambi
Boks 57-3 Namibia 65mins Elton J adds the extras and the lowest ranked team at the Rugby World Cup are being beasted by almost the highest ranked team Boks 57-3 Namibia 67mins It's been at least 3 minutes...isn't it time for another score yet 🤔 With tighthead prop Coetzee in the bin, Namibia bring back de Klerk and sacrifice Plato
Boks 57-3 Namibia 68mins Ah, so Namibia want a go now, and they have the ball and make a few yards in their own half before Louw is pinged for a penalty to Namibia
Boks 57-3 Namibia 69mins Steven Kitshoff replaces Tendai 'The Beast' Mtawarira who leaves to applause
Boks 57-3 Namibia 70mins The Namibians can't capitalise on their possession, and de Jager makes some yards before he's brought down and time is off as he gets medic attention
Boks 57-3 Namibia 72mins The Boks have an attacking lineout just outside the 22 and the chance of another score but the penalty goes to Namibia and they set their scrum...
Boks 57-3 Namibia 74mins The scrum is good enough and Namibia push the Boks back up toward halfway, but he Boks come back hard and go eight phases before the Namibians infringe at the breakdown again - that's 9 penalties so far
Boks 57-3 Namibia 75mins The ball finds touch for a Bok lineout, but not before Brits has the medics out, and Obert Nortje replaces Louis van der Westhuizen; de Klerk pops back off as Coetzee has done his time and Plato returns to the park
Boks 57-3 Namibia 77mins The Boks drive to the whitewash almost, led by Brits but they can't find way through, go wide and are narrowed and an error forced in a spill by the Boks who are furious coz could've been a Mapimpi hat trick
Boks 57-3 Namibia 78mins Namibia scrum but it's defensive and they do fight back well enough to move the Boks almost back to halfway for a lineout
Boks 57-3 Namibia 79mins The Bok setpiece is effective and they reach the 22 before the ball bounces in touch off a Bok for a Namibia lineout
Boks 57-3 Namibia 80mins The gong rings out, the lineout is just fine and Loubser kicks the ball to touch to halt any more of a beating from their southern African cousins
REVIEW
South Africa become the first team to cross 50 points at this World Cup. The last time they scored at least 50 points in a test was when they beat USA 64-0 at RWC 2015.
Schalk Brits, 38, became the second oldest try scorer in RWC history. The oldest was 40-year-old Uruguayan Diego Ormaechea who scored against Spain in 1999.
Brits also became the second oldest Springbok to appear in the World Cup behind Victor Matfield (38) who competed at RWC 2015.
Makazole Mapimpi's try meant he became the third South African in the professional era (since 1996) to score 10 tries in 10 appearances after Pieter Rossouw and Bryan Habana. They both recorded 10 in their first 10 matches.
The two tries scored by South Africa’s Mbongeni Mbonambi, meant that (starting) hookers have now scored 12 tries at this World Cup. This is already the equal most tries scored by starting hookers in World Cup history.
Siya Kolisi's try for the Springboks was the first score by a No.19 at this World Cup. No.17 is now the only shirt yet to score at this tournament.
Namibia have now registered points against all but one of the teams they have faced over the years at the Rugby World Cup. Australia are the only team they have not scored against.
Namibia's record streak of Rugby World Cup games without a win (or draw) is now 21.
15 Warrick Gelant 14 S’busiso Nkosi 13 Lukhanyo Am 12 Frans Steyn 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Elton Jantjies 9 Herschel Jantjies 1 Tendai Mtawarira 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi 3 Vincent Koch 4 RG Snyman 5 Lood de Jager 6 Francois Louw 7 Kwagga Smith 8 SCHALK BRITS (C)BENCH: 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
Georgia vs Uruguay Penultimate game of Week 2 kicks off in 15 minutes at #RWCKumagaya! Oh my dear how quickly is this flying passed 🙊
Georgia vs Uruguay It's one hell of a crowd at a sold out #RWCKumagaya, and boy are they noisy as the teams run out for the anthems pre-KO
Georgia vs Uruguay The Georgian anthem - keep expecting Julie Andrews to pop up at any second singing 🎵Do...a deer...a female deer🎶 🤣 😂
Georgia vs Uruguay Los Teros provided the first shock of the tournament, beating #Fiji Rugby on Wednesday, but have they had enough time to recover with just a four day turnaround 🤔 Georgia have had 6...
Georgia 0-0 Uruguay 1min We have KO from the Uruguayans, under the legal eye of probably the best ref in the world, Barrister Barnes...
Georgia 0-0 Uruguay 2mins It's first blood to Uruguay with a scrum on their 10m, and the Georgians are significantly heavier in the pack...won comfortably though
Georgia 0-0 Uruguay 3mins Looks like the Georgians aren't too fussed about rules, Zura Dzneladze not paying any attention to the ball while taking out a player in the air
Georgia 0-0 Uruguay 4mins But the Georgians steal the ball at the breakdown and Gela Aprasidze sprints deep into Uruguay territory...
Georgia 0-0 Uruguay 5mins ...and Otari Giorgadze takes it further toward the 22 before a Uruguay high tackle halts that attack and penalty Georgia who opt for the scrum
Georgia 0-0 Uruguay 6mins Not an unsurprising decision when your forwards coach is the legendary Graham Wig Rowntree!
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 8mins Eventually the scrum is won and it's Alexander Todua who finds the gaping chasm to run in the first try of the day - not a Uruguayan in sight in defence
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 9mins What is less surprising is the missed conversion from Tedo Abzhandadze, because thought he is not a bad fly half, he is only 20 and that angle was very acute from touch
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 11mins Uruguay aren't quite as sharp as they were just four days ago, and it's showing already…even though the ball handling of the Georgians is unimpressive - very scrappy play
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 12mins Following a Los Teros scrum almost on halfway, they come away with the free kick inside the Georgian 10m but lose the ball to the Georgians
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 13mins The ball comes loose and looks as if Nicolas Freitas has scored but the whistle has already gone for the ball finding touch
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 13mins Ref Barnes goes to the TMO over potential foul play: Uruguay prop Mateo Sanguinetti is pinged for a late tackle, putting Georgia back on the front foot
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 14mins It's a penalty to Georgia and neat kick into Uruguay territory for a lineout and they drive into the Los Teros 22
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 15mins After a number of assaults on the tryline, Jaba Bregvadze is pinged for infringing and Los Teros clear them Georgians away. Uruguay attack, but are quickly thwarted for Georgia to take hold and reverse the attack
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 17mins But Uruguay aren't utterly exhausted, and they manage to hold off the Georgians and prime for an assault of their own - good scrum
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 19mins It's actually Georgia that are proving to be a tad sloppy, and Ref Barnes is giving the teams the benefit of the doubt on a few occasions in this 30° heat with 50% humidity in raging sunshine
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 20mins Time off for a water break before Georgia have a lineout on halfway...
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 21mins ...and despite pressure from Uruguay, a knock on from Los Teros allows Aprasidze to clear into Uruguay territory to get back on the front foot
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 23mins But Los Teros have other ideas, and they halt the Georgian assault for a defensive scrum on the 10m - Ref Barnes has to get the teams to slow down in their eagerness
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 24mins Uruguay have an opportunity to gain some territory through Gaston Mieres, but it's horrific and Georgia are in a good attacking position with a lineout
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 26mins The lineout is lost no thanks to the man monster Manuel Leindekar who is 6'7"! And it's time for another water break before we resume...
Georgia 5-0 Uruguay 28mins Georgia are camped in the Uruguay 22, and Ref Barnes has to have an explanatory word with Los Teros about scrum technique as they do keep collapsing it
Georgia 10-0 Uruguay 29mins This time Los Teros pay attention, stay up, and Georgia drive over from close range for Giorgadze to score a second try Georgia 12-0 Uruguay 30mins Abzhandadze quickly adds the conversion
Georgia 12-5 Uruguay 32mins A Georgian penalty has Los Teros with an attacking lineout outside the Georgian 22, and they are caught napping for Leindekar to marshal the ball to captain Juan Manuel Gaminara for Andres Vilaseca to run in an easy try
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 34mins Felipe Berchesi adds the extras and Los Teros will be far more comfortable with that result - hopefully just the injection of momentum they needed
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 36mins The Georgians get slap happy when things don't go their way, Beka Saginadze and Guram Gogichashvili the guilty parties, and Ref Barnes calmly has a word
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 38mins It's a penalty to Los Teros but Berchesi can't find his mark and the score remains
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 39mins Georgia attack from their own half, and a good high ball from Aprasidze with Giorgi Kveseladze under it and the Georgians are into the Uruguay 22...
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 40mins Berchesi's clear from his tryline is poor, giving the Georgians a 22 lineout, and as the gong rings out, a knock on comes at the breakdown and it's HT in Kumagaya
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay HT Good to learn something new every day - apparently the Georgians are The Lelos! Shall use that too...
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 40mins We're back and Los Teros have replaced Gaston Mieres with Leandro Leivas
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 41mins Meanwhile, the Georgians start as they mean to go on and battle their way into the Uruguay 22 to threaten the tryline with their forwards...
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 42mins ...and they finish off the play with a huge heave over the whitewash at the corner, Levan Chilachava with the score
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 43mins And that's a classy conversion from Abzhandadze who splices the uprights perfectly, despite the acute tee on touch
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 45mins A Georgian lineout on halfway is poor from the restart, and the ball goes long, and Los Teros turn it over deftly and kick it deep
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 46mins Leivas hands over possession to the Georgians before Facundo Gattas & Diego Arbelo replace Mateo Sanguinetti & Juan Pedro Rombys in the front row
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 47mins Arbelo arrives, and immediately hands over Uruguay's 9th penalty - Ref Barnes has a word
Georgia 12-7 Uruguay 49mins the Georgians kick Los Teros away from the dangerzone, and Giorgi Melikidze replaces try scorer Chilachava before a driving maul off a lineout puts the Georgians at the 22...
Georgia 19-7 Uruguay 50mins ...the first attempt at scoring is thwarted, but a second go and the Georgians are in touching range...
Georgia 24-7 Uruguay 51mins ...and it's Jaba Bregvadze who secures that try and bonus point - Georgia's first
Georgia 26-7 Uruguay 53mins Abzhandadze adds the conversion while Uruguay are floundering under immense pressure from this huge opposition
Georgia 26-7 Uruguay 55mins Time for another water break before Georgia have a midfield lineout - and that setpiece is working far more efficiently, as is the flowing rugby now appearing for The Lelos
Georgia 26-7 Uruguay 57mins Los Teros are forced back in the their own 22, turnover possession and Berchesi clears the ball, but not well for Georgia to attack, Bregvadze chipping ahead...
Georgia 31-7 Uruguay 58mins ...a little retaliation but it doesn't hold out for Los Teros and Giorgi Kveseladze sneaks over for another try
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 59mins Abzhandadze adds the extras yet again, and this is not the game Los Teros was hoping for
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 60mins Mamuka Gorgodze & Merab Sharikadze on for Konstantine Mikautadze & Lasha Malaguradze | Juan Diego Ormaechea, Manuel Ardao & Juan Echeverria on for Santiago Civetta, Gaminara & German Kessler
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 62mins From a Georgia lineout in their own half, they reach the Los Teros 22 before Arata clears them out; Dzneladze gets under the ball and carries it back but loses possession through a knock on... Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 63mins In the meantime, Diego Magno and the other brother, Agustín Ormaechea come on for Ignacio Dotti and Freitas (off for HIA)
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 63mins The Georgians win the scrum penalty from the Los Teros ball and they attack quickly, a cross kick taken by Dzneladze and he goes over for the score
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 64mins He's all wrapped up by two tacklers and the TMO concurs with Ref Barnes in replays that there was no control in the grounding since he loses it no thanks to Arata all over him - no try
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 64mins In the meantime, Diego Magno and the other brother, Agustín Ormaechea come on for Ignacio Dotti and Freitas
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 65mins Play resumes with a Uruguay 5m defensive scrum, clearing for a Georgia 10m attacking lineout, while Vano Karkadze replaces Georgia captain Bregvadze
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 66mins Los Teros regain possession, but the poor handling continues on both sides; Uruguay win their scrum on their 10m, make the break but the ball is spilled
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 67mins Georgia quickly regain possession and head to the halfway line after Leindekar drags Aprasidze over the touch line; Ref Barnes has to stop play for petulant handbags drawn
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 68mins Vasil Lobzhanidze is on for Aprasidze while Georgia win their scrum in attack, the ball is to touch for an 22 lineout
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 70mins The attack is solid, but Abzhandadze chips ahead in to the goal area - odd decision since he had men out wide on both sides - Uruguay clear them away
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 71mins Los Teros clear but the ball goes loose giving Georgia another chance to launch an attack; Uruguay turnover the ball and clear their lines
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 72mins Freitas is back on having passed his HIA so Arata pops off while Georgia set up yet another attacking lineout...and they breach the 22 but the defence is holding strong
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 73mins Soso Matiashvili has replaced Lasha Khmaladze as Georgia come back at the 22 having being cleared out again
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 74mins The assault just keep on coming from Georgia who have most of the territory and possession, and they are all but camped out in the Los Teros 22...but still they can't find way through...
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 76mins Another attack, another period of building phases, another glimpse of the tryline but a knock on allows Los Teros to clear again
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 77mins Beka Gorgadze is on for Shalva Sutiashvili
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 77mins Before the Uruguay lineout, play is halted for foul play, and the TMO finds the film for Gattas who shoulder charges into the head and it's a red card
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 78mins Los Teros have to make some changes having lost their hooker: Kessler returns for Juan Manuel Cat, before the Georgia attacking 5m scrum in the 22, but Kveseladze knocks on
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 79mins Los Teros finally can clear the Georgians away properly, and play resumes in the midfield with Uruguay in possession...
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 80mins ...they gain only a few yards but after the gong has rung out, a knock on gives Georgia possession and Gorgodze kicks the ball into touch for a solid win
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay FT Well that was utterly shocking coverage in the final quarter 🙈 Discombobulated brain syndrome! 🙄 Hopefully there will be a revival of sanity for #AUSvWAL 👀 We'll be back in 20 minutes...
REVIEW
Georgia set a team record for points in an RWC match, overtaking the 30 they posted against Namibia at RWC 2007.
This was only the second time in their RWC history that Georgia have won one of their opening two matches. They defeated Tonga in their opener four years ago.
The Lelos scored five tries today. Before today, they had never crossed over more than three times in an RWC match.
Uruguay's seven points were the fewest they have scored against a fellow Tier 2 nation at the Rugby World Cup.
In the 58th minute of this match, Giorgi Kveseladze scored the 100th try at RWC 2019 (includes penalty tries).
Felipe Berchesi has now raised his career RWC points total to 32, setting a Los Teros team record in overtaking Diego Aguirre's 30.
Levan Chilachava also scored against Wales. He is only the second player with multiple RWC tries for Georgia, following Mamuka Gorgodze (3).
Jaba Bregvadze became only the second Lelos captain to score an RWC try. Mamuka Gorgodze achieved that feat twice.
Mamuka Gorgodze played in his 13th World Cup match. Only Merab Kvirikashvili (15) has featured in more for Georgia in the Rugby World Cup.
Nineteen-year-old Vano Karkadze is the youngest player at RWC 2019. He came on for his RWC debut.
Facundo Gattas was sent off. Two of the last three red cards at the Rugby World Cup were shown to Uruguay players. Agustin Ormaechea was ejected against Fiji at RWC 2015.
15 Gaston Mieres 14 Nicolas Freitas 13 Juan Manuel Cat 12 Andres Vilaseca 11 Rodrigo Silva 10 Felipe Berchesi 9 Santiago Arata 1 Mateo Sanguinetti 2 German Kessler 3 Juan Pedro Rombys 4 Ignacio Dotti 5 Manuel Leindekar 6 JUAN MANUEL GAMINARA (C) 7 Santiago Civetta 8 Alejandro Nieto BENCH: 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
SCORERS T: Vilaseca C: Berchesi Gattas
Man of the Match: Otari Giorgadze
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU) Asst. Referees: Paul Williams (NZRU), Alexandre Ruiz (FFR) TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Tokyo Stadium - Sunday, 29 September 2018 KO: 16:45 HT: 8-23 Att: 47,885
HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…
Wallabies vs Wales Tis time! 🙊 It's 🇦🇺🏉🏴 at #RWCTokyo!
Wallabies vs Wales The anthems are underway...
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 1min We have KO from Wales - they bulldoze into Aussie territory, and Dan Biggar begins the match with a second touch and a bloody drop goal already! 🙊
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 2mins With a backline that has never played together for the Aussies, one has to worry for the Wallabies and what Cheika is thinking - meanwhile, Dane Haylett-Petty knocks on in attack from a Aaron Wainwright hit 🙄
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 3mins Well - it has begun with a bang! And Biggar is now teeing up for a penalty at the uprights from out wide...
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 4mins ...but Biggar hooks it and the score remains. From the restart, a neat clear from Will Genia gives Wales a lineout...
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 5mins ...on their own 10m and they win it cleanly and clear to Haylett-Petty; the Aussies don't kick away possession and run the ball over halfway into Welsh territory
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 7mins I hope you're braced for the second match of the week which is so massive! The ball is intercepted and Wales run it back into Aussie territory, George North making a break but shut down promptly
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 8mins Scrum time & the Aussies have 3kgs on Wales, so pretty even; Aussie put but seriously on the back foot, deep in their own 22
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 9mins The Aussies marshal that setpiece well and clear their lines despite the immense pressure
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 10mins The Welsh come back hard and the ball is flung out to North again to make a break along touch, but Hadleigh Parkes' offload is way forward giving the Green & Gold a scrum on halfway
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 11mins However, it's Wales who come away with the upper hand and the free kick and the ball is pumped to the Aussie 22 for an attacking lineout Wallabies 0-3 Wales 12mins The Welsh lineout is textbook and the ball is recycled along the width of the pitch toward the far side, and advantage is being played for a high tackle from Rory Arnold...
Wallabies 0-8 Wales 12mins ...Biggar crosskicks within an inch of perfection forParkes to get under it and to slam that try down with aplomb
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 13mins While Biggar pops over the conversion with some ease, the Green & Gold (G&G) need to have a serious rethink, refocus, restart and get in the right headspace if they are to make a dent in Wales this afternoon
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 15mins G&G head into Welsh territory from the restart, but the ball is kicked back by Parkes, and Haylett-Petty reciprocates for a game of aerial football
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 16mins It's Wales who bring a halt to the art of kicking away possession - from which you can't score points 🙄 and they run the ball into the Aussie half
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 16mins Play is halted for a late tackle by Michael Hooper on Biggar, and TMO Ben Skeen comes back to recommend a penalty only - not convinced there were arms used but no head action; Hooper's got away with that 🙊
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 17mins It's an attacking lineout for Wales but the Hussies steal it deftly, but they are deep in their own half and struggle to escape it...
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 18mins However, the Welsh turnover the ball crucially at the Aussie 22, before a time off; Welsh scrum just outside the Aussie 22 to come
Wallabies 0-10 Wales 19mins The Aussies have checked themselves, and lay on the pressure hugely at the scrum to win the scrum penalty and they free kick the Welsh clear of their dangerzone
Wallabies 5-10 Wales 20mins It's an attacking 22 lineout for the Aussies, and they work their setpiece as well as any Welshman, and it's Adam Ashley-Cooper who finds the whitewash to score!
Wallabies 5-10 Wales 21mins But Bernard Foley can't find the uprights to convert the try to reduce the deficit further
Wallabies 5-10 Wales 23mins So far, the reffing has been not too bad, and when a presumed Assize knock on gives Wales possession, Ref Poite has the play checked, and in fact it was knock on red for an Aussie defensive scrum
Wallabies 5-10 Wales 24mins And G&G secure the ball, but are finding it much harder to escape their own half...the ball is kicked away, kicked back and Marika Koroibete reaches it in his own 22 before any Welshman can get there
Wallabies 5-10 Wales 26mins It's Wales on the front foot again, and deep in Aussie territory again, and they have an attacking lineout. But the Aussie's disrupt it again and Ashley-Cooper clears the ball away Wallabies 5-10 Wales 27mins North is warned by the ref for infringing & the Aussies belt from their own half, all the way to the Welsh 22, carried by the immense Samu Kerevi who sees off Justin Tipuric, but a tackle from Biggar dislodges the ball
Wallabies 8-10 Wales 28mins Rhys Patchell replaces Biggar who is off for an HIA, while Foley tees up a penalty kick at the uprights, and reduces the Aussie deficit to just 2
Wallabies 8-10 Wales 30mins The game has most definitely evened up now, and the Welsh attack well from the restart, building phases steadily toward the Aussie 22...
Wallabies 8-13 Wales 32mins They go nine phases before Hooper's intervention in the ruck is too late and Patchell has an opportunity to cancel out that last 3-pointer...and he does, almost from touch
Wallabies 8-13 Wales 33mins From the restart, the Aussies have a lineout on their own 10m, and execute it well
Wallabies 8-13 Wales 34mins And the ball swaps sides twice before G&G have another lineout, this time on halfway, so they are edging in the right direction...
Wallabies 8-13 Wales 35mins Wales aren't getting the better of the breakdown as the Aussies steadily build phases forward, recycling well, until James O'Connor knocks on to halt Kerevi's charge toward the tryline...
Wallabies 8-13 Wales 35mins Time is halted for a nonsense check on Kerevi with ball in hand; Patchell attempts to stop Kerevi by charging into him. Kerevi holds him off & Patchell falls. TMO confirms he hits the chest, but gives a penalty anyway🙄
Wallabies 8-13 Wales 35mins Hooper rightly speaks back for Kerevi at the Ref, and he's right - if players can no longer defend themselves from a face on tackle at full pelt, then shall we all don pads and helmets 🙄
Wallabies 8-16 Wales 36mins Anyway, it's long penalty, but of course the talented Patchell doesn't miss it, though the ball pings off the upright before falling through
Wallabies 8-21 Wales 37mins The restart has the Hussies on the front foot, and Genia offloads well enough but Gareth Davies intercepts it perfectly and he sprints from his own half all the way to the whitewash to score another try for Wales
Wallabies 8-23 Wales 38mins That was absolute class from Wales. And Patchell adds the extras.
Wallabies 8-23 Wales 40mins It's Wales in possession from the restart, and Gareth D they pulls the ball out of a ruck, and as the gong gongs, he thumps it into touch for the break
Wallabies 8-23 Wales 40mins We're back, and David Pocock has had a word with Ref Poite about the poor communication from him to the players with terminology. Rightly so. Biggar has not passed hi HIA so Patchell stays on
Wallabies 8-23 Wales 41mins Australia do well to get out of their own half despite huge hits at every step...
Wallabies 8-23 Wales 42mins ...and they enter Welsh territory going 7 phases including a huge break from Tolu Latu before a massive hit dislodges the ball and it's a knock on
Wallabies 8-26 Wales 43mins It's a Welsh scrum and they win it well, trundling forward toward the Aussie 22 before Patchell steps back and quietly drops a goal
Wallabies 13-26 Wales 45mins Aussies make a solid restart & they've definitely had a good talking to at HT, as they move the ball deftly through enough hands & phases with some clever play for Haylett-Petty to finish flying over the whitewash
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 46mins Foley is on target this time and the deficit is beginning to come down...
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 46mins Matt Toomua - who has replaced Foley and is on target and the deficit is beginning to come down...
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 47mins Kurtley Beale replaces Ashley-Cooper
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 48mins More changes as Ross Moriarty & Nicky Smith come on for Wyn Jones and Wainwright as Genia thumps the ball deep into touch for a halfway Welsh lineout Wallabies 15-26 Wales 49mins Gareth Davies hoist the ball to the Aussie 22 for Haylett-Petty to take to ground but he's tackled on his way down but it is ignored.
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 50mins More inconsistent in the refereeing as Josh Adams goes in far too high in a tackle on Isi Naisarani straight around his head, after a heap of faffing between the Ref & the TMO, apparently it's no more than a penalty. That was a high tackle at the player's head - but according to Ref Poite, there was no danger and "the player (Naisarani) was leading with the head" 🙄
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 51mins It's a penalty for Australia, and they do make a serious impact on Welsh territory, battling through the defence and reaching just under the posts 13 phases in. Do you ever wonder what the assistant refs actually do when they also miss so much 🤔
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 52mins Probably a very good move to replace Genia with Nic White and his moustache. Time off before an Aussie lineout on halfway…
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 54mins Wales momentarily get a foothold back in the game as a result of their rush defence, wining a scrum but losing the ball into touch; the Aussies have other ideas and are fierce in their attack of territory, with a particularly good break from Toomua....
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 55mins Eight phases and at the Welsh 22, in the ball flies into touch but it's illegally stolen at the breakdown and it's kicked to touch for the 5m lineout
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 56mins Yet another attacking position for Australia and after Ref Poite disrupts the first lineout, they execute the replay setpiece well, but can't find a way through though…
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 57mins ...so Toomua kicks it across field but it goes long. However, it's a penalty for the Aussies as advantage was being played and Toomua kicks to touch for another 5m lineout
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 59mins The lineout is solid, and the Aussies are forced along the width of the pitch, trying to breach the wall of red; they can't but Wales gift another penalty, and we got the kick to touch > lineout route again
Wallabies 20-26 Wales 61mins How long is the Ref going to allow the Welsh to infringe at the breakdown before awarding a penalty try 🤔 Probably never, so no Hussies hold your breath; finally Hooper scores on the post
Wallabies 22-26 Wales 62mins Toomua converts and it's game on in Tokyo again, finally. Now it's anyone's...
Wallabies 22-26 Wales 63mins Sekope Kepu and Adam Coleman are on for Allan Alaalatoa and Arnold | Dillon Lewis and Aaron Shingler have replaced Tom Francis and Jake Ball
Wallabies 22-26 Wales 64mins The Welsh scrum is not clever enough to keep the ball from the Aussies, and they begin their attack, while James Slipper replaces Scott Sio
Wallabies 22-26 Wales 65mins Both hookers are replaced, Jordan Uelese for Latu, Elliot Dee for Ken Owens before the Green & Gold set their attacking scrum on the 22 in front of the posts
Wallabies 22-26 Wales 66mins It's Smith that is the guilty party in the scrum for the Aussies to claim the scrum penalty; churlish on Wales' part
Wallabies 25-26 Wales 67mins Toomua punishes them with three more points to live only one point in the game with 13 minutes to go
Wallabies 25-26 Wales 68mins Kepu gives away a penalty from the restart, and Wales can now regain possession and maybe take advantage
Wallabies 25-26 Wales 68mins Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has replace Naisarani
Wallabies 25-26 Wales 69mins It's an attacking lineout for Wales and they can't go from close range tso the ball is cross-kicked to North in the far corner but is knocked on as he falls
Wallabies 25-26 Wales 70mins Tomos Williams and Owen Watkin are on for Parkes and Gareth Davies
Wallabies 25-26 Wales 70mins But with advantage being played, we're back for an earlier penalty which Patchell tees up from touch...
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 71mins ...and he's not put a boot wrong yet; Patchell adds three
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 72mins Shingler takes in the restart ball and Tomas Williams clears back for the Aussies to run it back to halfway but it's ripped away - it's aerial football time again
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 73mins Beale loses the ball forward in his attempt to get out of Aussie territory, so it's a Welsh scrum coming...
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 75mins ...but not until there's a time off, and then Wales waste all the time they can, forcing the scrum to reset to run the clock down
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 75mins Wales are handed the penalty and time is off again as Ref Poite has words with both front rows; he couldn't run a bath, let alone ref a scrum 🙄
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 76mins We scrum again, and this time the free kick goes to the Aussies, but the kick doesn't find touch and Tomos Williams keeps it in play to Adams before he falls into touch
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 77mins Another kick and this time the ball does find touch and Wales so take their time with their defensive lineout...
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 77mins And to add to the drama, first half the floodlights go out, and then another 25% or so
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 78mins Wales only just hang on to and manage to clear their lines for Haylett-Petty to run it back...
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 79mins The Aussies go nine phases all the way to the Welsh 22 but hey get turned over 🙈
Wallabies 25-29 Wales 80mins All Wales need to do is hang on long enough, not letting the Aussies get anywhere close to the ball until the gong is heard, and they do for Tomos Williams to kick it out for the win
REVIEW
Wales recorded their first RWC victory over Australia since 1987, when they beat them 22-21 in the bronze final.
The 29 points Wales scored is the most ever conceded by Australia in a RWC pool match. The previous most they had conceded in a pool stage encounter was 27 against South Africa at RWC 1995.
Australia miss a chance to defeat the same RWC opponents for the sixth time. Later in this tournament, New Zealand will have the opportunity to achieve that feat when they face Italy.
Before today, Australia had lost only one of the 35 RWC matches in which they registered more tries than their opponents (Australia outscored Wales three tries to two). At RWC 2007, their one try was beaten by four Jonny Wilkinson penalties (12-10).
Dan Biggar's first-minute drop goal was the fastest in RWC history. At RWC 1987, Italy's Oscar Collodo landed a third-minute drop goal against New Zealand. There have been 15 first-minute scores in RWC history (seven tries, seven penalties and now one drop goal).
At 35 years and 185 days old, Adam Ashley-Cooper is now the oldest RWC try-scorer for Australia. Radike Samo was 35 years and 76 days old when he crossed against USA at RWC 2011.
Ashley-Cooper became the second Wallaby to play in four RWCs after George Gregan. This was his 18th career RWC match, the most by any player at RWC 2019.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones won his 130th cap, meaning he is now the most-capped player in Wales' history.
Only one player has scored more tries over the course of the last two RWCs than Gareth Davies (6 tries). The only player who has scored more is New Zealand's Julian Savea, who scored eight at RWC 2015 (Savea is not at RWC 2019).
15 Dane Haylett-Petty 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper 13 James O'Connor 12 Samu Kerevi 11 Marika Koroibete 10 Bernard Foley 9 Will Genia 1 Scott Sio 2 Tolu Latu 3 Allan Alaalatoa 4 Izack Rodda 5 Rory Arnold 6 David Pocock 7 MICHAEL HOOPER (C) 8 Isi Naisarani BENCH: 16 Jordan Uelese 17 James Slipper 18 Sekope Kepu 19 Adam Coleman 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 21 Nicholas White 22 Matt Toomua 23 Kurtley Beale
15 Liam Williams 14 George North 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Josh Adams 10 Dan Biggar 9 Gareth Davies 1 Wyn Jones 2 Ken Owens 3 Tom Francis 4 Jake Ball 5 ALUN WYN JONES(C) 6 Aaron Wainwright 7 Justin Tipuric 8 Josh Navidi BENCH: 16 Elliot Dee 17 Nicky Smith 18 Dillon Lewis 19 Aaron Shingler 20 Ross Moriarty 21 Tomos Williams 22 Rhys Patchell 23 Owen Watkin
& & 
Russia 0-0 Samoa 1min And we have KO from Tim Nanai-Williams of Samoa - Cardiff Blues Nick Williams' brother, and cousin of All Blacks' Sonny Bill Williams
Russia 6-5 Samoa 40mins Ref Poite has to calm the boys down before Russia have a 5m attacking scrum, but despite losing a man to injury momentarily, Samoa hold them off the whitewash after the gong gong's
Russia 9-24 Samoa 54mins Pisi has found his kicking boots as Samoa begin to leap ahead
iji 5-7 Uruguay 17m From a 5m attacking lineout, Fiji end up going backwards to the 22 ensuing scrum on halfway. But they drive towards the try line, their huge forwards inching closer to the try line…
Fiji 17-24 Uruguay 53m Uruguay attack well and Vilaseca chips ahead again, Volavola collecting it in front of the posts, but he's isolated. Eventually Filipo Nakosi turns up but all but forgets the ball on the touchline
Italy v Canada These two last met at a RWC four years ago today at Elland Road, the Azzurri winning 23-18. Of their 9 ever encounters, Canada have only won twice
Italy 24-0 Canada 52mins Time off as the players are super-glued back together after Italy charge like a bullet train toward the Canada 22, Minozzi missing a final pass to halt momentum
Italy 36-7 Canada 69mins There's no doubt this time, and Nelson adds the conversion to finally get Canada on the scoreboard
15 Patrick Parfrey 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ben Lesage 12 Nick Blevins 11 DTH van der Merwe 10 Peter Nelson 9 Gordon McRorie 1 Hubert Buydens 2 Eric Howard 3 Matt Tierney 4 Conor Keys 5 Josh Larsen 6 Michael Sheppard 7 Lucas Rumball 8 TYLER ARDRON (C) BENCH: 16 Benoît Piffero 17 Djustice Duru-Sears 18 Cole Keith 19 Luke Campbell 20 Matt Heaton 21 Jamie Mackenzie 22 Ciaran Hearn 23 Andrew Coe
England 14-0 USA 25m Ford again adds the extras as the men in red extend their lead
England 24-0 USA 49m Again, Ford isn’t unable to add the extras
England 45-5 USA 80m The gong is long gone yet England attack once more and Youngs is just shy of the Eagles' 22 but Germishuys steals it at the breakdown for Iosefo to break to halfway…
Pumas vs Tonga It's 15 minutes til KO in #RWCHanazono in Osaka, the oldest dedicated rugby union stadium in Japan
Pumas 0-0 Tonga 1min Benjamin Urdapilleta kicks off the encounter and the Pumas secure the ball quickly before attacking toward the 22 before the ball flies forward for the Tongans
Pumas 21-0 Tonga 21mins Urdapilleta not only maintains his 100% record, but is keeping up the Pumas score to a point a minute...
Pumas 28-7 Tonga 50mins Another change was also made earlier with captain Pablo Matera replaced by Javier Ortega Desio, while the Pumas win their lineout and are determined to reach the Tongan 22 again...
Japan 0-0 Ireland 10mins Again the ball heads to the corner in the next phase of play, and again Earls bounces into touch in the same position, this time collecting the ball on the wrong side
Japan 6-12 Ireland 35mins A penalty results and Ireland have an attacking scrum on the Japan 22 - but the hosts shove with ferocity and win the scrum, much to the glee of the crowd who roar in delight
Japan 16-12 Ireland 65mins From an attacking lineout, Ireland go eight phases toward the Japan 22, breaching it coming from far touch to the nearside, and once in, they get turned over with some almighty roars from the crowds as Japan halt them
Japan 19-12 Ireland 77mins ...and the Irish go 15 phases against this controlled and solid defence before they are again intercepted by Fukuoka this time who charges from his own 22 deep into the Irish 22 before Earls takes him down!
Japan 19-12 Ireland FT Well that was utterly magnificent from a superb Japan and superb hosts and so completely deserved! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🇯🇵🏉
Boks 0-0 Namibia 1min We have kick in Toyota as the Boks appear in their white away strip against Namibia's blue; it's the professionals against the amateurs - but expect fire!
Boks 12-0 Namibia 16mins Adriaan Booysen is sent to the naughty step for a cynical infringement the ball - penalty to the Boks...
Boks 57-3 Namibia 67mins It's been at least 3 minutes...isn't it time for another score yet 🤔 With tighthead prop Coetzee in the bin, Namibia bring back de Klerk and sacrifice Plato 
Georgia 12-0 Uruguay 30mins Abzhandadze quickly adds the conversion
Georgia 33-7 Uruguay 63mins In the meantime, Diego Magno and the other brother, Agustín Ormaechea come on for Ignacio Dotti and Freitas (off for HIA)
Gattas
Wallabies 0-3 Wales 12mins The Welsh lineout is textbook and the ball is recycled along the width of the pitch toward the far side, and advantage is being played for a high tackle from Rory Arnold...
Wallabies 5-10 Wales 27mins North is warned by the ref for infringing & the Aussies belt from their own half, all the way to the Welsh 22, carried by the immense Samu Kerevi who sees off Justin Tipuric, but a tackle from Biggar dislodges the ball
Wallabies 15-26 Wales 49mins Gareth Davies hoist the ball to the Aussie 22 for Haylett-Petty to take to ground but he's tackled on his way down but it is ignored.
