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Kobe Misaki Stadium - Monday, 30 September 2018
KO: 19:15 HT: 20-0 Att: 27,856

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Scotland v Samoa 15 minutes til KO at #RWCKobe; no team changes at the last minute
Scotland v Samoa The Islanders already have a comfortable 34-9 bonus point win over Russia, while Scotland were destroyed by Ireland 27-3; at RWC2015, Scotland beat Samoa narrowly 36-33; for all the chat, Scotland will not have an easy ride this evening
Scotland v Samoa The teams are making their appearance to a roaring crowd in Kobe - it's anthems, then the Siva Tau to come, before Ref Gaüzère kicks off the main event...
Scotland v Samoa Do like the Samoa Anthem - it really is rather jolly! 🎶 😆 Flower Of Scotland as somewhat more sombre - let's hope they're not in 95 minutes! 🙊

Scotland v Samoa 1min Samoa KO & the Scots receive the ball & clear through Greig Laidlaw for a Samoa lineout which is won well just in the Scots half
Scotland v Samoa 2mins Samoa don't make much ground and kick away possession for the Scots to charge over halfway and breach the Samoan 22...
Scotland v Samoa 2mins Time off after Scotland's drive toward the whitewash is halted and the whistle is off; Darcy Graham has attention to his hand while captain Jack Lam is off for an HIA already - Josh Tyrell is on
Scotland v Samoa 3mins Instead of scoring, Scotland are now on the backfoot with a Samoa scrum, albeit in their own 22; cleared to outside for a Scottish lineout so the Highlanders are in a good position...
Scotland 0-0 Samoa 5mins However, the Highlanders can't retain the ball, and the Islanders penalty kick it up to halfway before bracing for the next assault
Scotland 0-0 Samoa 6mins The Scots kick the ball to touch for a Samoa lineout on their own 22, won well and the ball finds touch on the far touch for a Scottish lineout, on the Samoa 10m
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 8mins Scotland win their lineout, and make it a few yards closer to the Samoa 22 before Tyrell is pinged for playing the man off the ball; Scots penalty - Laidlaw tees up off centre outside the 22 - & he's right on target
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 10mins The restart has Scotland quickly back in possession and in Samoan territory, but going into the breakdown, Sean Maitland gives away a penalty by fumbling the ball
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 11mins Samoa clear their lines and Scotland have to start again from their own half, Stuart Hogg spirals the ball back into the Samoan half but they gift the ball back again to Samoa
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 12mins Time off for Allan Dell to go off for an HIA and Gordon Reid is on for him; Lam is back too so Tyrell is returned to the bench
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 13mins Samoa win the scrum well and clear for a lineout on halfway; did I mention Scotland were not going to have an easy ride already 😜
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 15mins Samoa win their lineout and the ball changes sides a few times, the cumulative result being Samoa still has had almost negligible ball retention or territory and The Scots burst out of their own half regularly...
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 16mins Samoa haven't breached the gainline once yet, and are back deep in their own 22 yet again...
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 17mins ...but they do have ball in hand. Time off again for a Samoa forward injured - can't see who quite yet
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 18mins Think it was Ray Niuia, but the hooker is up and throwing into his lineout quickly, well enough for the Islanders to clear the Scots out of their 22 again rather efficiently
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 19mins While Scotland build 6 phases before coughing up the ball and a penalty in attack , again, you just know that any other Tier 1 team would have landed a try or three already with that much ball in hand in opposition 22
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 20mins It's a Samoan scrum which collapses before the ball is fed, outside the Samoa 22, so we reset and cross our fingers...
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 22mins Samoa again solidly win their scrum and a lovely kick from Tim Nanai-Williams has Scotland on the backfoot, defending just outside their 22 with a lineout - first time Samoa has been over halfway properly
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 23mins Unlike Samoa, Scotland don't efficiently clear their lines at all, and ball goes into touch on the far side, still in the Scots half; time off as Michael Alaalatoa gets attention (big bro to Allan of the #Wallabies)
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 24mins It's an attacking scrum for the Islanders and they secure the ball outside the 10m, but after heading toward the 22 but the ball is turned over at the breakdown for not releasing
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 26mins The Scots don't despatch the Samoans out of their half, but do secure a scrum inches from halfway, on their own side...
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 27mins Scotland are quickly through the 10m and heading in the right direction, but Maitland has no opportunity to offload as we have another water break; bit warm in Kobe 🔥🔥🔥
Scotland 3-0 Samoa 28mins The Highlanders resume play and breach the 22 again, but he Islanders turn them over yet again and clear all the way back to halfway for a Scottish lineout - on the wrong side for them
Scotland 8-0 Samoa 29mins Scots win the lineout and this time get a bit of fluidity in their game, the Samoans can't halt Hoggy nor Graham & Finn Russell cross kicks from far touch beautifully for Maitland to collect on pop over the tryline
Scotland 10-0 Samoa 31mins Laidlaw adds the conversion after the Scots finally changed tactics and stopped running into that formidable Samoan defence
Scotland 10-0 Samoa 32mins However, from the restart, Samoa are in a perfect attacking position outside the Scottish 22 after Grant Gilchrist hands over a penalty immediately
Scotland 10-0 Samoa 34mins But, Logovi'i Mulipola is guilty of returning possession to the Highlanders, and aerial football on Samoa's part is awful from Nanai-Williams for Scotland to attack with ease from there on half...
Scotland 17-0 Samoa 35mins ...and they charge the length of the pitch Laidlaw scoring the easiest of tries completely unhindered, and then converting it
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 37mins Finally the Scottish mindset has switched and they have found their game; the latest assault is not textbook for Samoa to predict, and instead, Hoggy steps back and drops a goal with a little panache
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 39mins It appears the Highlanders have finally arrived at the World Cup, albeit a week late! Samoa are pinged at the scrum on halfway dead centre and Hoggy indicates he's kicking to the corner
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 40mins Another excellent kick for a 5m attacking lineout for Scotland and they win it cleanly, and have another penalty from Samoa, after the gong has rung out for 40 minutes
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 40+2mins Scotland go to the corner again for another lineout after Samoa keep on infringing - their discipline is shot and need to rein it in or there will be cards coming
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 40+3mins The lineout is fine but they're not going to sneak through from there, Scotland force to recycle from far touch to under the posts, and so far the defence is holding solidly...
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 40+5mins ...and Graham slip after the ball is thrown out wide, then he doesn't release, preventing the turnover and pinged; penalty Samoa & Nanai-Williams kicks straight to touch - wrongly 🙈
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 40+5mins Ref Gaüzère tells them in no uncertain terms the penalty has to be taken correctly, and so it is for eventually Melani Matavao to kick to touch for HT

Scotland 20-0 Samoa HT T: Maitland, Laidlaw C: Laidlaw (2) P: Laidlaw DG: Hogg | -

Scotland 20-0 Samoa HT One of my personal most favourite things about world cups - drop goals! Only truly mastered every four years in world rugby 🙄 ~Ed

Scotland 20-0 Samoa 41mins Well that HT felt rather never-ending! But we're back now, and the ball flies out on the full for a Samoa midfield lineout...
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 42mins ...which the Samoans win cleanly, and they belt from their own half (just) and Ed Fidow makes a lovely break but kicks away possession but they win it back in the Scottish 22...
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 43mins ...but a high tackle from Tusi Pisi gives Hoggy the opportunity to clear Scottish lines to over halfway
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 44mins Graham is pinged again for a Samoa scrum in the midfield; d'ya think Graham went to that hairdresser he uses for a bet 🤔
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 45mins Jordan Lay has replaced Mulipola in the front row and it pays off as Samoa win that scrum well, and the Scots hand over another penalty in the ensuing maul
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 47mins Samoa kick to the corner and have an attacking lineout in the 22 - their first genuine attacking position at close range...
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 48mins ...but they blow it by handing over an offside penalty for Scotland to clear their lines 🙈 But a time off first...
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 49mins Paul Alo-Emile & Kieron Fonotia came on recently for Ala'alatoa & Belgium Tuatagaloa as Scotland shift play back deep into Samoan territory
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 51mins Piula Fa'asalele comes on for Filo Paulo while the Highlanders win their attacking lineout in the 22 but infringe in attack near the uprights
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 52mins But Samoa lose the scrum on their put in 5m from their tryline; penalty is reversed and Scotland could easily score from here, all but under the posts...
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 53mins The scrum is properly solid, but Graham is turning out to be a proper liability as he allows a pass out wide to fly into touch with the park wide open in front of him to the tryline 🙄
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 54mins Fraser Brown and Scott Cummings have come on for captain Stuart McInally and Gilchrist | Seilala Lam and Ulupano Seuteni on for Ray Niuia and Pisi
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 55mins The Samoan lineout is won but the clearance kick is charged down for a Scottish 5m lineout, which they win and Samoa infringe yet again - far too many penalties being given away
Scotland 20-0 Samoa 56mins The drive is fierce, the Samoans come in from offside again, Ref Gaüzère says he can't see a try; Asst Ref Nige says he sees it grounded so we're off to TMO Hughes
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 56mins Nige was wrong; Hughes says it was held up, but we look again at the offside from Fidow, so Scotland rightly are handed a penalty try and the wing is off to the naughty step
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 58mins Zander Fagerson replaces Willem Nel as a Scottish scrum collapses and has to be reset...
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 59mins We still wait for this scrum to be executed properly... 🙄
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 60mins Eventually, 3 minutes later it gets going as the Scottish ball is grubber kicked through touch in the Samoan 22 for a defensive lineout
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 62mins The Highlanders steal possession from the Islanders after the setpiece and they attack the whitewash under the posts but Ref Gaüzère calls the penalty for Samoa for a 5m defensive scrum
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 63mins In fact, the Samoan defender played the ball on the ground so it actually wasn't a Islander penalty, but we play on and Samoa clear the Highlanders outside their 22
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 64mins The crowd applaud as the streaker who halts play is removed, while George Horne and Duncan Taylor replace Laidlaw and Sam Johnson
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 65mins It's a Scottish scrum outside the Samoa 22 which is well won but they Scots are turned over deftly at the breakdown, while Tyrell returns to the paddock this time replacing TJ Ioane
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 66mins Fidow returns from his enforced 10 minute rest
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 67mins Play shifts backwards for the Scots, slowly shoved into their own half, but they have a scrum which has to be reset...
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 69mins Another reset, and this really is taking an age, the Highlanders now defending outside their 22 and eventually Samoa come away with the free kick
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 70mins Pele Cowley replaces Matavao at scrum half as the Samoans kick to touch for a 22 lineout, won and play is in the Scottish 22 in front of the posts...
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 72mins The Ref does not halt the clock for the substitution of Ryan Wilson for Magnus Bradbury; a shocking kick to the corner goes to the dead ball area 🙈
Scotland 27-0 Samoa 74mins Scotland take full advantage of that horror and they charge into Islander territory for Maitland to fly toward the corner with Fidow hot on his back with no arms - only feet 🙊
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 74mins The replay is clear - Maitland loses control and skids into touch, but Fidow's poor tackle where he spins and his arms flail in the air nowhere near the wing is foul play; YC and a penalty try
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 75mins No doubt there's a very proud Gavin Hastings grinning like a Cheshire cat somewhere nearby after his son, Adam replaces Russell to make this the first ever Scottish father-son pairing to feature in a Rugby World Cup, Dad last in 1995 against New Zealand, 24 years ago, before Adam was a figment of Gav's imagination!
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 75mins It being Fidow's second yellow means he has a red card 🙈 And play resumes for Scotland who have the bonus point in the bag, and can play with abandon
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 77mins Brown makes a break into the Samoa 22 but Nanai-Williams intercepts it perfectly to jink his way back to the halfway and Samoa carry well into Scottish territory...
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 78mins Scotland are offside for a Samoa penalty at the Scottish 22 - and they kick to the corner for a 5m lineout
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 79mins But not before Fa'asalele is sent off for an HIA, Paulo back on and Scotland win a penalty after the setpiece to clear the Samoans back outside the 22...
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 80mins The Islanders come back hard at the Highlanders and burst back into the 22, only 3m short as they battle and bust as the gong gongs but the final penalty is for Scotland at the breakdown...
Scotland 34-0 Samoa 80+1mins ...and Hogg kicks it to touch for the win - and a solid one at that, considering the opposition

REVIEW

 

• For the fourth time, Scotland did not concede a point in a Rugby World Cup match. They join South Africa (also 4) as the team with most RWC matches without conceding.

• The last time Samoa failed to score at all in a test was when they were beaten 78-0 by New Zealand in June 2017. It is only the sixth time it has happened to them.

• This is the first time Samoa have failed to score in a RWC match. The fewest points they have scored was when Australia beat them 9-3 at RWC 1991.

• Samoa have conceded nine penalty tries at the Rugby World Cup, most in RWC history by any team.

• Samoa now have three World Cup red cards, which is the equal highest in RWC history alongside Canada and Tonga.

• The first try of this match marked the first try for Scotland this tournament and the first conceded by Samoa at the 2019 RWC. All teams have now scored and conceded at least one try.

• Greig Laidlaw became the second player after Chris Paterson (809) to score 700 points for Scotland.

• Stuart Hogg's first international career drop goal was the first drop goal for Scotland in an RWC match since Dan Parks scored one against England in 2011.

• Adam Hastings came on, made him and father Gavin the first father-son combination having represented Scotland at the Rugby World Cup.

 

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

SCORERS T: Maitland, Laidlaw, PT (2) C: Laidlaw (2) P: Laidlaw DG: Hogg

15 Tim Nanai-Williams 14 Belgium Tuatagaloa 13 Alapati Leiua 12 Henry Taefu 11 Ed Fidow 10 Tusi Pisi 9 Melani Matavao 1 Logovi'i Mulipola 2 Ray Niuia 3 Michael Alaalatoa 4 Filo Paulo 5 Kane Le'aupepe 6 Chris Vui 7 TJ Ioane 8 JACK LAM (C) BENCH: 16 Seilala Lam 17 Paul Alo-Emile 18 Jordan Lay 19 Piula Fa'asalele 20 Josh Tyrell 21 Pele Cowley 22 Ulupano Seuteni 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS Fidow

Man of the Match: Jonny Gray

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR) Asst. Referees: Nigel Owens (WRU), Federico Anselmi (UAR) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)

 

 

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Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium - Wednesday, 02 October 2018
KO: 16:45 HT: 12-6 Att: 17,660

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

France v USA 10 minutes from KO at #RWCFukuoka for the French versus the USA in a very humid stadium with a partial new pitch and a typhoon threatening! 🙊 🇫🇷🏉🇺🇸
France v USA Not sure what's going on with Hootsuite 🙈 May have difficulty posting...
France v USA Can't seem to post half of what we're trying to. Just what we need at the bloody 11th hour
France v USA Appears it's only twitter - but the FB is fine, so:  https://www.facebook.com/RugbyUnplugged

France 0-0 USA 1min The Officials: Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZRU) Asst. Referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Shuhei Kubo (JRFU) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)
France 0-0 USA 1min Well this is going to be bloody hard work if Twitter refuses to post from Hootsuite. FFS
France 0-0 USA 2mins Shall attempt the teams again...  http://www.rugbyunplugged.com/RWC19%20Wk3.html#FRAvUSA
France 0-0 USA 3mins From KO, the French attacked into the USA 22 with some vigour, got turned over and AJ MacGinty cleared them away, but tackles are being missed by the Americans...
France 0-0 USA 4mins The Japanese rain is fascinating! There was a downpour - it chucked it down! Then it stopped 2 minutes later. Meanwhile Use kick down field deep into French territory but Gaël Fickou wallops it back...
France 5-0 USA 5mins ...and Yoann Huget collects the ball in the USA 22 and simply waltzes over the tryline for the score
France 7-0 USA 6mins It's fullback Thomas Ramos who pops over the quick conversion. This could be FAR too easy for Les Bleus today...
France 7-0 USA 8mins The restart creates a midfield lineout for the USA and they go wide to far touch with Martin Iosefo making a break along touch
France 7-0 USA 9mins Iosefo is shut down as the USA reach toe 22, and an infringement from Alivereti Raka at the ruck gives USA the penalty for a 5m lineout
France 7-0 USA 10mins USA catch and drive toward the tryline but the maul is collapsed - a second, and Ref O'Keeffe goes for his pocket - then doesn't - but warns captain Louis Picamoles
France 7-0 USA 11mins Play is reset, but the USA come away empty-handed from their first foray into the French 22
France 7-0 USA 12mins Les Bleus respond with a charge to the USA 22 and the goal area is wide open for another score - but Picamoles knocks it on 🙈
France 7-0 USA 13mins USA defensive scrum is won, cleared and the French kick it back for captain Blaine Scully to catch the ball - but drop it...
France 7-0 USA 14mins Time off before a French attacking scrum is set on the  USA 10m
France 7-0 USA 16mins The scrum has to be reset twice before the USA come away with the scrum penalty; the delay is because this is THAT pitch - cuts up horribly with every stud that penetrates it 🙄
France 7-0 USA 17mins The Americans bolt from their half toward the French 22 and Yacouba Camara and Bernard le Roux are both pinged for offside - right under the posts!
France 7-3 USA 19mins MacGinty tees up and opened the USA account with three points; Les Bleus need to rein in the abundance of churlish penalties they are dishing out currently
France 7-3 USA 20mins A delightful break from Les Bleus is thwarted by Fickou who's offloading is a little too clever for its own good
France 7-3 USA 22mins But that doesn't halt the assault into USA territory as the French approach the 22, braced to breach it as soon as the opportunity presents itself...
France 12-3 USA 24mins ...and when they do, from a ruck involving the entire pack, the ball comes out to Camille Lopez who kicks to the corner with pinpoint accuracy for Raka to collect and score in the corner
France 12-3 USA 25mins The conversion goes awry from the hardest angle on the pitch, but the French are in a scoring mood
France 12-3 USA 27mins It's an American scrum but again it's taking forever to set after the Use make serious yards into French territory, heaping on the pressure on France to defend who hand over possession at the breakdown
France 12-3 USA 29mins Eventually we get underway and the USA deftly get their rolling maul going to drive toward the uprights...
France 12-6 USA 30mins ...and again Les Bleus infringe, the captain is warned, and the penalty under the posts is for the USA, which MacGinty pops over again quickly
France 12-6 USA 32mins Restart has the French in possession, and with an attacking scrum, but it's only just inside halfway, and has again to be reset...
France 12-6 USA 33mins ...and results in a USA lineout just inside their own half, which they efficiently get on with and clear deep into French territory
France 12-6 USA 34mins But it's thumped straight back to the midfield for USA to work with, but France are up there quickly and have possession quite promptly
France 12-6 USA 35mins However, French indiscipline strikes again, and the USA can clear for an attacking nearside lineout outside the French 22
France 12-6 USA 36mins But the French are all over the ball at the breakdown, coming away with to clear USA back over halfway promptly
France 12-6 USA 37mins But the USA are just as obstructive at the breakdown, and the ball is jostled back to the Eagles and another attacking lineout is set up...
France 12-6 USA 38mins ...which they do secure, but kick away possession for France to run the ball away from their 22, up to the 10m...
France 12-6 USA 39mins ...for a USA attacking scrum on the 10m, which the Americans do win and they go wide before heading forward...
France 12-6 USA 40mins ...and they attempt to chip through - which can of course simply be seen as kicking away possession - into French hands, and the gong gongs so Les Bleus just kick to touch for time

France 12-6 USA HT T: Huget, Raka C: Ramos | P: MacGinty (2)

France 12-6 USA HT The HT chat in the French changing rooms needs to be harsh - 8 penalties to 1 in 40 minutes! The USA should have been put away by now, but they're right in it because Les Bleus are being donkeys - or les ânes

France 12-6 USA 40mins French RWC Squad captain Guilhem Guirado is on for Camille Chat - no doubt in the hope that he can marshal better discipline from his team than Picamoles has so far
France 12-6 USA 41mins Les Bleus are on the front foot and have advantage being played as they deepen their hold on USA territory
France 12-6 USA 42mins The Eagles infringe and we're back for that penalty, Les Bleus kicking the ball to touch for a 5m attacking lineout
France 12-6 USA 43mins The lineout is fine, but there's a Joe Taufete'e who has other ideas and he jostle's the ball away for MacGinty to clear to the 22
France 12-6 USA 44mins The French come back hard, but they are caught infringing for a USA penalty and MacGinty can clear Les Bleus away properly this time
France 12-6 USA 45mins As play shifts to halfway for a USA lineout, Jefferson Poirot & Rabah Slimani have replaced Cyril Baille & Emerick Setiano for a fresh front row for Les Bleus
France 12-6 USA 46mins Le Bleus are quickly on the attack from their own half but a good hit from MacGinty dislodges the ball and halts the French assault, reversing direction sharply
France 12-6 USA 47mins We're back over halfway and the ball is knocked on by French hands for a USA scrum
France 12-6 USA 48mins The USA find the ball French 22 again...but MacGinty's kick is poor enough for the French to simply compose themselves and clear their lines...
France 12-6 USA 50mins ...and it's Sofiane Guitoune who makes a superb break, sprinting to toward the 22 and he offloads long to Raka in the corner to score - but the pass is forward 🙈
France 12-6 USA 52mins It's an Eagles defensive scrum in their 22, and their execute it well, MacGinty escaping with the ball, and clearing at the next breakdown
France 12-6 USA 53mins After Paul Mullen and Ruben de Haas come on for Shaun Davies and Titi Lamositele, the French have another attacking lineout but it's the Eagles who steal possession and belt off in the opposite direction
France 12-6 USA 54mins The Eagles charge into the French 22 and they are in touching distance of the tryline! But then there's Raka...
France 12-6 USA 55mins ...who spoils the USA party and steals the ball away; the ball is cleared for a 22 lineout for the USA
France 12-6 USA 56mins All hope is not lost - until the USA lineout is stolen by Les Bleus and the French charge off over halfway and make some serious yardage before some changes
France 12-6 USA 57mins Sébastien Vahaamahina & Maxime Médard on for Paul Gabrillagues and Ramos | Ben Pinkelman on for Cam Dolan and it's a French scrum
France 12-6 USA 58mins They win that easily enough, but a forced error comes from a knock on for a defensive USA scrum
France 12-6 USA 59mins The Eagles are efficient and they clear the ball to touch for a French defensive lineout - which is quickly won...
France 12-6 USA 60mins ...and lines are cleared well, but he retaliation from the Eagles is spot on, and they're back in the French half
France 12-6 USA 61mins The exchange of possession is rapid in this match - mostly to do with poor decisions from Les Bleus
France 12-6 USA 62mins The French go on the attack again, and knock on again, and the USA have another delightful opportunity to add more points from here - they could kick to the corner and try the driving maul again...
France 12-6 USA 63mins ...or with Les Bleus continually infringing and not having added a point since the half hour mark, they could just add three instead 🤔
France 12-9 USA 64mins So MacGinty does, and the deficit is a measly three points now
France 12-9 USA 65mins Baptiste Serin and Gregory Alldritt are on for Maxime Machenaud and Arthur Iturria while Dylan Fawsitt replaces Joe Taufete'e
France 17-9 USA 66mins But Les Bleus have not come to Japan to play tiddlywinks, and the effort from the restart from the French is immense - controlled and composed and well-worked phase play for Fickou to reach over the whitewash to score
France 19-9 USA 68mins Lopez pops over the conversion, and the French know this isn't done, and the changes have been rung in...
France 24-9 USA 69mins ...but you can wait for those, because Iosefo puts in a high tackle on Raka on touch, but he's already offloaded for another pass to go to replacement Baptiste Serin to catch and run in under the posts
France 26-9 USA 70mins Lopez wastes no time adding the conversion and this is pretty much out of reach of the Eagles now, even with 10 minutes to go
France 26-9 USA 71mins Greg Peterson & Olive Kilifi for Nat e Brakeley & Eric Fry 6 minutes ago
France 26-9 USA 72mins Iosefo apologises to Raka before he's replaced by Thretton Palamo
France 26-9 USA 74mins It's a French defensive scrum on the 22 that takes an age to get underway, but when it does, they reach halfway before they are turned by the Eagles
France 26-9 USA 76mins It's quite a battle coming to a head here, full of indiscipline, ball handling errors, forced penalties, and basically all a bit scrappy - but a win's a win for Les Bleus - however it's dug out
France 26-9 USA 78mins Romain Ntamack has replaced Guitoune, Will Magie for MacGinty, and the French have finally played some controlled rugby, closing out the Eagles - in the dying 10 minutes of the game 😆
France 31-9 USA 79mins It's an attacking 22 lineout for Les Bleus, and they execute that one beautifully for a driving maul, Poirot scoring the try for his side as the Eagles attempt to disrupt, but not to their advantage
France 33-9 USA 80mins Lopez adds the conversion and Les Bleus have rightly won that match convincingly in the end, bonus point in the bag and an extra try for good measure. Félicitations 🇫🇷

REVIEW

 

• France have now won seven of their eight test encounters with USA.

• AJ MacGinty scored all of USA's nine points in moving to 287 points, second highest in Eagles history behind Mike Hercus' 486.

• Yoann Huget scored his sixth international try in 2019, leading all France players. Antoine Dupont and Damian Penaud have scored four each this calendar year.

• Gael Fickou earned his 50th cap for France against USA. He celebrated the milestone by scoring a try.

• Alivereti Raka was born in Nakorovatu, Fiji. His surname 'Raka' means 'rugby' in Fijian. Raka also scored on his debut for Les Bleus and has now crossed over in two of his three international appearances.

• Fijian-born players have scored seven tries for Fiji at RWC 2019 and five for other countries (two for Australia, two for England and one for France).

• Jefferson Poirot scored his first test try. Wearing the number 17 jersey, all numbers from 1 to 23 have now scored at least one try at RWC 2019.

 

15 Thomas Ramos 14 Alivereti Raka 13 Sofiane Guitoune 12 Gaël Fickou 11 Yoann Huget 10 Camille Lopez 9 Maxime Machenaud 1 Cyril Baille 2 Camille Chat 3 Emerick Setiano 4 Bernard le Roux 5 Paul Gabrillagues 6 Arthur Iturria 7 Yacouba Camara 8 LOUIS PICAMOLES (C) BENCH: 16 Guilhem Guirado 17 Jefferson Poirot 18 Rabah Slimani 19 Sébastien Vahaamahina 20 Gregory Alldritt 21 Baptiste Serin 22 Romain Ntamack 23 Maxime Médard

SCORERS T: Huget, Raka, Fickou, Serin, Poirot C: Ramos, Lopez (3)

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

SCORERS P: MacGinty (3)

Man of the Match: Camille Lopez

Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZRU) Asst. Referees: Wayne Barnes (RFU), Shuhei Kubo (JRFU) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

 

 

---

Oita Stadium - Wednesday, 02 October 2018
KO: 19:15 HT: 28-0 Att: 34,411

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

 

NZ v Canada Ready yourself for confusion, not one, not two but three Barrett Brothers for the All Blacks today! First fraternal trio for NZ to start
So it turns out it's not Hootsuite but Twitter that is a complete SNAFU. Can't post again 🙄
So Twitter's down. During the bloody #RWC. Bravo! So clever. That's bullshit Twitter. Don't fret - it's only the NZ playing 🙄

NZ v Canada We're a moment from KO at #RWCOita...
NZ 0-0 Canada 1min The ABs receive the KO and immediately on the Canada 22 on the attack...
NZ 0-0 Canada 1min ...but those pesky little Canucks manage to keep the ABs at bay by holding up the ball - not try
NZ 0-0 Canada 2mins 5m attacking scrum for the ABs, but it has to be reset before we can get it going
NZ 0-0 Canada 3mins And again - reset. 🙄 Just realised - it's Ref Poite holding the whistle - this could be very very tedious...
NZ 0-0 Canada 4mins OK I've lost track of just how many resets we're at. It finally goes - the ABs drive it over, Gordon McRorie gets to it after Kieran Read leaves the ball behind, but Poite gives the try regardless
NZ 0-0 Canada 5mins Oh. Apparently it was a penalty try. 🙄 #unconvinced
NZ 0-0 Canada 6mins From the restart, Canada hang onto possession for almost a minute before they are turned over. You have to feel sorry for the Canucks today - this will not be fun, but it will be a steep learning curve
NZ 0-0 Canada 7mins The ABs are quickly away from their own half and bearing down on the Canadian 22...
NZ 12-0 Canada 8mins A sublime crossfield kick from Richie Mo'unga for Jordie Barrett to collect and run a little more infield toward the posts before touching down for the score
NZ 14-0 Canada 9mins 🙊 Forgot to give the ABs their penalty try on the scoreboard! Redeemed myself now....and Mo'unga adds the extras to the second try
NZ 14-0 Canada 10mins Will keep checking back on Twitter, but if any of you notice it's working before I do, please let us know!
NZ 14-0 Canada 12mins Well, 2 minutes gone & the ABs haven't scored again...yet 😜
NZ 14-0 Canada 13mins Utterly sublime hands - a lesson on how to from the ABs - as the ball goes wide in attack and Beauden Barrett takes it to the corner & it takes 2 Canadians to bundle him into touch before he passes to bro Jordie B
NZ 14-0 Canada 14mins Nice work from the Canadians, but the ABs steal that ball back almost immediately following the lineout and attack back into the 22 again...
NZ 14-0 Canada 15mins The ABs hurtle to the far corner and the Canadians swamp TJ Perenara as he attempts to ground the ball
NZ 14-0 Canada 15mins TMO Marius Jonker confirms no try and the ball found touch - Canadian 5m defensive lineout to come
NZ 14-0 Canada 16mins The Canadians hold on long enough to clear their lines for a 22 lineout for the ABs
NZ 19-0 Canada 17mins And entirely unsurprisingly, the ball only passes through a few hands before it reaches Sonny Bill Williams who reaches for the whitewash to score
NZ 21-0 Canada 18mins Mo'unga adds the extras and this is far too easy - more points than minutes gone
NZ 21-0 Canada 19mins Allegedly, Twitter is back up. If you missed the match so far, you'll find our coverage here...  https://www.facebook.com/RugbyUnplugged
NZ 21-0 Canada 20mins If you've only just joined us - you've only missed tries from Jordie B, SBW and a penalty try in the first minute, and Canada haven't breached ABs territory yet...
NZ 21-0 Canada 22mins However, Canada have now corrected this folly and are nine phases into their attack, inches from the ABs tryline 🙊
NZ 21-0 Canada 23mins The Canadians launch yet again, and they are oh so close when Kieran Read hurtles into the ruck with a no arms tackle; advantage is being played and we have a penalty for Canada, and no censure whatsoever for Read 🙄
NZ 21-0 Canada 24mins Time off for Matt Heaton to get some attention, before a Canada attacking 5m lineout after they clear to touch
NZ 21-0 Canada 25mins But the ABs wrestle possession back and have a defensive scrum in their 22, clearing their lines efficiently
NZ 21-0 Canada 26mins Nepo Laulala replaces Angus Ta'avao before an ABs lineout which takes off into Canadian territory, but Reiko Ioane is pinged
NZ 21-0 Canada 27mins The Canadians take full advantage and race to the ABs 22 in their attack - much better from the Tier 2 team in the last few minutes
NZ 21-0 Canada 28mins But the ABs are promptly back in possession and clear the Canucks far out of their 22, halting this latest assault
NZ 21-0 Canada 29mins A small reprieve for Canada as they manage to attack back again from the midfield, but a huge hit on DTH van der Merwe dislodges the ball and hands the ball back to the ABs
NZ 21-0 Canada 30mins A time off is called not just for a water break in this insane humidity, but players need attention after being smashed by the All Blacks
NZ 21-0 Canada 31mins It's an ABs attacking scrum and it's textbook, the ball finding the third Barrett, Scott, who flies over the whitewash with the ball, the ball having other ideas and flying forward out of his hands before grounding
NZ 21-0 Canada 32mins No idea why we're wasting time going to the TMO to confirm what everyone (except Ref Poite obviously 🙄) saw quite clearly. But we do, and it's no try
NZ 21-0 Canada 33mins The All Blacks are on the attack again, after the Canadians clear them back in their own half, but Scott B drops the ball for a Canadian scrum outside their 22
NZ 21-0 Canada 34mins But rather than take the opportunity to clear the ABs out of their half, the Canadians are pinged at the scrum for collapsing it
NZ 26-0 Canada 35mins The ABs kick to the corner for a 5m lineout and another lesson in how to score tries from the All Blacks - one - two - and Beauden B is under the posts for the bonus point score already
NZ 28-0 Canada 36mins Mo'unga adds the conversion, which he could have done blindfolded, standing on his head from there 😜
NZ 28-0 Canada 37mins Canada attempt to make some yards from the restart, but of course the All Blacks are all over the ball and back in Canadian territory before you have time to blink
NZ 28-0 Canada 38mins The All Blacks breach the 22, the Canadians fight back and clear the ABs back outside, but despite a new assault, Jordie B halts progression by appearing offside
NZ 28-0 Canada 39mins The Canadians can force the ABs further back to the 10m, still on this side of Canadian territory though
NZ 28-0 Canada 40mins The Canuck lineout is just fine, but on the backfoot, the gong rings out and McRorie kicks the ball to touch for HT

NZ 28-0 Canada HT T: PT, Jordie Barrett, Williams, Beauden Barrett C: Mo'unga (3) | -

NZ 28-0 Canada 40mins Following the much needed rest all round, Brad Weber & Ryan Crotty are on for Jack Goodhue & Perenara | Andrew Quattrin on for Eric Howard who took a knock before HT
NZ 33-0 Canada 41mins Now you can't rest on your laurels when the ABs are playing - another try arrives almost immediately with excellent hands, and offload from Jordie B to Ioane who flies over in the corner
NZ 35-0 Canada 42mins Mo'unga takes his time with this one since it's rather acute, but he doesn't fail
NZ 35-0 Canada 43mins The ABs must bored already from standing around for a nano second, and they get their hands on that ball from the restart and are off again...
NZ 40-0 Canada 44mins ...SBW gets a little slap from van der Merwe while Read offloads to Scott B who runs in the next try, no.#6
NZ 42-0 Canada 45mins Now you really know you can't take your eyes of the game in case you miss a try! Mo'unga adds the conversion, and...
NZ 47-0 Canada 46mins ...it's almost tedious as this little else to say right now other than Canada restart > ABs take the ball > ABs attack > (enter name) scores 🙊 This time it's Shannon Frizell
NZ 49-0 Canada 47mins And of course Mo'unga is maintaining his 100% conversion record. Also in the meantime, Josh Larsen has replaced Evan Olmstead
NZ 49-0 Canada 48mins It's not unusual to see points matching minutes in the first quarter, but more points than minutes in the second half is only really in the purview of the All Blacks. Jake Ilnicki is on for Cole Keith
NZ 54-0 Canada 49mins A high ball is almost lost in the  restart by ABs hands, but it's not, and it finds Beauden B who sprints back over halfway, and offloads to Weber who continues the relay and scores under the posts
NZ 56-0 Canada 50mins Another conversion, and changes are coming too...
NZ 56-0 Canada 51mins Ben Smith and Ofa Tu'ungafasi on for SBW and Laulala | Andrew Coe on for Patrick Parfrey
NZ 56-0 Canada 53mins Canada scrum but they struggle to make any ground; Crotty pinged for high tackle and advantage being played
NZ 56-0 Canada 55mins Penalty comes - Canada kick to touch for a 22 lineout which they win but the ball is quickly taken back and Mo'unga clears back over halfway for it to come back it into touch
NZ 61-0 Canada 56mins The results is an ABs scrum on halfway, and it's textbook again as the ball comes out and Weber scores again, completely unhindered on his journey to the tryline
NZ 63-0 Canada 58mins Mo'unga pings over the conversion, and poor Canada haven't got a scooby how to counter this - no possession doesn't help
NZ 63-0 Canada 60mins Michael Sheppard & Taylor Paris replace Conor Keys and van der Merwe
NZ 63-0 Canada 62mins It's a defensive Canada scrum and they actually don't get beaten for a number of phases, but then they do and the ABs are back on the front foot, breaching the Canadian 22...
NZ 63-0 Canada 63mins ...but the ball is lost forward and the ABs have to come back for tm the midfield; they do but get turned again at the Canada 22 near touch
NZ 63-0 Canada 65mins Canada cough up the ball on their trip to escape their own territory and it's an ABs scrum - well won and Mo'unga runs off toward the 22 from the midfield...
NZ 63-0 Canada 66mins ...and it's collected by Ioane who runs over the whitewash to score. But, he didn't notice that Mo'unga spilled the ball forward and the whistle has long gone
NZ 63-0 Canada 67mins In the meantime, Phil Mack replaced McRorie at scrum half
NZ 63-0 Canada 68mins The ABs attack from the midfield again, but the ball flies lose inside the 10m and the finds touch off a Canada boot for a 10m lineout
NZ 63-0 Canada 69mins Hubert Buydens replaces Djustice Sears-Duru while the ABs infringe to give Canada a midfield scrum, but first a time off for attention to Heaton
NZ 63-0 Canada 70mins The scrum penalty goes to the ABs, but before the scrum, Codie Taylor, Sam Whitelock & goggled Ardie Savea are on for Liam Coltman, Scott B & Matt Todd
NZ 63-0 Canada 71mins Scrum is well taken and the ABs look like another try is afoot, but the ball doesn't confirm as a handling error halts that one - Canada defensive scrum...
NZ 63-0 Canada 72mins The ABs take the ball back and heave into another attack but Paris gets hurt as he crashed into Savea - who is now goggle-less (it was an experiment!)
NZ 63-0 Canada 73mins van der Merwe returns to replace Paris who's not very OK, but walks off, and Canada have a defensive scrum but are deftly turned over...
NZ 63-0 Canada 75mins Canada reciprocate with a turnover of their own, and kick the ABs back into their own half, setting up a 22 lineout in attack
NZ 63-0 Canada 76mins But the ABs take little time to steal back possession from the Canadians, defending their 22 well and Savea has his goggles back 👀
NZ 63-0 Canada 77mins The ABs charge out of their half and two for the Barrett Brothers make immense yards until the ball comes loose following a tackle for Coe to collect and shift play the other way...
NZ 63-0 Canada 78mins Canada have an attacking lineout and they secure it, make a few yards, retaining the ball at the breakdown and get inside the 10m for Nelson to chip it ahead for Trainor...
NZ 63-0 Canada 79mins ...but it falls into Smith's hands and the ABs run the ball back over halfway and a chip ahead spins it into touch before a time off
NZ 63-0 Canada 80mins Mo'unga is heralded Man of the Match while the Canadians have a defensive scrum which they win and the crowd roar for Canada who attack!
NZ 63-0 Canada 80mins The gong has gone, Whitelock steals the ball, Beauden B sprints out of his own half into the 22 but Coe takes him down hard enough for it to spill
NZ 63-0 Canada 80+1mins Canada have possession at their own 22, but they know it's going nowhere and Mack pumps the ball into touch to end the Canadian misery

REVIEW

 

• For the second time, the All Blacks kept their opponents from scoring a single point in a World Cup match after beating Scotland 40-0 in 2007.

• Canada have been denied a score once before at the World Cup. They lost 20-0 against South Africa in 1995.

• The All Blacks have won all of their 16 Rugby World Cup encounters with Tier 2 opponents.

• Canada have lost all of their 19 World Cup encounters against Tier 1 opposition.

• New Zealand were awarded their first penalty try at the World Cup since 2003 (v Tonga).

• All three Barrett brothers have registered points and tries at RWC 2019. It marks the first time that three brothers all scored points at the same World Cup.

• Beauden Barrett scored his 25th try since the last Rugby World Cup, most of all players in this span.

• Rieko Ioane scored his 24th test try, all since the last World Cup, second most behind Barrett.

• Sonny Bill Williams scored his sixth World Cup try but only his second as a starter. His only other World Cup try as a starter also came against Canada (2011).

• DTH Van der Merwe became the Canadian player with joint-highest number of World Cup starts (14), level with Rod Snow and Jamie Cudmore as the most-capped Canadian at World Cups.

 

15 Beauden Barrett 14 Jordie Barrett 13 Jack Goodhue 12 Sonny Bill Williams 11 Rieko Ioane 10 Richie Mo'unga 9 TJ Perenara 1 Atu Moli 2 Liam Coltman 3 Angus Ta'avao 4 Patrick Tuipulotu 5 Scott Barrett 6 Shannon Frizell 7 Matt Todd 8 KIERAN READ (C) BENCH: 16 Codie Taylor 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18 Nepo Laulala 19 Sam Whitelock 20 Ardie Savea 21 Brad Weber 22 Ryan Crotty 23 Ben Smith

SCORERS T: PT, Jordie Barrett, Williams, Beauden Barrett, Ioane, Scott Barrett, Frizell, Weber (2) C: Mo'unga (8)

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

Man of the Match: Richie Mo’unga

Referee: Romain Poite (FFR) Asst. Referees: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR), Alexandre Ruiz (FFR) TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

 

 

---

Hanazono Rugby Stadium - Thursday, 03 October 2018
KO: 14:15 HT: 3-7 Att: 21,069

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Georgia v Fiji It's 10 minutes till KO at #RWCHanazona, and it's good to see Peceli Yato back for Fiji after he was battered illegally by Wallaby Reece Hodge in Week 1, seeing him out for almost 2 weeks
Georgia v Fiji The Fijian Cibi has been performed, and we await KO under the whistle of Ref Williams; Fiji have something to prove after their shock loss against Uruguay last week, the same opposition who Georgia trounced

Georgia 0-0 Fiji 1min Fiji get proceedings underway and Georgia clear the Fijians away well, Vasil Lobzhanidze kicking back over halfway for Fiji to start again...
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 1min It's a clearance kick for Georgia already, which Soso Matiashvili neatly puts away but Fiji are quickly up toward the Georgia 22
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 3mins With both sides fielding their first teams for this encounter, it's unsurprising that Georgia are holding out the Fijians from even approaching their 22, and do clear them away again
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 4mins It's the first scrum of the match, and the Georgians have a significant weight advantage over Fiji, so expect them to be superior, even though they're outside their own 22
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 5mins The scrum is reset, and on second attempt, the Georgians clear their lines quickly to Kini Murimurivalu waiting on the touchline and he's bundled in to touch
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 7mins The Lelos have the lineout in Fiji's half, and they execute it well enough to win a penalty to kick to touch for another, this time on the 22
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 8mins The Georgians look to drive from the lineout, but aren't going anywhere so go wide to far touch, and a Josua Tuisova tackle dislodges the ball from a Fiji lineout...
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 9mins Fiji don't wait and take a quick lineout, battling over halfway promptly, but they've not found their feet yet and Georgia quickly have them over a barrel
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 11mins Time is briefly off before Georgia set their scrum only just in their half, and the penalty is won by The Lelos from brute strength dominance
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 13mins The clear puts the Georgians back on the Fiji 22 for an attacking lineout again, and though the ball goes loose, Yato can't collect it and the Georgians retain possession
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 14mins The hits are coming in hard from Fiji, Georgia with over 60% possession and territory so far, and a penalty comes for The Lelos
Georgia 3-0 Fiji 16mins At first glance it seems Matiashvili has opened the Georgian account and the penalty is awarded, but a check back by the officials, and it's wiped off - the ball did not splice the uprights
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 16mins Fiji are on the attack again and only get to their 10m before they are forced to kick to get out of their own half
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 17mins It's a Georgia scrum just inside their own half, and it's quite a fight to make any significant ground into Fiji territory, opting for a chip to touch
Georgia 0-0 Fiji 18mins Lasha Khmaladze kicks it out for the Fiji lineout, and they attempt to reach halfway but are pushed back at first
Georgia 0-5 Fiji 19mins A little aerial football ensues before a chip through from Frank Lomani is collected by Semi Radradra, sharply offloaded to Waisea Nayacalevu who runs in the first try of the match with some class
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 21mins It's delightfully converted by Ben Volavola, and Georgia have some catching up to do
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 22mins Leone Nakarawa attempts to find a way through following the restart, but he is swiftly halted and Georgia take play the other way
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 23mins Play is halted after Shalva Mamukashvili makes a dubious hit on Lepani Botia, a tad high - time off
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 24mins But this is rugby, not Gary Lineker's wendyball, and there are no cowardly nancy-boys here. It's brush yourself off, brush yourself down, and attack, despite a whack to the jaw
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 25mins Fiji attack with significant force, get closer to eh Georgian danger zone, but are pushed back to the midfield for a lineout
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 27mins The penalty count is level at four apiece, and Fiji kick to touch for an attacking lineout inside the Georgian 22 - a good an opportunity as any to get more points on the board...
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 28mins ...but Georgia steal lineout ball and suddenly Fiji are back on their 22 to begin their attack all over again
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 29mins And they do with such panache, Nayacalevu and Lepani Botia dovetailing perfectly to carry the ball over halfway, offloading deftly between them, flying toward the 22 but Nayacalevu spills it!
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 30mins Georgia have the defensive scrum but it's Fiji who come away with a penalty and they clear for a 22 lineout
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 31mins Unimpressive ball handling afflicts Fiji again and Georgian are defending their 22, but with ball in hand as they put into the next scrum - efficiently executed...
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 32mins Georgia bulldoze their way right up to the Fiji tryline and threaten the whitewash with quite some verve
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 33mins With advantage being played, Georgia make three attempts at reaching the tryline, but Fijian defence is rock solid, and they can't find a way through yet...
Georgia 0-7 Fiji 33mins ...the TMO checks if that final attempt is grounded - it's not - and the Georgians have two options for the two penalties conceded by Fiji in the run up, and the y take the Tuisova tackle on Alexander Todua position
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 34mins It's right in front of the posts and Matiashvili gets points on the board this time for Georgia
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 36mins Roles are reversed and Todua smashes Tuisova to dislodge the ball from his attack along the touchline for a Georgian lineout
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 37mins Giorgi Kveseladze carries the ball into the breakdown but it is deftly turned over by the flying Fijians, The Lelos pinged for not releasing and it's a Fiji attacking lineout
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 38mins The lineout is long, but ball is retained, though only momentarily as the Georgians grab possession and shift play from their own 22 to the that of Fiji awfully quickly
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 39mins Radradra runs the ball back to the midfield but the counter ruck has Georgia back with ball in hand to kick it into the Fiji 22 again
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 40mins Mamuka Gorgodze takes out Ben Volavola to dislodge the ball just as the gong rings out, Georgia have the lineout on the Fiji 22 but they knock on and it's HT

Georgia 3-7 Fiji HT P: Matiashvili | T: Nayacalevu C: Volavola

Georgia 3-7 Fiji 40mins Second half is underway and Georgia are in possession outside the Fiji 22
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 41mins Time off as play is disrupted by an interesting tackle at the breakdown and the ensuing collision...
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 42mins Time's back on, but captain Merab Sharikadze refuses to go off for the HIA he needs after he's kicked in the head by Botia - time off again as he's marshalled off
Georgia 3-7 Fiji 43mins Lasha Malaguradze replaces his captain while Fiji have the scrum which they win and can move play into Georgian territory
Georgia 3-12 Fiji 44mins From setpiece, the play is textbook and the Fijians are flying as the ball hurtles out from the centre of the pitch through so many deft hands to Radradra who pegs it down touch and offloads to Frank Lomani to score!
Georgia 3-12 Fiji 46mins There's no conversion, but what brilliant play that is to savour
Georgia 3-12 Fiji 47mins The Georgians aren't taking that lying down, and Matiashvili charges down the touchline himself from the restart and he's in touching distance of the 22 but Lomani tackles him into touch
Georgia 3-12 Fiji 48mins Fiji retaliate well from that assault, and from the defensive lineout. move play from their own half into that of Georgia, setting up an attacking lineout on the far side
Georgia 3-17 Fiji 49mins That is textbook setpiece and the lineout is won, the ball comes wide toward nearside touch, Tuisova is at the tail for the offloading line and he sprints over the whitewash to score
Georgia 3-17 Fiji 51mins There's no conversion again, which may not matter if Fiji keep on running in tries at this pace and with that style
Georgia 3-17 Fiji 51mins Beka Saginadze and Otari Giorgadze are on for Konstantine Mikautadze and Giorgi Tkhilaishvili
Georgia 8-17 Fiji 52mins However, just like after the last try, Fiji are caught napping again for the Georgians to attack with such ferocity, held up momentarily on the 22 but then drive over the whitewash for Gorgodze to score
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 53mins Matiashvili is having no such trouble with his boot and he adds the conversion
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 54mins As Fiji battle to escape their half, Peni Ravai replaces Campese Ma'afu
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 55mins Captain Sharikadze returns to the field of play while Fiji shift deeper into Georgian territory
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 56mins It's another searing attack from Fiji as charge again into the 22, but the offload from Nayacalevu to Tuisova goes awry again
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 57mins Jaba Bregvadze and Guram Gogichashvili replace Mamukashvili and Mikheil Nariashvili for Georgia
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 58mins Georgia get away with another high hit in the last breakdown; The Lelos are defending tier 22 with a scrum and they come away with the ball after Fiji are pinged for not driving straight
Georgia 10-17 Fiji 59mins Georgia are happier being much further away from their 22 as the ball is cleared to the midfield, but Fiji set the scrum on halfway..
Georgia 10-22 Fiji 60mins ...and again it's the perfect setpiece play from the flying Fijians, allowing Radradra to pelt over the whitewash and this tie run to score under the posts
Georgia 10-24 Fiji 61mins Volavola couldn't miss that conversion if he tried; marvellous play from the Fijians
Georgia 10-24 Fiji 62mins Api Ratuniyarawa & Viliame Mata come on for Tevita Cavubati and Yato
Georgia 10-24 Fiji 64mins Fiji are quickly back deep it eh Georgian 22, now they have the try bonus point in the bag they can play with abandon...and an amusing ball flies from the hands of Lomani from the back of the ruck...
Georgia 10-24 Fiji 65mins ...directly to headbutt Manasa Saulo who is completely oblivious the ball is coming his way as he saunters in the 22; Gela Aprasidze & Levan Chilachava replace Beka Gigashvili and Vasil Lobzhanidze
Georgia 10-24 Fiji 67mins Meanwhile, it's scrum after attacking scrum for Fiji in the Georgia 22, The Lelos infringing repeatedly and eventually Semi Kunatani finds the whitewash - > TMO check
Georgia 10-29 Fiji 68mins Ref calls the try and the TMO confirms there's no problem with it and it is awarded as Volavola tees up the conversion...
Georgia 10-31 Fiji 69mins ...and he's getting better (or actually, the tries are being scored in more favourable locations to convert!)
Georgia 10-31 Fiji 69mins Malaguradze has returned for Sharikadze while Jale Vatubua, Lee Roy Atalifo and Tuvere Vugakoto are on for Nayacalevu, Saulo and Sam Matavesi
Georgia 10-31 Fiji 70mins Georgia haven't had time to recover yet, not regroup, and Fiji are fiercely in the attack yet again...
Georgia 10-36 Fiji 70mins ...and there's not a Georgian on the park who can stop Ratuniyarawa from running in try no.#6!
Georgia 10-38 Fiji 72mins Volavola is on target again, and Miriani Modebadze comes on for Todua, Josh Matavesi for Kini Murimurivalu
Georgia 10-38 Fiji 73mins Despite the penalty count racking up for Fiji against Georgia, The Lelos can't find their game to counter the Flying Fijians, and are halted at every attempt
Georgia 10-38 Fiji 74mins Niko Matawalu replaces Lomani at scrum half
Georgia 10-38 Fiji 75mins Giorgi Kveseladze spills the ball on his own 10m but it doesn't hit the ground but is deftly collected and offloaded to Radradra who sprints all the way to the corner to score again! >TMO
Georgia 10-43 Fiji 76mins It's good and that's another score for these Fijians who are aptly named
Georgia 10-45 Fiji 77mins Volavola adds another and you almost feel sorry for Georgia who matched the Fijians in the first half
Georgia 10-45 Fiji 77mins Georgia bring on their final replacement in Beka Gigashvili for Levan Chilachava
Georgia 10-45 Fiji 78mins From the restart, Josh Matavesi collects calmly inside his 10m, he offloads perfectly and the Fijians pounce along touch, breaching Georgian territory and Tuisova hurls the ball out to Botia - who drops it AGAIN!
Georgia 10-45 Fiji 79mins A Georgian scrum is set on their own 22, and they need to save face if nothing else here...
Georgia 10-45 Fiji 80mins ...and it's the Fijians who are pinged for a free kick to set up a lineout on halfway for Georgia, while the gong has gonged for 80 minutes
Georgia 10-45 Fiji 80+1mins The Georgians win their lineout but are caught short at the breakdown on the Fiji 22, the penalty is for Fiji and the ball is kicked into touch for the win

REVIEW

 

• Fiji's seven tries is the most they have scored in a RWC match for 20 years. The only time they have scored more was when they put nine past Namibia at RWC 1999.

• Fiji's 45 points is the most they have ever scored against Georgia. They put 37 past them in Suva in June 2018.

• Player of the Match Semi Radradra covered 177 metres (the most this match and the most of the tournament so far). He also had five clean breaks, beat seven defenders, made three offloads and scored two tries, all more than any other player in this match.

• Josua Tuisova became the first person to score a try in an Olympic final and then a Rugby World Cup match when he scored the third try for Fiji. He scored Fiji's sixth try of the 2016 Olympic Sevens final against Great Britain.

• Tuisova has now scored five tries in his last six test matches.

• Leone Nakarawa made six carries, taking him to 104 carries overall in RWC games, the joint most ever for a Fijian player at the RWC, along with Sisa Koyamaibole.

• Ben Volavola's ten points in this match mean this is now his record RWC points haul (he has recorded 21 points so far at RWC 2019). He scored 16 points at RWC 2015.

• Georgian legend and their all-time top try scorer Mamuka Gorgodze took his tally to 27. He is also Georgia’s top try scorer in Rugby World Cup history (4).

• The ten points shared by the teams in the first half was the fewest amount of first half points scored so far at this RWC.

• The previous fewest was 11 points (Samoa 5-6 Russia at half-time).

 

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

SCORERS T: Gorgodze C: Matiashvili P: Matiashvili

15 Kini Murimurivalu 14 Josua Tuisova 13 Waisea Nayacalevu 12 Lepani Botia 11 Semi Radradra 10 Ben Volavola 9 Frank Lomani 1 Campese Ma'afu 2 Samuel Matavesi 3 Manasa Saulo 4 Tevita Cavubati 5 Leone Nakarawa 6 DOMINIKO WAQANIBUROTU (C) 7 Semi Kunatani 8 Peceli Yato BENCH: 16 Tuvere Vugakoto 17 Peni Ravai L 18 Lee Roy Atalifo 19 Api Ratuniyarawa 20 Viliame Mata 21 Nikola Matawalu 22 Jale Vatubua 23 Josh Matavesi

SCORERS T: Nayacalevu, Lomani, Tuisova, Radradra (2), Kunatani, Ratuniyarawa C: Volavola (5)

Man of the Match: Semi Radradra

Referee: Paul Williams (NZRU) Asst. Referees: Jaco Peyper (SARU), Matthew Carley (RFU) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)

 

 

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Kobe Misaki Stadium - Thursday, 03 October 2018
KO: 19:15 HT: 21-0 Att: 26,856

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

 

Ireland v Russia One last minute change for Ireland as Joey Carbery is rested for a tweak and Conor Murray is back on the bench
Ireland v Russia So we're not long from KO at #RWCKobe as the teams run out onto the pitch...
Ireland v Russia It's a closed roof in Kobe so the elements can change the match play in here like the rain did at Hanazono earlier; warm and muggy as the anthems ring out
Ireland 0-0 Russia 1min We have KO from Russia under the auspices of Ref Garcès and Bundee Aki take sit smartly
Ireland 5-0 Russia 1min Ireland have the first lineout on the 10m and they execute it perfectly for Rob Kearney to grab that ball and he charges to the tryline to score already
Ireland 7-0 Russia 2mins Captain Johnny Sexton tees up from outside the 22, wide of the posts, and waits an age before taking the kick - and it's good
Ireland 7-0 Russia 4mins Ireland clear their lines from the Russian restart and Kirill Golosnitskiy comes back at the Irish hard, offloaded to Igor Galinovskiy but a huge tackle dislodges the ball forward#RWC2019 #IREvRUS #Rugby
Ireland 7-0 Russia 5mins It's an Irish lineout but the player slips and Russia have possession from it#RWC2019 #IREvRUS #Rugby
Ireland 7-0 Russia 6minsIreland wrestle back possession and breach Russian territory to go 12 phases but are going backward so clear the ball with a kick instead
Ireland 7-0 Russia 7mins Russia fight back, Ireland think they've stolen the ball , but in fact Peter O'Mahony is called offside for Russia to set up an attacking lineout
Ireland 7-0 Russia 8mins A crossfield kick heads to the far corner of the Irish 22, and not an Irishman in sight to take responsibility for it, Kearney and Andrew Conway both staring at each other
Ireland 7-0 Russia 9mins Russia have a 5m lineout consequently, despite the kick not being too clever; result from that setpiece is an Irish 5m defensive scrum
Ireland 7-0 Russia 11mins Andrei Polivalov is pinged at the scrum for Ireland to kick to touch for a much better positioned lineout in the midfield
Ireland 12-0 Russia 12mins The ball is free from the Irish turnover for Sexton to chip through toward the uprights for O'Mahony to chase and skid under with ball in hand to score
Ireland 14-0 Russia 13mins It's the easiest of conversions for Sexton in front of the posts; meanwhile the Russians will be kicking themselves for that knock on on halfway, handing over possession
Ireland 14-0 Russia 14mins Golosnitskiy chased O'Mahony to the post and smashed into the upright, doing some damage, and it's time off to get on a stretcher to take him off. Vladimir Ostroushko is on earlier than expected
Ireland 14-0 Russia 15mins Russia hand over a penalty to Ireland to escape their own half, Sexton kicking to halfway for the lineout
Ireland 14-0 Russia 16mins Sexton crossfield kicks to the nearside, where a solitary Keith Earls can't secure the ball from Ramil Gaisin and an almost certain try is thwarted, but the penalty is for Ireland
Ireland 14-0 Russia 18mins Sexton kicks to the corner for a 5m attacking lineout but 10 phases in, they haven't found a way through yet...
Ireland 14-0 Russia 19mins 18 phases pass and the Irish are on top of the tryline, but a penalty comes and Sexton pops the ball out again for a 5m lineout
Ireland 14-0 Russia 20mins The Irish opportunity is lost after Dave Kilcoyne obstructs and Russia can clear their lines
Ireland 14-0 Russia 21mins But first, it's time off an Irish injury check; Russia clear to the 10m for their lineout...
Ireland 14-0 Russia 22mins ...and the Russians are all over the ball with numbers but the ball is turned over and finds touch for another Russia lineout not a million miles from halfway
Ireland 14-0 Russia 24mins Ireland are still camped firmly in Russian territory, but again it is a Russian lineout, albeit defensive
Ireland 14-0 Russia 24mins The Irish look about to score under the posts but Niall Scannell knocks it on, and previously O'Mahony is pinged for playing the player in the air so the whistle has gone anyway
Ireland 14-0 Russia 26mins Russia have clear the Irish back over halfway and then the leprechauns knock on to hand over possession on halfway
Ireland 14-0 Russia 27mins After a time off where CJ Stander replaces an injured Jordi Murphy from a big hit, it's a Russian scrum and they pile on the pressure with a good kick into the Irish 22
Ireland 14-0 Russia 28mins Ireland are defending their 22, they do it well and Russia infringe for Sexton to clear his line efficiently
Ireland 14-0 Russia 30mins The Irish lineout is all but on halfway and they head off into Russian territory with their rolling maul to the 22
Ireland 14-0 Russia 31mins Another penalty comes and Ireland's next line out is inside the 22, a far better position to plan another assault from...
Ireland 14-0 Russia 33mins Conway thinks he's in for the try, but the whistle has gone, and Ref Garcès has harsh words with Vasily Artemyev about his No.5 lock, Bogdan Fedotko who is then summarily sent off to the naughty step
Ireland 19-0 Russia 34mins Russia don't bring on a replacement in the scrum for Ireland's attack, and it's not immediate, there's a little battle, but Rhys Ruddock scores by reaching over the line in his first world cup start
Ireland 21-0 Russia 36mins Sexton again takes his time with the conversion, but it is entirely on target when it comes
Ireland 21-0 Russia 37mins Russia go in hard from the restart, Gaisin dropping back for a drop goal, but it hasn't the accuracy, but they are still with ball in hand...
Ireland 21-0 Russia 38mins ...to go 10 phases but are going awkward to halfway before they choose to kick with no go forward
Ireland 21-0 Russia 39mins Ireland take possession and make it back over halfway for an attacking lineout
Ireland 21-0 Russia 40mins the gong rings out as the lineout is won and Ireland can attack one last time, but Akin fluffs it for HT

Ireland 21-0 Russia HT T: Kearney, O’Mahony, Ruddock C: Sexton (3) | Fedotko

Ireland 21-0 Russia 40mins The second half begins sans Sexton, Jack Carty on to replace him and he begins his tenure giving away an immediate penalty for a Russian scrum
Ireland 21-0 Russia 41mins For Russia, Stanislav Selskii & Valery Morozov are on in the front row for Evgeny Matveev and Polivalov and they are put to work straight away
Ireland 21-0 Russia 43mins Ireland win back the ball at are on the front foot, and it looks like Garry Ringrose might do enough to get in a score of his own, but the Russians win back possession rather quickly and halt the assault
Ireland 21-0 Russia 44mins Russia clear the Irish back and the penalty goes to them too - maybe Aki again involved in handing one over for a Russian scrum
Ireland 21-0 Russia 46mins If only Russia had the skills of Ireland, they are disrupting play so much, and Ireland are making so many errors, that if they were a Tier 1 team, they'd be running rings round Ireland
Ireland 21-0 Russia 47mins It's another Russian scrum on halfway and they come away with the free kick to set up a 22 attacking lineout
Ireland 21-0 Russia 48mins The lineout is Russian won, but the Irish pile in and get over the ball to secure control, even if they are in their own 22
Ireland 21-0 Russia 49mins It's an Irish defensive scrum just inside their 22 and they are more than efficient in offloading he ball wide away from the Russians for Kearney to thump away into space
Ireland 21-0 Russia 49mins But it goes in field for Captain Artemyev to kick back magnificently, Ireland back in their 22, defending it with a lineout again already
Ireland 21-0 Russia 50mins Though not before Kearney has a mini strop as he's signalled off the pitch for Jordan Larmour, and Andrey Ostrikov on for Andrey Garbuzov
Ireland 21-0 Russia 50mins Russia wrestle the ball away from the Irish rather well, but then we have a pause for the TMO to check a head hit on John Ryan...
Ireland 21-0 Russia 50mins ...it's by Ostrikov in a double tackle at the breakdown - he does wallop his head, but the mitigating circumstances reduce the red to yellow with no intent, no swinging arms, and Ryan dipping
Ireland 21-0 Russia 52mins The Irish escape the Russian assault not just unscathed, but with a man up for 9 more minutes and are quickly in the Russian 22
Ireland 21-0 Russia 53mins Ireland, however, continue to make mistakes, don't take advantage of their position and Russia are back in charge of the ball with a scrum coming
Ireland 21-0 Russia 54mins Russian scrum on their own 22 is well won, but he kick doesn't have the Irish too far back - only to the 10m
Ireland 21-0 Russia 55mins But another infringement from Ireland and it's Russian ball again - another scrum on their 10m, and Ireland are pinged for not releasing
Ireland 21-0 Russia 56mins Tagir Gadzhiev is causing no end of trouble at the breakdown for Ireland, and this time Gaisin can put points on the board - but it's a long way out and wide...
Ireland 21-0 Russia 57mins The ball doesn't find the uprights and changes are afoot too
Ireland 21-0 Russia 58mins Sean Cronin, Andrew Porter & Tadhg Furlong arrive to replace the front row of Kilcoyne, Scannell & Ryan
Ireland 21-0 Russia 59mins There is little impressive about Ireland's play today at least in the last 20 minutes - erratic and scrappy - maybe these changes will have an effect, and Iain Henderson is on too for Jean Kleyn
Ireland 26-0 Russia 61mins Someone's listening! Suddenly, the ball is swiped back deep into their own half for Earls to break, offload to Conway who runs for his life to the whitewash to score and secure that elusive bonus point
Ireland 28-0 Russia 63mins Carty adds the extras while Ostrikov returns Russia to her full complement; Evgeny Elgin is on for Bogdan Fedotko
Ireland 28-0 Russia 64mins Ireland kick the restart into touch for a Russian attacking lineout, well taken and they go wide from near touch to the far side, the ball flowing well but intercepted by Earls instead of Artemyev
Ireland 28-0 Russia 65mins A jostle of players and it's an Irish scrum, defending their own half but they win that perfectly well
Ireland 28-0 Russia 67mins Not quite as straightforward as they would like but Ireland do eventually find an opportunity to escape their own half with a belting kick downfield.
Ireland 28-0 Russia 68mins A breakout from Ireland and they go flying toward the tryline, and wave upon wave of assault is made, but each time, the Russians frustrate matters, Henderson blowing it the biggest by knocking on over the whitewash
Ireland 28-0 Russia 68mins Vladimir Podrezov and Roman Khodin are on for Kirill Gotovtsev and Anton Sychev
Ireland 28-0 Russia 69mins Russia win their defensive scrum thanks to Ireland infringing yet again, and Gaisin kicks the Irish way back, while Sergey Ianiushkin is the final man off the Russian bench for Denis Simplikevich
Ireland 28-0 Russia 70mins Irish come back hard, but again Russia steal possession and shove the Irish out of their 22, 10m even for a lineout
Ireland 28-0 Russia 71mins A midfield Russian lineout on the far side because for some bizarre reason, Larmour keeps kicking away possession
Ireland 28-0 Russia 73mins Ireland snaffle the ball but are back in their own half, they do build a few phases, Russia halt that passage of play and soon Ireland are over halfway on the attack...
Ireland 28-0 Russia 74mins ...and reach the Russian 10m, before again Ireland mishandle that ball, handing over possession to the opposition for a scrum, after a time off
Ireland 28-0 Russia 75mins Russia secure the ball at the scrum and Gaisin thumps that ball into the Irish 22 for Larmour and Conway to ensure is touched down behind the line
Ireland 28-0 Russia 76mins From the kick off, Ireland finally show off what they can do, and from deep in their 22, they run the ball through brilliant hands, too many to count in the pace, eventually it reaching Ringrose who sprints quicker...
Ireland 35-0 Russia 77mins ...than any Russian to score a convincing try. Carty - who has been rather good since he found his feet in the last 25 minutes - adds the extras
Ireland 35-0 Russia 78mins Before you can say boo to a goose, Ireland steal the ball off of Russia with some conviction, and it's out to Ringrose who bolts again to score and the Irish are finally showing their mettle. But...
Ireland 35-0 Russia 79mins ...the TMO has a look at the ball as it flies to Ringrose and it is deemed forward. No try.
Ireland 35-0 Russia 80mins It's a Russian scrum on their 10m as the gong gongs for 80 minutes, and it needs to be reset before we can end this game
Ireland 35-0 Russia 80+1mins Russia don't let the Irish in at the scrum, Gaisin clears the ball back over halfway to Earls who runs it back. Ireland may be hoping for a final flourish from midfield but a knock on at breakdown and it's all over
Ireland 35-0 Russia FT Dear oh dear. For a team deemed No.1 in the world only a couple of weeks ago, that was unimpressive from Ireland. Russia, on the flip side, are hard done by as that score does not reflect their immense & disruptive effort

REVIEW

 

• Russia are eliminated from contention for Rugby World Cup 2019. Only 19 teams in this tournament are still vying for the Webb Ellis Cup.

• For the first time, Ireland shut out their opponents in a RWC match. For the first time in a RWC match, Russia were kept from registering points.

• This was the third time a team was shut out at RWC 2019. This included the previous match in Kobe (Scotland - Samoa 34-0). Only one World Cup featured more whitewash victories. There were four in 2007.

• In the three RWC matches in Kobe (tonight's venue), the losing sides have combined for only seven points, none of which were put up in the 80 minutes of regulation (USA posting their only points against England in added time).

• Rob Kearney's second-minute try was the second fastest score and the fastest try for Ireland at a World Cup. Against France in the quarter-finals in 1995 Eric Elwood landed a first-minute penalty in a 36-12 defeat.

• Kearney's try was also the fastest at RWC 2019. Against Georgia, Wales's Jonathan Davies registered a third-minute try.

• Johnny Sexton captained Ireland for the first time in his 86th test appearance for the team.

• Sexton became the first Ireland captain to register points in the kicking department of a World Cup match. Other Ireland captains that contributed points all did so by scoring tries.

• Rhys Ruddock joined Peter O'Mahony on the scoresheet. For the first time in a World Cup match since RWC 2003, Ireland's starting back-row scored multiple tries in a RWC match (then: Ireland v Namibia).

• Garry Ringrose has scored four of his eight test tries on Japanese soil.

 

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

SCORERS T: Kearney, O’Mahony, Ruddock, Conway, Ringrose C: Sexton (3), Carty (2)

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

SCORERS Fedotko, Ostrikov

Man of the Match: Rhys Ruddock

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR) Asst. Referees: Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Brendon Pickerill (NZRU) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)

 

 

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Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa - Friday, 04 October 2018
KO: 18:45 HT: 17-3 Att: 44,148

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Boks v Italy It's FRIDAY!!!!!!! Ten minutes from KO at #RWCShizuoka for the Boks against the Azzurri, and the inimitable Sergio Parisse is going to become the highest capped test player in the NH 🇿🇦🏉🇮🇹 
Boks v Italy Match No. 3 for the Boks, but he enormity of what this means for 🇮🇹 is simply immense; it's all over if they lose this. No doubt Conor O'Shea will have made them feel like gods... 
Boks v Italy The passion on the faces of the Bok and Azzurri players is almost unparalleled while they sing their respective anthems 
Boks v Italy One thing we can guarantee - a fair match since it's being marshalled by the brilliant Wayne Barnes - a better referee there is no in world rugby today 

Boks 0-0 Italy 1min Ref Barnes blows the whistle for kick off and it's Tommy Allan who puts boot to ball for the Azzurri 
Boks 0-0 Italy 1min Cheslin Kobe goes up against Parisse under the first high ball; the Boks come away with the first advantage - a scrum on the Azzurri 10m
Boks 0-0 Italy 2mins The Boks effect another turnover already, but it's time off as Simone Ferrari is furious he's down injured already, his thigh being wrapped and he has to go off - hamstring yanked 🙈 
Boks 0-0 Italy 2mins Marco Riccioni is on far earlier than anyone expected and is straight into the front row for a Bok scrum on halfway 
Boks 0-0 Italy 3mins The ball flies toward the Italian 22 and is chased by Makazole Mapimpi who could easily have run in that first try, but the Azzurri are caught offside and we're back for a Bok penalty 
Boks 0-0 Italy 4mins An attacking lineout is set and if the Azzurri can't pull their socks up now, they'll be in big trouble... 
Boks 5-0 Italy 5mins ...they don't, and the Boks make it look far too easy as the lineout is won, the ball comes wide to near touch, edging slowly forward from the 22 and Kolbe flicks off every tackle to score 
Boks 7-0 Italy 6mins Handré Pollard adds the conversion and the Boks are comfortably on the board 
Boks 7-0 Italy 7mins A massive battle at the breakdown from the restart, a crunching tackle from Mbongeni Mbonambi but it's the Azzurri who come away with a penalty 
Boks 7-3 Italy 8mins The Azzurri won't be nilled, and Allan adds the penalty to open the scoring for his team 
Boks 7-3 Italy 10mins The restart has the Boks on the front foot immediately, winning an attacking scrum and they charge into the Azzurri 22, advantage being played as the Azzurri repeatedly gift penalties... 
Boks 7-3 Italy 11mins The penalty comes, despite protestations from Parisse, and Pollard tees up from in front of the posts 
Boks 10-3 Italy 12mins It's another three already for the Boks. The Azzurri might be pumped and feisty, but they are failing at basic skills, and the Boks are going to run riot over them if they don't buck up their ideas 
Boks 10-3 Italy 14mins Play is halted immediately as Riccioni is down injured after a massive tackle on Lood de Jager. This does not look good as his torso is iced and wrapped - there isn't another tighthead on the bench 🙊 
Boks 10-3 Italy 14mins It's a Bok lineout on halfway and they win it and go wide from the nearside, and have a penalty after Luca Bigi is pinged for side entry to the maul 
Boks 10-3 Italy 15mins But instead of making hay, Faf de Klerk spills the ball on the Azzurri 22 for a defensive scrum 
Boks 10-3 Italy 16mins de Klerk is scampering everywhere like an irritating Jack Russell on heat but the Italians clear their lines eventually back over halfway 
Boks 10-3 Italy 18mins Aerial football ensues, both men on the boot performing accurately, and it results in an Azzurri lineout - but a time off first 
Boks 10-3 Italy 18mins Riccioni has to go off for an HIA; Barnes explains to both sides that scrums are now uncontested for the next 10 minutes and Nicola Quaglio is brought on - a loosehead prop - not compatible with a tighthead replacement 
Boks 10-3 Italy 19mins The lineout is won by the Boks in the midfield, and the ball goes high on a number of occasions, the Boks losing possession in their own half and Jake Polledri makes some yards to reach the Bok 22 
Boks 10-3 Italy 21mins It's an uncontested attacking scrum for the Azzurri and they recycle, pick and go, jink, pirouette, attack, and Lukhanyo Am knocks on for an Azzurri penalty, and time off... 
Boks 10-3 Italy 21mins Tito Tebaldi has his fingers wrapped before we can get the next scrum underway 
Boks 10-3 Italy 22mins The scrum is won by the Azzurri but they lose the breakdown battle for the Boks to defend their tryline with another uncontested scrum, and de Klerk clears the line to halfway 
Boks 10-3 Italy 23mins The latest battle at the breakdown on halfway is lost too by the Azzurri, Luca Morisi not helping matters > 22 attacking lineout for the Boks as a result 
Boks 10-3 Italy 25mins It's a textbook setpiece for the Boks, the lineout is perfect, the driving maul is solid, the ball goes wide toward far touch to wide open space for Willie le Roux to run in the try - but he drops it 🙈 
Boks 15-3 Italy 26mins But advantage was being played and we're back for the penalty > a kick to touch for a 5m attacking lineout for the Boks and again it clockwork for Mbonambi to drive over the whitewash for a try 
Boks 17-3 Italy 27mins Pollard adds the extras, and this is far too easy for the Boks. The Azzurri are far to flustered and unfocussed to make an impact on a superior side 
Boks 17-3 Italy 29mins The Azzurri regather, and take play not only into Bok territory, but into the 22 for an attacking lineout - every opportunity to correct their wrongs now... 
Boks 17-3 Italy 31mins But it's the Boks who come away with the ball for a defensive uncontested scrum, so it'll be effortless to clear their lines to outside the 22 
Boks 17-3 Italy 32mins de Jager is pinged for interfering with a player in the air from the Azzurri lineout and Italy can maybe make some inroads here back into the 22... 
Boks 17-3 Italy 34mins The Azzurri go 14 phases in and around the Bok 22, advantage being played before the whistle goes... 
Boks 17-3 Italy 34mins It's time off for a TMO replay for a high tackle, and Tommaso Benvenuti is found guilty at the breakdown for clearing out using a neck 🙄 
Boks 17-3 Italy 35mins Now the scrums are uncontested with Riccioni not coming back, it appears the Azzurri are not contesting lineouts either! And thank you Philip Venter 🙊😆 
Boks 17-3 Italy 36mins Dear oh dear. If only the Azzurri were made up of 15 Parisses. But it's not. And the Italians are in trouble as the Boks take play back into Azzurri territory with such ease 
Boks 17-3 Italy 37mins It's an attacking 22 lineout for the Boks and they can add to their tally from here if they play this right... 
Boks 17-3 Italy 38mins ...but despite going 8 phases and only a couple of metres short, captain Siya Kolisi is pinged for being off his feet and the Azzurri can clear their lines 
Boks 17-3 Italy 40mins It's an Azzurri lineout back on halfway, which they win, but Tebaldi chips over the top and Mapimpi collects and runs it back as the HT gong rings out, and the Boks simply kick to touch for the break 

Boks 17-3 Italy HT T: Kolbe, Mbonambi C: Pollard (2) P: Pollard | P: Allan 

Boks 17-3 Italy HT This is just so disappointing from the Azzurri 🙄

Boks 17-3 Italy 40mins Pollard kicks off as the Boks plot their next two tries for the much needed bonus point to compete with their Pool B buddies the #All Blacks 
Boks 17-3 Italy 41mins The Boks hand over the first penalty to give the Boks a midfield scrum - such a disappointment they are all now uncontested 
Boks 17-3 Italy 42mins The Azzurri suddenly burst into life and bulldoze their way into the Bok 22 and they are playing with advantage, recycling in excellent fashion and are quite brilliant and the whistle goes for the penalty... 
Boks 17-3 Italy 42mins ... but Andrea Lovotti and Quaglio double tackle on Duane Vermeulen and they tip him and drive him into the ground! FFS! And AFTER the whistle has gone 🙈 
Boks 17-3 Italy 42mins How utterly irresponsible and stupid. Parisse apologises to Vermeulen, and the Azzurri are lucky as hell only having Lovotti red carded - both would have been suitable 
Boks 17-3 Italy 43mins Frans Steyn has replaced Mapimpi who is sent off for a an HIA
Boks 22-3 Italy 44mins The Boks punish the Azzurri immediately with a charge into Italian territory, and an most excellent try from Pieter Steph du Toit after 7 phases and a delightful offload from Pollard to score! 
Boks 17-3 Italy 45mins However, we're off to the TMO to check what Kolisi was up to - full on obstruction by standing still 🙄 No try. 
Boks 17-3 Italy 45mins Steven Kitshoff & Vincent Koch are on for The Beast & Frans Malherbe | Alessandro Zanni & Federico Ruzza for David Sisi & Dean Budd 
Boks 17-3 Italy 46mins Play resumes with the Azzurri making some ground for a lineout just outside the Bok 10m and they reach the 22 and drive to breach it, but end up going backward and from side to side for 6 phases before Allan kicks away possession and it's too far
Boks 17-3 Italy 47mins Boks kick play back up toward halfway, and it's still an attacking lineout for the Azzurri, just, but again it's kicked away
Boks 17-3 Italy 48mins de Klerk pops the ball out to le Roux who makes a break but his chip through goes awry into touch from the wrong side of his boot
Boks 17-3 Italy 49mins Boks have a lineout outside the Azzurri 22 and they drive to the 22, the Azzurri infringing at the break down, in front of the posts - Tebaldi off his feet again
Boks 20-3 Italy 50mins Pollard deftly pops the ball through the uprights 
Boks 20-3 Italy 51mins Malcolm Marx has replaced Mbonambi as hooker
Boks 25-3 Italy 52mins de Klerk clears the ball over halfway from the restart, it comes right back but the Boks run the ball with such ferocity, Parisse left in their wake, and they build the phases to 6 for Pollard to chip to the corner for Kolbe to run in magnificently 
Boks 25-3 Italy 53mins There's no conversion this time, but the Boks are primed for the at 4th try
Boks 25-3 Italy 54mins RG Snyman replaced Eben Etzebeth while Mapimpi returns from his HIA, Steyn back to the bench for now
Boks 25-3 Italy 56mins Boks are back at the Azzurri 22 and have a scrum on the far side, the ball comes to the near side, Kitshoff almost reaching the line but halted...de Klerk offloads but Michele Campagnaro intercepts and bolts away 🙊 
Boks 30-3 Italy 57mins He chips ahead, but it's collected into green hands and the Boks runs it back - the possession changes furiously for the next minute before Am bags that bonus point with a pretty impressive try 
Boks 32-3 Italy 59mins The conversion adds another nail in the Italian coffin, and there is no hope for any comeback, just maybe a hope in saving face and not coming away without any more than a measly penalty 
Boks 32-3 Italy 59mins Federico Zani, Callum Braley and Sebastian Negri have replaced Morisi, Tebaldi and the legendary Parisse in the last few minutes
Boks 32-3 Italy 60mins As more changes are made, the Boks are firmly back in possession and though the pace has slowed after that frantic period, the Azzurri aren't getting a look in 
Boks 32-3 Italy 60mins Herschel Jantjies and Franco Mostert are on for de Klerk and de Jager
Boks 32-3 Italy 61mins Boks clear the Azzurri out of their 22 for a 10m attacking lineout and a chip through from Damian de Allende finds touch instead of Kolbe
Boks 32-3 Italy 63mins The Azzurri win their lineout and kick the ball over halfway, only for Herschel to thump it back and the Boks lose it forward on the Italian 10m
Boks 32-3 Italy 64mins Vermeulen heads to the Ref to thank him before he pops off for a well-earned rest and the immense Francois Louw make his entrance on the paddock 
Boks 32-3 Italy 65mins It's an Azzurri scrum and they kick away possession - the Boks kick it back and finally the Italians make a yard or three into Bok territory... 
Boks 32-3 Italy 66mins ...but it's quickly kicked back and the Boks have an attacking lineout on the 10m to launch the next assault 
Boks 37-3 Italy 67mins A neat little pop over the heads of the defence from Pollard to the corner and Mapimpi jogs over the whitewash at the corner and grounds the ball all but under the posts 
Boks 39-3 Italy 68mins Pollard pops over the conversion, and with the ferocity of the game so far, it feels like it should be over, not still 12 minutes to go; Carlo Canna comes on for Benvenuti
Boks 39-3 Italy 69mins Time off as Matteo Minozzi gets some medical attention, Steyn is back on, this time for Am, and then it's an Azzurri lineout on halfway 
Boks 39-3 Italy 71mins The Azzurri venture into the lair of the Boks momentarily, but the Bokke expend little effort in clearing them back out and over halfway, with an attacking lineout 
Boks 39-3 Italy 72mins But the Azzurri frustrate that attack almost on top of the tryline and a penalty comes for Allan to clear the Boks out of his 22 
Boks 39-3 Italy 73mins The Italians are quickly beaten again and the Boks are back in the midfield on the front foot and aren't done yet by the looks of it 
Boks 39-3 Italy 74mins A time off, likely much appreciated as it's been a long game, medics come on and chats are had before Jantjies feeds the uncontested scrum outside the Azzurri 22... 
Boks 44-3 Italy 75mins The Azzurri wrestle back possession and Minozzi offloads the ball back inside into space before he is bundled into touch, but Snyman is ready to pick and charge over the whitewash to score 
Boks 44-3 Italy 76mins This time, Pollard doesn't find the uprights though 
Boks 44-3 Italy 78mins The restart is repelled not with a kick but the Boks run it, Kolbe sprinting from his own half along touch with such speed...but doesn't offload and trips onto touch, spilling the ball on the ground forward 
Boks 44-3 Italy 79mins Kolbe has buggered his ankle and the medics have ice on it immediately; the ball finds touch from the Azzurri defensive uncontested scrum and the Boks have a final attacking lineout... 
Boks 44-3 Italy 80mins The gong rings out as the lineout turns into a maul, but it's not going far, the ball comes wide infield, and is kicked to the corner after le Roux isn't quite fast enough, and it goes dead too far 
Boks 44-3 Italy 80+1mins But we're not done yet as we play on, the Boks kicking to the corner for a 5m lineout - those players look exhausted... 
Boks 49-3 Italy 80+2mins ...the lineout morphs into a driving maul and is driven over the whitewash for one final hurrah - Marx securing the try 
Boks 49-3 Italy 80+3mins Pollard misses a third conversion, and there's a 'work on' if there ever was one, but it's fierce work from the Boks who were excellent, while Italy - oh. 

REVIEW

• South Africa have now won 14 of 15 meetings with Italy and make that fateful day in Florence in 2016 seem a distant memory. The Boks denied Italy their first passage to the RWC knock-out stages.

• Handré Pollard raised his career RWC points total to 115, overtaking Percy Montgomery's 111 for the Springboks record.

• Cheslin Kolbe scored his fourth and fifth tries of 2019, with four of those being scored in Japan - two at this World Cup and two against Japan two weeks before the competition began.

• The last three South Africa wingers to score multiple tries in a RWC match are Bryan Habana (2015), Makazole Mapimpi (2019) and Cheslin Kolbe (2019).

• Mbongeni Mbonambi scored his third try at RWC 2019. Only Argentina's Julian Montoya has scored more in this tournament (four). Makazole Mapimpi also registered his third in this tournament.

• Makazole Mapimpi joined Kotaro Matsushima (Japan) as international rugby's top try scorer of 2019. Both players have scored seven tries this year.

• By scoring 11 tries in his first 11 test appearances Makazole Mapimpi joined players such as Nehe Milner-Skudder and Jacob Stockdale as players in the professional era to score exactly 11 through 11.

• Mbonambi has now scored most RWC tries by a South Africa player playing at hooker. Bismarck du Plessis recorded two in his RWC career.

• Andrea Lovotti was sent off. That was the first red card shown to an Italy player in an RWC match.

• Players opposing South Africa have been shown four red cards in RWC matches, most for the opponents of any country.

• The last seven teams that had a player sent off in an RWC match all went on to lose.

15 Willie le Roux 14 Cheslin Kolbe 13 Lukhanyo Am 12 Damian de Allende 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Handré Pollard 9 Faf de Klerk 1 Tendai Mtawarira 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi 3 Frans Malherbe 4 Eben Etzebeth 5 Lood de Jager 6 SIYA KOLISI (C) 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 8 Duane Vermeulen BENCH: 16 Malcolm Marx 17 Steven Kitshoff 18 Vincent Koch 19 RG Snyman 20 Franco Mostert 21 Francois Louw 22 Herschel Jantjies 23 Frans Steyn

SCORERS  T: Kolbe (2), Mbonambi, Am, Mapimpi, Snyman, Marx C: Pollard (4) P: Pollard (2)

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

SCORERS P: Allan Lovotti

Man of the Match: Cheslin Kolbe

Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU) Asst. Referees: Romain Poite (FFR), Alexandre Ruiz (FFR) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

 

 

---

Oita Stadium - Saturday, 05 October 2018
KO: 14:15 HT: 19-3 Att: 33,781

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Wallabies v Uruguay Just 15 minutes before KO at #RWCOita and hopefully Aussie Head Coach is a little calmer today - he's been a bit fraught of late, and it looks like it's filtered down to the paddock
Wallabies v Uruguay In case you were wondering, you've not lost it - the Wallabies left-wing, Jordan Petaia hasn't bypassed you oddly; his making his international debut 🤔 He plays fullback for #Queensland Reds #AUSvURU #Rugby
Wallabies v Uruguay The teams are out in the greenhouse stadium, the Wallabies in a different Green & Gold today - the indigenous away strip which is rather glamorous, and Los Teros in their alternate white #AUSvURU #Rugby
Wallabies v Uruguay The anthems are done, and you can always guarantee a little grin to lighten the day when you see Nic White's magnificent moustache 😂 #AUSvURU #Rugby

Wallabies 0-0 Uruguay 1min The crowd is rocking and gagging for KO with Christian Leali'ifano who starts off proceedings for hopefully an exciting match
Wallabies 0-0 Uruguay 2mins Aussies have the first lineout and their soon at Los Teros' 22, but they deftly get turned over by the south Americans and are cleared back up the  midfield
Wallabies 0-0 Uruguay 3mins Uruguay lineout on the Aussie 10m puts them on the front foot already, but he setpiece doesn't go to plan, and the Aussies have the first scrum - with a 86kg pack advantage
Wallabies 5-0 Uruguay 5mins Aussies clear their lines and are soon into the 22, and only a couple of metres from the whitewash on the nearside, Tevita Kuridrani almost reaches, is shut down and the ball is flung wide for Dane Haylett-Petty to score
Wallabies 7-0 Uruguay 6mins Every official misses Adam rush into the ruck completely offside in the run up to that try, so Leali'ifano knocks over the conversion from out wide well
Wallabies 7-0 Uruguay 8mins Los Teros retaliate well and they charge directly into the Aussie 22, and this time the offside is caught for a penalty, Uruguay kicking to the corner for a 5m attacking lineout
Wallabies 7-0 Uruguay 10mins Los Teros catch and drive and come away with a scrum penalty, awfully close to the tryline and it's reset twice - Ref Raynal has a word with the front rows...
Wallabies 7-0 Uruguay 11mins It works for Los Teros, advantage is being played for Michael Hooper's high tackle Nicolas Freitas so the knock on is irrelevant, and Felipe Berchesi tees up
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 12mins And the Uruguayans are on the board too - this is good so far and no walk in the park
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 13mins Ah but penalties Australia! A second high tackle, this time from Coleman on Rodrigo Silva from the restart, and the Ref is unimpressed, goes to TMO and finds an angle where the neck is hit first-off to the naughty step!
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 14mins So Los Teros are with ball in hand, with a penalty, in the midfield, and primed to attack again...
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 16mins ...but the Wallabies fight back a little more cleanly and quickly force Los Teros back over halfway
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 17mins Los Teros lose their go forward after Agustin Ormaechea is pinged for not releasing and the Aussies kick to touch for an attacking lineout
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 18mins It's a clockwork setpiece and Hooper is brought down short of the line and he continues to roll over the whitewash; we're off to TMO Skeen as Ref Raynal suspects it's held up
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 18mins Now matter how much the Hussies are willing that try, there's no grounding to be found, so it's back for a 5m attacking scrum for Australia
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 19mins This isn't so easy, and the Uruguayans are making life very difficult for the 7-man Aussie pack, and the front rows lift and we've a time off to stem a touch of claret on Diego Arbelo's face
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 20mins The pack weights are far more balanced without Coleman, and that's suiting Los Teros who disrupt again; the officials are napping again while Juan Diego Ormaechea gets over the ball but scrum to Aussies regardless
Wallabies 7-3 Uruguay 21mins The Hussies again flail at the scrum and it's Los Teros who exit their 22, clearing their lines after the scrum is again entirely disrupted, and the Aussies have to start their attack again
Wallabies 12-3 Uruguay 23mins And they do, with some lovely hands from the  likes of Matt Toomua, Kuridrani and Kurtley Beale, the opportunity is created for debutant young Jordan Petaia
Wallabies 14-3 Uruguay 24mins It's a simple conversion for Leali'ifano while Ref Raynal has a word with captain Andres Vilaseca about his team at the ruck
Wallabies 14-3 Uruguay 26mins Los Teros are quite good at this restart thing, and they fly up to the Aussie 22, led by Freitas, and just as they approach, it's another penalty for Uruguay after Beale's high tackle on the attacker
Wallabies 14-3 Uruguay 27mins It's an attacking lineout for Los Teros and they execute it well, bolting into the Aussie 22 and the whistle's gone again - Hooper is called to task by Ref Raynal...
Wallabies 14-3 Uruguay 28mins ...and for a second consecutive high tackle, this one with a bit of a swinging arm, Coleman's only just back but Lukhan Salakaia-Loto is now off to the naughty step 🙄
Wallabies 14-3 Uruguay 29mins But Los Teros can't capitalise and they lose possession in the Aussie 22, the Australians able to clear their lines quickly
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 30mins Ah but when it clicks for Australia, it's quite a spectacle to watch, and after a rip from Hooper for turnover ball, Petaia creates the space with his break and Kuridrani finishes off the play with a great try
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 32mins There's no conversion this time, but the Aussies have fund their game, and are more in control and they attack into the Los Teros 22 again
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 34mins But Los Teros have other plans, driving the Aussies back and are pinged for hands in the ruck - Uruguay penalty to clear for an attacking lineout over halfway
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 35mins We can definitely deduce that Petaia has no nerves on his debut, and he is everywhere, bouncing around like Zebedee; the lineout is fine but Los Teros are turned over at the next breakdown
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 36mins The Aussies make a few yards but there's a time off for the medics to pop on to patch up and transfer messages before an Aussie scrum
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 38mins Cheika is busy despairing at churlish infringements and sloppy play from his side, but they do reach inside the 10m before Uruguay recapture the ball, albeit in their own territory
Wallabies 19-8 Uruguay 39mins That Los Teros side we saw that broke Fiji a couple of weeks ago has returned, and the Uruguayans pounce into Aussie territory, a lovely pass out to Tomas Inciarte and he sprints to score beautifully
Wallabies 19-8 Uruguay 40mins But prior to the conversion, after the gong has rung out, we're off to the TMO to see Manuel Diana come into the ruck from offside to get the ball away 🙈 No try.
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 40+1mins On the bright side, there was also a side entry seen for the Aussies, so the penalty is for Los Teros, who clear to touch for a 22 lineout...
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 40+1mins Uruguay secure lineout ball and breach the 22, are pushed back out and go wide through 7 phases but the ball is spilled to Hooper...
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 40+2mins The Aussies begin their attack, but Petaia also spills the ball so we're done for the first half.

Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay HT T: Haylett-Petty, Petaia, Kuridrani C: Leali’ifano (2) Coleman, Salakaia-Loto | P: Berchesi

Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay HT The Aussies may well be significantly ahead, and will win this match pretty easily, but if this was a Tier 1 team, we wouldn't be here 🙈 9 penalties, 4 high tackles, terrible discipline. Not impressive so far...

Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 40mins Adam Ashley-Cooper has appeared on the park, replacing young Petaia, and Taniela Tupou is on for Allan Alaalatoa as the Aussies quickly get on the attack...
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 41mins As the Aussies reach the Los Teros 22, giggles all round as White's pass out to Toomua smacks his forehead in bewildered fashion
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 43mins Los Teros despatch the Aussies back outside their 22, and have a defensive lineout, but it doesn't go to plan and the Aussies are back in already
Wallabies 19-3 Uruguay 44mins Tupou barrels toward the whitewash, escaping every attempt to slow him down, but he spills the ball forward before he reaches his destination
Wallabies 24-3 Uruguay 45mins Los Teros pump the Aussies back to their 10m, and the setpiece is textbook, a throw to the tail for White to fling out to Kuridrani who belts to the tryline to score in sublime fashion
Wallabies 26-3 Uruguay 46mins Leali'ifano tees up from out wide and he finds his mark to add the extras
Wallabies 26-3 Uruguay 48mins Jack Dempsey makes a delightful break and reaches the 22 before finally Los Teros can shut him down and the ball is recycled infield before a penalty is handed to the Aussies
Wallabies 26-3 Uruguay 49mins Before the scrum is set outside the Los Teros 22, in the centre of the pitch, Juan Pedro Rombys replaces Arbelo in the front row
Wallabies 26-3 Uruguay 50mins The Aussies back up to a full complement, and quite obviously much more engaged, the scrum is solid and they breach the Uruguay, recycling the ball efficiently before a penalty is finally handed to the opposition
Wallabies 26-3 Uruguay 51mins But before the Los Teros defensive scrum is set in their 22, Will Genia and David Pocock are on for White and Hooper, Santiago Arata for Agustin Ormaechea
Wallabies 31-3 Uruguay 52mins Oh but that was far too easy; Uruguay don't have the best scrum to clear the opposition away and Australia attack back quick and hard, Dempsey making the space for Genia to charge over the whitewash
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 53mins Leali'ifano is making these awkward conversion look rather easy - he is a talent at the tee
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 54mins Juan Gaminara replaces Juan Diego Ormaechea
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 55mins The restart from Los Teros does not hinder Australia for a minute, and they burst back into attack, Ashley-Cooper charging down the line to the 22 from his own half before he is halted
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 55mins Ignacio Dotti is on for Manuel Leindekar
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 56mins We have a brief time off as Manuel Ardao gets checked out before an Aussie lineout outside the Los Teros 22 which they win but don't get far...
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 58mins Uruguay have a defensive scrum on their 22 and it's not easy when the opposition pack is so huge - hard to navigate that path...
Wallabies 33-3 Uruguay 59mins ...and the Aussies simply launch another lightning assault, a lineout on the 22 and it's Kuridrani over the line to score, but he's held up
Wallabies 38-3 Uruguay 61mins Back for an attacking scrum in the 22, the Aussies pull that off deftly enough for James Slipper to finally, after all these years, secure a test try on his 94th cap
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 62mins Leali'ifano adds his 5th conversion of the night, and this is so much much better from the Wallabies
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 62mins In the meantime, Sekope Kepu and Jordan Uelese have replaced Slipper and Folau Fainga'a while Agustin Della Corte has come on for Andres Vilaseca
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 63mins Uruguay earn a scrum for an Aussie knock on from the restart, and of course it needs  a reset
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 64mins Also, Felipe Etcheverry and replaces Silva, while the Australians are back in attack again
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 65mins The ball comes wide and into touch for an Aussie lineout in the midfield, but goes long and the Aussies are pinged for not rolling away - Los Teros clear to the Aussie 22 for an attacking lineout
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 66mins But the lineout doesn't work for Los Teros and the Aussies have a defensive scrum and run the ball out of their 22, Ashley-Cooper the carrier and Toomua kicks the ball to the nearside touch over halfway
Wallabies 40-3 Uruguay 67mins It's a defensive lineout on the Los Teros 10m which goes long and is not straight so the Green & Gold take full advantage and assault the 22...
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 68mins The Aussies charge over the 22 for their latest assault, hurl the ball back outside and it's quickly recycled to come back out to Haylett-Petty who runs in a brace
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 69mins Back up to the TMO to check Pocock wasn't offside a that final breakdown - he wasn't - so the try stands, but the kick isn't so kind for Leali'ifano
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 69mins Guillermo Pujadas replaces German Kessler
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 70mins Uruguay haven't given up yet, and they make a few yards from the restart and decide this might be their opportunity...
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 71mins ...the ball goes loose just inside Aussie territory, but is regathered and a penalty comes to set up a lineout in the 22... Meanwhile, Joaquin Jaunsolo is on for Juan Echeverria
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 72mins The catch and drive in the first attempt is halted millimetre short of the tryline so Los Teros have to recycle and step back a few yards but are still firmly in possession...
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 73mins Ten phases in and a third visit to the whitewash, Los Teros get over the line but the ball is held up - 5m attacking scrum to come
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 74mins Water boys run on for the Aussies with messages from the coaching box before the scrum is set, and reset...
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 75mins From closer to the centre, Los Teros are pushed sideways but retain the ball and fight in excellent fashion to keep green & gold hands off that ball...
Wallabies 45-3 Uruguay 77mins ...14 phases in, the tryline in tasting distance, the Aussies offside and advantage being played as the assault keeps coming...
Wallabies 45-8 Uruguay 77mins ...18 phases have come and gone as Los Teros shuffle further in toward the uprights in their attack on top of the Aussie whitewash, and finally the try comes for Diana after excellent persistence
Wallabies 45-10 Uruguay 78mins Berchesi adds the extras, and for a team that's not played a Tier 1 team since the last World Cup in England, this is a good effort from Los Teros
Wallabies 45-10 Uruguay 79mins Los Teros take in the restart ball and clear their lines to halfway for an Aussie lineout
Wallabies 45-10 Uruguay 80mins The lineout is a no brainer and slowly and steadily the Aussies work their way to Los Teros' 10m before Pocock knocks the ball on into touch, and that's the match

REVIEW

• Uruguay are eliminated and are the second side to drop out of the race. At the last World Cup, England started with a win against Fiji, yet were finished after three matches. Today's result also eliminated Georgia from contention in Pool D.

• Jordan Petaia (19 years and 204 days old) became the second youngest try scorer in RWC history. Only George North scored RWC tries at a younger age (two different matches at RWC 2011). North was 19 years and 165 days old on the day he scored his first RWC try (26 September, 2011).

• The only other teenager to score RWC tries for Australia was Joe Roff, at 19, in two different matches at RWC 1995.

• Petaia became the fifth Wallabies player to make his test debut in an RWC match and score at least one try, following Joe Roff, Scott Staniforth, John Roe and Berrick Barnes.

• Petaia became the first player born after 1 January, 2000, to score an RWC try.

• James Slipper made his 94th test appearance and he scored his first test try. Coming into the tournament, none of the 620 players at RWC 2019 had made as many appearances as Slipper without ever scoring a test try.

• For the second time in his test career, Dane Haylett-Petty scored a pair. He also achieved it against Argentina in The Rugby Championship on 6 October, 2018.

• Haylett-Petty has scored five tries in his last five test appearances, including against Wales at RWC 2019.

• Adam Ashley-Cooper came off the bench to make his 19th RWC appearance. That leaves him just one shy of George Gregan's Australia record.

• The last three matches in which Tevita Kuridrani scored, he recorded at least a pair of tries (2-3-2).

• Kuridrani has now scored five tries in two matches on Japanese soil. He scored a hat-trick against Japan on 4 November 2017, when the Wallabies won 63-30.

• It has taken Will Genia 15 RWC appearances to register his first try in the tournament.

• Uruguay scored their second RWC try against Tier 1 opposition. Los Teros crossed once – through Pablo Lemoine - in a 111-13 defeat by England at RWC 2003.

• Manuel Diana joined Pablo Lemoine as the only Los Teros players to record multiple tries at a single World Cup. Lemoine achieved that in 2003. Diana also scored against Fiji at RWC 2019.

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

SCORERS T: Haylett-Petty (2), Petaia, Kuridrani (2), Genia, Slipper C: Leali’ifano (5) Coleman, Salakaia-Loto

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

SCORERS T: Diana C:  Berchesi P: Berchesi

Man of he Match: Tevita Kuridrani

Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR) Asst. Referees: Jérôme Garcès (FFR), Karl Dickson (RFU) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)

 

 

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Tokyo Stadium - Saturday, 05 October 2018
KO: 17:00 HT: 15-3 Att: 48,185

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

England vs Pumas The teams are making their way to the field ready for the anthems at #RWCTokyo, England in their red away kit
England vs Pumas A remarkable atmosphere in the stadium where 50,000 have gathered, the Pumas and their supporters appear pumped and are definitely in fine voice!
England vs Pumas As are the English…as they aim to claim their place in the Quarter Finals

England 0-0 Pumas 1m Benjamin Urdapilleta gets things under way with Youngs’ clearing kick offering the Pumas the opportunity to attack from the kick-off
England 0-0 Pumas 2m They build up the phases, but are driven backwards by the strong England defence, and are pinged for off-side
England 0-0 Pumas 3m England secure the line-out but lose the ball forward and Argentina launch an attack through Matías Moroni who runs a great line, but Jonny May is back for England, however he carries the ball over and we have a scrum V
England 0-0 Pumas 4m The Pumas drive from the scrum, but it collapses and then re-set. Javier Ortega Desio charges forward and England are pinged for off-side. They continue the attack but Elliot Daly is there to put in a try-saving tackle
England 0-3 Pumas 5m Urdapilleta opts for the posts and the Pumas settle for the three point early lead
England 5-3 Pumas England launch an attack from the re-start with May racing down the touchline. From the line-out the men in red drive powerfully towards the line before offloading to May who dots down for the first try
England 5-3 Pumas 10m Owen Farrell steps up for the conversion but it unable to add the extras as his kick sails to the left of the posts
England 5-3 Pumas 11m From the re-start the ball is lost in contact and the Pumas are awarded the put-in at the scrum just on the England 22. Argentina are pinged for not hooking cleanly, England take it quickly and suddenly we have handbags drawn!
England 5-3 Pumas 12m Ref Owens warns both captains about their teams’ discipline. Farrell kicks for touch, but the Pumas steal the line-out before losing the ball forward and England are back in possession
England 5-3 Pumas 13m Handling errors creep in for both teams and England have an attacking scrum just outside the Pumas’ 22
England 5-3 Pumas 14m England continue their attack but again the ball is lost forward, however the Pumas kick downfield and England continue driving forward up to the halfway line
England 5-3 Pumas 15m A huge hit from Tomas Lavanini fails to halt Farrell, but despite initially continuing with the play, Ref Owens goes to the TMO…could this be red?
England 5-3 Pumas 17m Ref Owens confirms it is and Lavanini become the fifth player to be sent off during this tournament
England 5-3 Pumas 18m The Pumas now face playing over an hour a man short. Despite the knock, Farrell opts to attempt the penalty kick to further increase England’s lead
England 5-3 Pumas 18m He has the distance, but again the ball sails to the left of the posts and the Pumas re-start from the 22
England 5-3 Pumas 19m Manu Tuilagi is pinged for a tackle in mid-air on Emiliano Boffelli…a penalty will suffice on this occasion
England 5-3 Pumas 21m The Pumas secure the line-out just inside the England half and box kick downfield, an aerial battle ensues and we’re back on halfway with an England throw in
England 5-3 Pumas 22m They kick down-field and we have another line-out that is secured by the Pumas, but a forward pass in midfield halts their attack and it’s an England scrum
England 5-3 Pumas 24m The scrum is re-set and this time England secure the ball, they kick down-field, but Boffelli boots a huge kick into the England half. England secure the line-out and the tactical kicking game continues
England 5-3 Pumas 26m Joe Marler is pinged for being off his feet and Argentina kick for touch just inside the England half, they set up an attack and again opt to kick. England call for the mark and clear the ball to touch
England 5-3 Pumas 27m The Pumas launch an attack but Santiago Carreras is beaten by the touch line as he chases the kick. England secure the line-out and spread the ball wide as they inch forward
England 5-3 Pumas 29m England continue their attack with Billy Vunipola charging towards the Pumas defence but the ball is lost forward and the Argentinians clear to touch
England 5-3 Pumas 30m England launch a drive but it’s halted by the Pumas’ defence so Ben Youngs opts to put in the box kick, and despite being very laboured, Argentina are back in attack
England 5-3 Pumas 32m Again, the ball is lost forward. The Pumas are pinged at the scrum for not driving straight and have an attacking line-out in the Argentine half
England 5-3 Pumas 33m The England backs combine well to build up the phases but are just short of crossing the whitewash, but the forwards drive on and are inches away…Ref Owens plays advantage
England 10-3 Pumas 35m They spread the ball wide and a superb juggling act from fullback Daly sees him just manage to control the ball before racing over for England’s second try. Again, Faz is wide with his attempt to add the extras
England 10-3 Pumas 37m From the re-start Argentina secure the line-out but their discipline again lets them down as they’re pinged for an illegal tackle. A superb kick from Farrell offers England the chance to drive off the subsequent line-out
England 10-3 Pumas 40m The England attack continues as they reach 5 metres out having combined to reach 12 phases of play. The forwards continue the pick and drive but the Pumas’ defence holds firm
England 15-3 Pumas 40m+1 It becomes obvious that the Pumas are tiring as England continue driving forward before Youngs, England’s most capped back snipes through and dives over for England’s third try
England 15-3 Pumas 40m+3 Up steps Faz to attempt to secure his first points off the boot of the half, but like his previous three attempts, the ball sails wide

England 15-3 Pumas HT T: May, Daly, Youngs I P: Urdapilleta RC Tomas Lavanini

England 15-3 Pumas HT Despite their man advantage and a healthy lead, England haven’t really stepped up a gear yet, though fatigue is likely to creep in on the Pumas’ side and you’d expect the floodgates to open

England 15-3 Pumas 41m Lewis Ludlam replaces Vunipola at the start of the second half as Farrell gets things back underway
England 15-3 Pumas 42m The Pumas continue to frustrate England at the breakdown and secure a penalty for their efforts, they kick for a line-out just inside the England half
England 15-3 Pumas 43m A strong drive from Underhill on Ortega Desio forces the error and England have the put-in at the scrum, they spread the ball wide but it’s a possible deliberate knock-on from the Pumas
England 15-3 Pumas Ref Owens decides the scrum will suffice and England have the put-in mid-way between the halfway and the Argentine 22. Off they scrum they launch an attack through George Ford, Daly and May
England 20-3 Pumas 44m England are making ground through the forwards, drawing in the defenders before Ford splits the Pumas’ defence and dives over for the bonus point try
England 22-3 Pumas 46m Faz finally adds the extras as Youngs leaves the pitch to be replaced by Willi Heinz
England 22-3 Pumas 48m Maro Itoje rips the ball following the re-start and the ball is kicked deep in the Argentine 22, the Pumas secure the defensive line-out and kick. The Pumas replace their front row with Agustin Creevy, Mayco Vivas, Santiago Medrano and Matías Alemanno on for Julian Montoya, Juan Figallo, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro and Ortega Desio
England 22-3 Pumas 50m England are certainly in control of things now, with Ford ensuring the game is being played in the Argentine half. The Pumas secure the line-out and kick down-field but the England attack is relentless
England 22-3 Pumas 51m Medrano is pinged for off-side right on the Pumas’ 22 and Farrell opts for the posts
England 25-3 Pumas 53m It’s an easy kick, right in front of the posts, and Faz slots it over with ease
England 25-3 Pumas 54m Tomas Lezana is on for Guido Petti for the Pumas and Courtney Lawes replaces George Kruis for England
England 25-3 Pumas 55m Argentina lose the ball forward from the re-start and England have the put-in. Bautista Delguy replaces Matías Orlando in the Centre
England 25-3 Pumas 56m The Pumas finally have possession and string together a couple of phases before the ball is kicked back to England. Heinz puts in the box kick and Argentina launch another attack and another poor kick from Urdapilleta gives England the line-out
England 25-3 Pumas 58m Felipe Ezcurra comes on for an injured Tomas Cubelli who is helped, limping off the pitch
England 25-3 Pumas 59m England initially drive off the line-out before spreading across the backs, they reach half-way but England are pinged for going in off their feet
England 25-3 Pumas 61m Urdapilleta is replaced by Lucas Mensa as the Pumas secure the line-out and attack with a kick over the top, but it’s gathered by Ford before the Argentinians steal possession back
England 25-3 Pumas 62m Kyle Sinckler is replaced by Dan Cole for England and Mako Vunipola comes on for a limping Marler as the Pumas secure the line-out
England 25-3 Pumas 63m Again, the ball is lost forward and England have the put-in at the scrum. The scrum is re-set and the Pumas are awarded a penalty, but Boffelli misses the kick for the corner. Jamie George is replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie
England 25-3 Pumas 65m Boffelli is tackled by Lawes as he attempts to clear, we go to the TMO…Ref Owens decides a penalty will suffice and the fullback has the opportunity to make amends
England 25-3 Pumas 66m Lawes steals at the line-out but the Pumas get the ball back and launch an attack before we embark on a period of scrappy rugby around the half-way
England 25-3 Pumas 68m Henry Slade replaces Ford for England and Jack Nowell is on for Anthony Watson
England 25-3 Pumas 70m England opt to put in the high kick through Heinz, it’s gathered by the Pumas who drive towards the England 22 but face a wall of red
England 25-8Pumas 71m The Pumas finally get their first try after stringing together a series of passes Moroni finds a gap in the England defence and goes over under the posts despite the efforts of Tuilagi to stop him
England 25-10 Pumas 73m Boffelli adds the extras. Buoyed by their efforts, the Pumas launch another attack but the ball is lost forward
England 25-10 Pumas 74m A huge hit on Pablo Matera from Tuilagi causes the Pumas’ captain to lose the ball in contact and England have the scrum
England 30-10 Pumas 75m A beautiful pass from Farrell sees Nowell win the foot race against Boffelli to dive over to score the try in the corner
England 32-10 Pumas 76m Farrell adds the extras with a little help from the posts as England looks to have stamped their place in the Quarter Finals
England 32-10 Pumas 78m Despite a Puma interception, the ball had already been lost forward and England are awarded the scrum. They secure a penalty and Tuilagi gains the hard yards.
England 39-10 Pumas 80m England set up the driving maul and Cowan-Dickie is over for a last gasp try! Farrell kicks the final conversion to seal the win

REVIEW

• England become the first team at RWC 2019 to clinch a quarter-final berth. At RWC 2015, England were eliminated after their third match.

• Agustin Creevy came on for his 88th test appearance, overtaking Felipe Contepomi's 87 for Los Pumas’ record.

• Since the start of 2018, Jonny May has scored 15 test tries, more than any other player in test rugby (New Zealand winger Rieko Ioane is on 13).

• May's only previous RWC try came in the 28-25 defeat by Wales at RWC 2015.

• Tomas Lavanini was sent off for the second time in his test career. On 26 August, 2017, he was dismissed against South Africa.

• Lavanini has now been shown five yellow cards and two reds, the most cards by any player in Los Pumas history.

• This was only the second red card for an Argentina player in an RWC match. Pedro Sporleder was dismissed against Western Samoa at RWC 1991.

• There have been five red cards at RWC 2019. This is a record for a single World Cup. There were four at both RWC 1995 and RWC 1999.

• Ben Youngs also scored a try against Argentina at RWC 2011. Two of his three test tries at the World Cup have now come against Los Pumas.

• Youngs and Cole each made their 92nd test appearance for England, overtaking Jonny Wilkinson on 91. Only Jason Leonard (114) and Dylan Hartley (97) have made more for England.

• Jack Nowell featured in his second Rugby World Cup match. He scored three tries in his first in 2015 and now one in his second against Argentina.

• George Ford scored. This was only the second time in an RWC match that No.9 and No.10 jerseys both scored for England. On 2 October, 1999, Matt Dawson (No.9) and Jonny Wilkinson (No.10) scored against Italy in a 67-7 triumph.

• Luke Cowan-Dickie has scored a try in all three of England's matches at RWC 2019. Cowan-Dickie is the first player to score a try in three matches at RWC 2019. He is also the first England player to score in his first three matches of an RWC campaign since RWC 2011 (Chris Ashton).

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

SCORERS T: May, Daly, Youngs, Ford, Nowell, Cowan-Dickie C: Farrell (3)

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 Javier Ortega Desio BENCH: 16 Agustín Creevy 17 Mayco Vivas 18 Santiago Medrano 19 Matías Alemanno 20 Tomas  Lezana 21 Felipe Ezcurra 22 Lucas Mensa 23 Bautista Delguy

SCORERS T: Moroni C: Boffelli P: Urdapilleta Lavanini

Man of the Match: Sam Underhill

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU) Asst. Referees: Ben O'Keeffe (NZRU), Andrew Brace (IRFU) TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

 

 

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City of Toyota Stadium - Saturday, 05 October 2018
KO: 19:30 HT: 16-9 Att: 39,695

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

Japan vs Samoa Japan and Samoa have met 15 times previously, Samoa winning 11 of those encounters. However, in recent times, in Tokyo in 2014 and at RWC 2015. Japan's other wins against Samoa came in 1999 and 2010.
Japan vs Samoa Japan beat them 26-5 at RWC 2015, their biggest win over Samoa. The last time Samoa beat Japan was in Tokyo in 2012. The match finished 27-26, with Japan scoring more tries (4) than Samoa (3)

Japan 0-0 Samoa 1m The hosts get things underway here in #RWCCityofToyota and secure a penalty and the chance for an early lead
Japan 3-0 Samoa 2m Up steps Yu Tamura who slots over the kick to put the hosts ahead
Japan 3-0 Samoa 3m Japan keep possession from the re-start and are awarded with a scrum, using it as a platform to launch an attack with Lomano Lemeki racing towards the try line, but he’s brought down
Japan 3-0 Samoa 4m They secure the line-out and drive towards the try-line, but Samoa are pinged for off-side – despite their field position, they opt for the points
Japan 6-0 Samoa 6m Up steps Tamura again who doubles his tally to extend Japan’s lead
Japan 6-3 Samoa 8m From the re-start, Japan again launch an attack but are pinged for not releasing. Henry Taefu steps up to attempt the penalty and his kick sails through the posts
Japan 6-3 Samoa 10m With play deep in the Samoan 22, Japan lose the ball forward offering Samoa a defensive scrum. The power of the Samoan forwards is too much for the Japanese who are pinged
Japan 6-3 Samoa 12m Samoa secure the line-out and launch an attack, picking and driving before Taefu attempts a drop goal, but it’s wide
Japan 6-3 Samoa 14m It was a shot to nothing though and he was offered a second bite of the cherry as Ref Peyper was playing advantage
Japan 6-6 Samoa 15m He strikes it well and it sails straight through the middle of the posts to draw the game level
Japan 6-6 Samoa 16m A break from the talismanic Kotaro Matsushima breaks open the Samoan defence but he’s brought down eventually. Samoa re-gain possession from the line-out and keep the ball tight before kicking downfield
Japan 6-6 Samoa Japan take the ball quickly but another penalty at the breakdown offer the men in blue the opportunity to kick for territory. They secure the line-out and set up a driving maul
Japan 6-6 Samoa 19m The hosts can do nothing to stop the drive but the ball is lost
Japan 6-6 Samoa 21m From the line-out Japan drive but it’s all very lateral until Samoa are pinged for being off their feet
Japan 9-6 Samoa 23m They opt for the posts once more with Tamura maintaining his 100% record as he puts Japan in the lead once more
Japan 9-6 Samoa 24m Samoa steal the ball from the re-start but Japan regain and attempt the counter-attack but play is stopped for suspected foul play….we go to TMO Hughes
Japan 9-6 Samoa 24m The tackle is deemed to be high and TJ Ioane is shown a yellow card. Tamura kicks for touch, but despite claiming the line-out kick possession away to Samoa
Japan 9-6 Samoa 25m The men in blue drive forward before embarking on an aerial battle and the Samoans continue their attack, but the hosts secure turnover ball
Japan 14-6 Samoa 27m What a run from Matsushima who recycles the ball well across the pitch before Samoan born Timothy Lafaele dives over for the first try
Japan 16-6 Samoa 29m Tamura is again on target as he adds the extras to extend the hosts’ lead
Japan 16-6 Samoa 32m Japan take the ball quickly but are pinged for being off their feet. Taefu steps up to attempt the long-range effort, but he’s wide
Japan 16-6 Samoa 33m Play is stopped as we go to the TMO for suspected foul play, but it’s a clumsy charge down more than dangerous and Taefu will have another attempt at the sticks
Japan 16-9 Samoa 34m This time he’s on target and Samoa are back within a score of the Japanese
Japan 16-9 Samoa 35m From the re-start Le’aupepe attacks before off-loading to Ed Fidow but Kane Le’aupepe is then pinged for coming in from the side. Ioane returns to the pitch
Japan 16-9 Samoa 37m Japan secure possession at the line-out and set up the drive but the ball is lost forward and Samoa have the put-in in a scrum inside their own half
Japan 16-9 Samoa 38m The scrum is re-set before being released to the Samoan backs, they kick but find Yamanaka who kicks back downfield but it’s out on the full
Japan 16-9 Samoa 39m Samoan again secure the line-out but the ball is lost in the breakdown and on the stroke of half time Tim Nanai-Williams is sent for a HIA assessment. He’s replaced by Keiron Fonotia
Japan 16-9 Samoa 40m From the scrum, Japan launch an attack but lose the ball forward and the first half comes to an end

Japan 16-9 Samoa HT T: Lafaele C: Tamura P: Tamura (3) I P: Taefu (3) YC Ioane

Japan 16-9 Samoa 41m Shota Horie replaces Sakate as hooker for Japan whilst Fonotia will remain on the pitch for Samoa
Japan 16-9 Samoa 43m Play continues with possession swapping between both teams. Yutaka Nagare puts in the box kick that offers the chance to attack but the hosts are pinged and Taefu has the chance to narrow Japan’s lead
Japan 16-12 Samoa 44m It’s straight through the posts once more as he adds another three points to his personal tally
Japan 16-12 Samoa 45m Samoa drive off the line-out but are pinged for obstruction offering Tamura the chance to open up a seven-point gap once more. But his attempt is wide
Japan 16-12 Samoa 48m Samoa again attack as before Dwayne Polataivao puts in the box kick and Japan counter, but Samoa are pinged at the breakdown and Tamura has another penalty attempt
Japan 19-12 Samoa 51m This time he makes no mistake. Japan make a double change at prop with Isileli Nakajima and Asaeli Ai Valu coming on for Keita Inagaki and Jiwon Koo
Japan 19-12 Samoa 52m The Japanese backs look dangerous with ball in hand are rewarded with an attacking line-out in the Samoan 22
Japan 19-12 Samoa 53m Tusi Pisi replaces Ah See Tuala
Japan 26-12 Samoa 54m There’s nothing the Samoans can do as the hosts drive towards and then over the try line with Kazuki Himeno claiming the score. Tamura adds the extras to give Japan a commanding lead
Japan 26-12 Samoa 56m But Samoa fight back straight from the re-start as they pick and drive their way towards the try line. They continue through the phases as advantage is played before opting for the scrum
Japan 26-12 Samoa 57m Meanwhile, Kenki Fukuoka has come on for Ryohei Yamanaka, and Ray Niuia, Paul Alo-Emile and Senio Toleafoa replace Seilala Lam, Michael Alaalatoa and Piula Fa'asalele
Japan 26-12 Samoa 58m Japan stand firm and despite Jack Lam picking up, he is tackled by Michael Leitch and Samoa are pinged so Tamura is able to clear to touch
Japan 26-12 Samoa 60m The hosts secure the line-out but the Samoan defence halt the attack, they kick downfield but Samoa have the throw-in inside the Japanese half
Japan 26-12 Samoa 62m Samoa set up a rolling maul but Leitch secures the turn-over. Nagare is replaced by Fumiaki Tanaka at scrumhalf
Japan 26-12 Samoa 63m Leitch is replaced by Hendrik Tui for Japan. Samoa again attempt to attack but are bundled into touch. Japan secure the line-out but possession is again passing from one team to the other and the hosts have the line-out
Japan 26-12 Samoa 65m The hosts secure the ball and pick and drive into the Samoan half, before Labuschagne breaks but he has no support
Japan 26-12 Samoa 66m James Lay and Pete Cowley replace brother Jordan Lay and Polataivao
Japan 26-12 Samoa 67m Again Samoa secure turnover ball, but kick to touch. Japan spread the ball wide from the line-out before the forwards take control. The ball is kicked downfield but Ed Fidow gathers
Japan 26-12 Samoa 68m Uwe Helu has replaced Wimpie van der Walt
Japan 26-12 Samoa 69m The men in blue continue their attack, with Fonotia chasing his kick for Samoa’s first try, but he can’t get hands to it first and we go back for the penalty
Japan 26-12 Samoa 70m Rikiya Matsuda replaces Ryoto Nakamura while Josh Tyrell is on for Ioane, and that is the last of the replacements from both contenders
Japan 26-12 Samoa 71m The line-out is secured and the drive set up and again we’re playing advantage as Japan are pinged for jumping across. Pisi puts in a cross-field kick but we go back for the penalty and another kick to the corner
Japan 26-19 Samoa 72m They secure the line-out and recycle the ball well, it’s driven forward before being off-loaded to Taefu who dives over for Samoa’s first try. He adds the extras to increase his personal tally against the Japanese
Japan 31-19 Samoa 75m The hosts secure the turnover from the re-start and launch an attack. They recycle well and it’s replacement Fukuoka who crosses for the try. Tamura is wide with the conversion, but Japan obviously have a bonus point in their sights
Japan 31-19 Samoa 77m They attack again from the re-start and Samoa are pinged, Tamura kicks for the corner as Lemeki is named man of the match
Japan 31-19 Samoa 79m The line-out is secured and a 14-man drive rumble towards the Samoan try-line, but somehow, Fonotia secures the turnover
Japan 31-19 Samoa 80m With the gong echoing through the stadium, Samoa opt for the scrum…
Japan 31-19 Samoa 80m + 2 But it doesn’t go to plan for the Samoans as the Brave Blossoms are awarded a free kick, they opt for the scrum and powerfully drive and secure a penalty
Japan 36-19 Samoa 80m + 4 The scrum resets and the ball is spread to the wing where Matsushima dives over for Japan’s bonus point score
Japan 38-19 Samoa 80m + 6 It’s job done for the Japanese before facing Scotland in their final pool match. The game comes to an end with Tamura’s kick coming off the posts to add the extras

REVIEW

• Samoa cannot advance to the quarter-finals. They are the fourth country to be eliminated after Russia, Georgia and Uruguay.

• Japan are the first Tier 2 team to win their first three matches in a Rugby World Cup campaign.

• Kotaro Matsushima equalled the tournament's top try scorer Julian Montoya on four.

• His eight tries in test matches in 2019 are the most for a player in this calendar year.

• Yu Tamura is now on 40 points in this tournament. He is the player to register most points at RWC 2019. Only in 1987, did the hosts deliver the top scorer: Grant Fox for New Zealand (126 points).

• Timothy Lafaele became the first player born in Samoa to score a World Cup try against Samoa.

• There were eight penalty goals in this match, the most for a single match in this RWC. The previous tournament high was five.

• Henry Taefu scored all off Samoa's points in this match (19). Before today he had only scored three points in his test career. The record for a Samoa player in a single Rugby World Cup match is 23 by Silao Leaega against Japan in 1999.

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

SCORERS T: Lafaele, Himeno, Fukuoka, Matsushima C: Tamura (3) P: Tamura (4)

15 Tim Nanai-Williams 14 Ah See Tuala 13 Alapati Leiua 12 Henry Taefu 11 Ed Fidow 10 Ulupano Seuteni 9 Dwayne Polataivao 1 Jordan Lay 2 Seilala Lam 3 Michael Alaalatoa 4 Piula Fa'asalele 5 Kane Le'aupepe 6 Chris Vui 7 TJ Ioane 8 JACK LAM (C) BENCH: 16 Ray Niuia 17 Paul Alo-Emile 18 James Lay 19 Senio Toleafoa 20 Josh Tyrell 21 Pele Cowley 22 Tusi Pisi 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Taefu C: Taefu P: Taefu (4) Ioane

Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU) Asst. Referees: Angus Gardner (ARU), Federico Anselmi (UAR) TMO: Graham Hughes (RFU)

 

 

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Tokyo Stadium - Sunday, 06 October 2018
KO: 13:45 HT: 24-9 Att: 48,354

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

 

NZ v Namibia So is this the biggest David & Goliath match up in World Rugby? It's minutes from KO at #RWCTokyo...Anthems done & the haka pending
NZ 0-0 Namibia 1min The crowd gets the enormity of this for Namibia, and are right behind the minnows as we KO in Tokyo...
NZ 0-0 Namibia 1min And it's Namibia on the front foot, forcing their way into ABs territory, and coming away with the first penalty despite the ABs jackalling with as much ferocity as they would against the  Wallabies
NZ 0-3 Namibia 2mins Damian Stevens tees up from out wide, outside the 22, and it's Namibia who open the scoring, and will be momentarily joyous at being ahead of the ABs on the board!
NZ 0-3 Namibia 4mins Adriaan Booysen comes on as a blood replacement for Thomasau Forbes and he's straight into a scrum against the mighty All Blacks
NZ 0-3 Namibia 5mins Unsurprising the ABs win the scrum, and they kick to touch for a 10m attacking lineout...
NZ 5-3 Namibia 6mins ...and the perfect execution allows Sevu Reece to pelt over the whitewash to score the first of many many tries
NZ 5-3 Namibia 6mins However, it's Jordie Barrett who misses the first conversion. And no, that's not a typo - Jordie 🙊
NZ 5-3 Namibia 7mins Forbes is back, claret halted and all cleaned up
NZ 5-3 Namibia 8mins The retaliation from Namibia is to bolster up defence, and not allow the ABs to get directly back in the dangerzone immediately
NZ 5-3 Namibia 10mins So the ABs are forced to go all traditional, slowly and steadily phase building toward the 22, but it's not an easy run...
NZ 5-3 Namibia 11mins 11 phases are strung together before the go forward is halted, and the game is reset..
NZ 5-3 Namibia 12mins ...and instead of the ABs threatening the Namibia tryline, it's the ABs on the back foot as the minnows charge deep into ABs territory, captain Johan Deysel making a significant break...
NZ 5-3 Namibia 14mins The assault is eventually halted, and play resumes back over halfway in Namibia territory, the ABs firmly back in control
NZ 5-3 Namibia 15mins It's Namibia's scrum it has to be reset but then the ABs shove so proficiently to bulldoze all over Namibia's setpiece just inside Namibia's half, and they clear to touch
NZ 5-3 Namibia 16mins Time off briefly before a Namibia defensive lineout and they win it, despite every effort from the freshly returned All Black Brodie Retallick
NZ 5-3 Namibia 17mins Johan Retief replaces PJ van Lill while the ABs win their scrum, and Retallick is pleased his face hasn't been smacked by Stevens' clearance kick following Namibia's lineout ball secured on halfway 😂
NZ 5-3 Namibia 18mins ABs secure an attacking lineout outside the Namibia 22 and it's collected sharply at the end of the line, but Torsten George van Jaarsveld disrupts at the breakdown and steals the ball for a halfway Namibia lineout again
NZ 5-3 Namibia 19mins From a Namibia lineout on halfway, they secure it momentarily before the ABs are all over that ball; Namibia wrestle the ball back and clear the ABs away again…
NZ 10-3 Namibia 20mins Not immediately straightforward, but from the midfield breakdown, the ABs burst from halfway, Namibia defence all over the other side, and they throw the ball wide for Anton Lienert-Brown to charge in try No.#2
NZ 10-3 Namibia 22mins But Jordie B hooks the conversion ball wide of the uprights
NZ 10-3 Namibia 24mins It's not the fastest paced match, and the ABs have not switched up that gear (or three!) just yet, and it's not a bad old contest so far...
NZ 10-6 Namibia 25mins ...and Sam Cane is pinged for not releasing, so Stevens punishes them with another 3-pointer
NZ 10-6 Namibia 27mins An AB ball goes loose in the midfield, and suddenly Namibia burst out from the melee and Lesley Klim charges down the line, for Ben Smith to desperately jostle the ball into touch
NZ 10-6 Namibia 29mins It's Namibia's lineout on the ABs 22, they secure it and go wide, making some ground, the ABs defend but not well enough and they are pinged in contact for Stevens to tee up again 🙊
NZ 10-9 Namibia 30mins And he's done it! The deficit is at one teensie weensie point against the All Blacks - who'd have believed it
NZ 10-9 Namibia 30mins Then play is halted for TMO Kitt to pull up replays on Nepo Laulala who's swinging arm tackle on falling Klim is properly dangerous, and he's lucky to be sent to the naughty step and not off for the rest of the match
NZ 10-9 Namibia 31mins The ABs have to make some changes to compensate, and Angus Ta'avao & Patrick Tuipulotu replace Cane & Retallick
NZ 10-9 Namibia 32mins ABs win their attacking scrum just inside the Namibian half, but Stevens steal the ball  and sprints over halfway to the ABs 22
NZ 10-9 Namibia 34mins The ball is dislodged for a hit on Forbes and soon play is back over halfway with the ABs in possession again
NZ 10-9 Namibia 35mins The ABs have woken up again, and begin their assault into Namibian territory, and there's no magic so far, as again it's a slow crawl through the quite impressive defence
NZ 15-9 Namibia 35mins Advantage is being played for multiple offsides, and they eventually find a way through the Namibians, a bit like swimming through treacle, and it's newly arrived Ta'avao who finds the whitewash under the posts
NZ 17-9 Namibia 36mins He'd be hard-pressed to miss from there, and this time Barrett does splice the uprights to convert
NZ 17-9 Namibia 37mins We brace for and ABs attacking scrum from the restart, on the advantageous side of the pitch for the champions...
NZ 17-9 Namibia 38mins ...which is won despite good pressure from the Namibians, but the ball is promptly kicked into touch for a Namibia defensive lineout
NZ 17-9 Namibia 40mins The lineout is won and Namibia steadily move play away from their 22, heading up toward halfway before the ball goes loose for Ardie Savea to steal and make a couple of yards before recycling, as the gong rings out...
NZ 17-9 Namibia 40+1 mins van Jaarsveld is pinged for knocking for an ABs scrum just inside the Namibian 22 and they drive it ahead, pop it out and advantage is being played again...
NZ 17-9 Namibia 40+2 mins ABs opt for another scrum in the same position in front of the posts but closer to the 22, and they attack toward the whitewash, while Sam Cane replaces Laulala after his naughty step stint is done
NZ 17-9 Namibia 40+3 mins Another penalty from Namibia and Ref Gaüzère has a word with the Namibia captain who has a word with his team before a 5m attacking scrum for the ABs
NZ 22-9 Namibia 40+4 mins This scrum is perfect, the ball is out quickly and comes wide for a textbook ABs try from Ben Smith
NZ 24-9 Namibia 40+5 mins Barrett adds the extras again this time, and the ABs are a little more comfortably ahead going into the break, despite an impressive and immense effort from Namibia ranked 23 in the world, against the leaders

NZ 24-9 Namibia HT T: Reece, Lienert-Brown, Ta’avao, Ben Smith C: Barrett (2) YC Laulala | P: Stevens (3)

NZ 24-9 Namibia 40mins After an unexpected performance in the first half, can Namibia continue to frustrate and slow down the ABs assault for another 40 minutes? Or will they arrive and knock on immediately for an ABs scrum🤔
NZ 29-9 Namibia 41mins And it's textbook again for the ABs, Aaron Smith providing quick ball for the forwards to barrel through and Joe Moody to score without too much resistance
NZ 31-9 Namibia 42mins Barrett adds the extras, and Johannes Coetzee has replaced AJ de Klerk
NZ 31-9 Namibia 44mins The restart has the ABs fight out of their half, running the ball and saving themselves from yet another turnover at the breakdown
NZ 31-9 Namibia 44mins Namibian territory is invaded but they do get turned by Klim back on halfway and they reach the ABs 10m
NZ 36-9 Namibia 46mins Namibia make some inroads, but it doesn't last, and the ABs burst out of their half, dispersing across the park and excellent hands and miss tackles allow Lienert-Brown to fly over for a brace
NZ 38-9 Namibia 47mins Barrett adds the extras and the ABs have most definitely switched up a gear already

NZ 38-9 Namibia 49mins The ABs attack toward the 22 again and Smith chips overhead but it bounces for Namibia for Deysel to break out and Justin Newman carries it toward the midfield, but has no support and he is pinged for holding on
NZ 38-9 Namibia 50mins ABs clear for an attacking lineout while Dane Coles and Brad Weber replace Codie Taylor and Aaron Smith, and Janry du Toit replaces JC Greyling off with an injured knee
NZ 38-9 Namibia 51mins Did I mention the ABs have switched it up 🤔 It's an easy run in for Reece to secure his brace
NZ 45-9 Namibia 52mins Barrett has found his kicking boot and adds the conversion
NZ 45-9 Namibia 54mins Ofa Tu'ungafasi replaces Moody while the ABs stretch their try-scoring legs again and look for their next assault opportunity. Namibian lineout ball is nicked as it goes long and the Abs drive forward from halfway, quickly into the 22 and they are forced to recycle multiple times but are under the posts and...
NZ 50-9 Namibia 55mins ...the score comes from Sam Whitelock this time on the post. It's getting a bit too easy...
NZ 52-9 Namibia 57mins It's another conversion from Barrett, while Deysel is off for an HIA, replaced by Darryl de la Harpe
NZ 52-9 Namibia 59mins We're back in the midfield for and ABs scrum, just inside Namibia's half, but it takes a while to set...
NZ 52-9 Namibia 60mins It gets underway, the ball is out and goes wide to far touch...and then flies into touch instead of into the hands of George Bridge
NZ 52-9 Namibia 61mins Meanwhile, Matt Todd and Rieko Ioane replace Savea and Jack Goodhue; Forbes is off injured and is replaced by Booysen again
NZ 52-9 Namibia 63mins The Namibians have regained their composure since being persistently hammered this half so far, and the crowd get right behind them as they attack into ABs territory and make significant yardage...
NZ 52-9 Namibia 64mins ...and they impressively go 14 phases up to the ABs 22 before the ABs refocus and steal the ball at the breakdown deftly, shoving the Namibians away
NZ 52-9 Namibia 65mins The Namibians are forced back over halfway, and another penalty comes for an All Black scrum to be set...
NZ 52-9 Namibia 66mins ...but before it is, TJ Perenara replaces Reece, while Obert Nortje and Eugene Jantjies replace van Jaarsveld and Stevens
NZ 57-9 Namibia 67mins The scrum, as expected, is solid and the ball comes wide toward nearside touch, and is flung back out to the farside, going through a number of proficient hands for Ben Smith to secure his brace
NZ 59-9 Namibia 69mins And it's a delightful conversion from Barrett, who has recovered well from his early wobble
NZ 59-9 Namibia 71mins The Namibians are solidly back on the attack again, and go 16 phases before the whistle has to halt play, to check for some possible foul play at the breakdown
NZ 59-9 Namibia 72mins TMO pulls up the replays of Tu'ungafasi hitting de la Harpe in the neck in the tackle almost on the floor, giving him mitigating circumstances with the Namibian going to ground, for only a yellow card instead of red
NZ 59-9 Namibia 74mins Namibia hope to take advantage, and play with abandon going wide, making yards having the advantage of a man up for a second time in the match, the ball reaching the 22...
NZ 64-9 Namibia 75mins ...but Perenara collects and kicks to  touch for a Namibia defensive scrum back over halfway. But it doesn't go to plan and the ball is knocked to ABs hands and Barrett reaches for a score of his own
NZ 66-9 Namibia 76mins Barrett converts his own try while Nelius Theron replaces Andre Rademeyer
NZ 71-9 Namibia 78mins From his own half from restart, Perenara sprints over halfway, the ball flies out through a few hands before it comes back to him and he flies - really flies over in the corner for a most magnificent try...or is it 🤔
NZ 71-9 Namibia 78mins That is utterly ridiculous! He flies up in the air, keeps his feet alive and off the touchline, and as his body falls over the wrong side of the white lines, he bangs down the try in the corner. What a try 🙊

 

NZ 71-9 Namibia 79mins Undeniably the best try of the tournament after the TMO confirms it's in. Genius. And that's why the All Blacks are the World Champions twice already. But Barrett misses the conversion from touch 👀
NZ 71-9 Namibia 80mins The gong gongs deafeningly as the Namibians restart for the final time, the All Blacks run it out of their 22, up to halfway, and it's knocked on for Ref Gaüzère to blow the final whistle
NZ 71-9 Namibia FT Yes of course the ABs were most excellent, and 11 tries is superb, but Namibia were really quite something against the best in the world. They put up one hell of a fight and can walk away proud
NZ 71-9 Namibia FT And insanely, though the All Blacks top their Pool B table, they are not automatically through to the quarter finals with Boks & Italy on 10 points each as top seeds just yet 🙊 (But they will 😜)

REVIEW

• Namibia cannot advance to the quarter-finals. They are the fifth country to be eliminated from RWC 2019 after Russia, Georgia, Uruguay and Samoa.

• New Zealand have now won all of their 17 RWC encounters with Tier 2 opponents.

• Captain Sam Whitelock has won his last 17 RWC matches, meaning he now holds the all-time record for consecutive wins at the tournament, surpassing fellow All Black Keven Mealamu’s mark of 16.

• Jordie Barrett (21 points) has now scored the most points in a single match at the 2019 RWC, bettering teammate Richie Mo'unga's 16 points against Canada.

• Jordie Barrett is now joint second in the list of leading points scorers at RWC 2019 with 26 for the tournament to date, equal with Mo'unga. They trail Japan's Yu Tamura (40 points).

• Ben Smith's pair means he joins Jonah Lomu in joint sixth in the All Blacks' all-time list of try scorers, on 37 career test tries.

 

15 Ben Smith 14 Sevu Reece 13 Jack Goodhue 12 Anton Lienert-Brown 11 George Bridge 10 Jordie Barrett 9 Aaron Smith 1 Joe Moody 2 Codie Taylor 3 Nepo Laulala 4 Brodie Retallick 5 SAMUEL WHITELOCK (C) 6 Shannon Frizell 7 Sam Cane 8 Ardie Savea BENCH: 16 Dane Coles 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18 Angus Ta'avao 19 Patrick Tuipulotu 20 Matt Todd 21 Brad Weber 22 TJ Perenara 23 Rieko Ioane

SCORERS T: Reece (2), Lienert-Brown (2), Ta’avao, Ben Smith (2), Moody, Whitelock, Barrett, Perenara C: Barrett (8) Laulala, Tu'ungafasi

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

SCORERS P: Stevens (3)

Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR) Asst. Referees: Luke Pearce (RFU), Shuhei Kubo (JRFU) TMO: Rowan Kitt (RFU)

 

 

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Kumamoto Stadium - Sunday, 06 October 2018
KO: 16:45 HT: 17-7 Att: 28,477

HOW IT HAPPENED MINUTE BY MINUTE…

France v Tonga There's 20 minutes till KO at #RWCKumamoto. But THE battle of Pool C is not until next week when Les Bleus take on England Rugby who have already qualified for the quarter finals with a full 15 points
France v Tonga Regardless, France won't be taking this lightly, Brunel has made 11 changes to his last team that beat USA 33-9, holding them tryless
France v Tonga The anthems are done, and the Sipi Tau is to come...and boy is it full on!
France v Tonga The Tongans have nothing to lose. They can play with wild abandon. And who knows which France has turned up 🤔 This game, from the outset, is anyone's... 🇫🇷🏉🇹🇴
France 0-0 Tonga 1min Tonga kick off and have the first lineout, in defence and clear their lines well for a French lineout closer to halfway
France 0-0 Tonga 2mins The French lineout is long but secured, and they head into the Tonga 22, and a penalty comes for Les Bleus in front of the posts
France 3-0 Tonga 3mins It's Romain Ntamack at the tee for France today, and he opens their account well
France 3-0 Tonga 4mins Tonga win their 10m lineout in French territory from the restart, and they make a couple of yards before Maxime Médard clears the Tongans back up toward halfway
France 8-0 Tonga 5mins Tongan lineout goes long, and it's THAT France that have arrived - the crazy, wild, no holds barred France and they play is sublime for Alivereti Raka to break from the penultimate offload and Virimi Vakatawa runs it in
France 10-0 Tonga 6mins French flair rocks! Ntamack converts.

France 10-0 Tonga 8mins If Les Bleus don't take their foot off the pedal, this could be a routing 🙈 Everything is falling their way so far and they are on the attack again already...
France 10-0 Tonga 9mins The French build the phases before a high ball flies to Damian Penaud and he catches but lets it fall as he lands painfully on his hip
France 10-0 Tonga 11mins The penalty goes to Tonga on their 22, and the scrum is set, it's unsettled, and has to be rest before they clear their lines
France 10-0 Tonga 12mins The kick is too long it's for France to clear back from their 22, which they do but it comes straight back...
France 10-0 Tonga 13mins ...Tonga have their hands on the ball and they get a little ahead before France steal the ball back and they're off...
France 10-0 Tonga 14mins ..attacking to the Tonga 22, Sofiane Guitoune making a dynamic break but Sam Lousi hurtles into the breakdown, leading with his shoulder and smashing it into French ribs. But it's just a penalty 🙊 Should've been yellow.
France 10-0 Tonga 15mins This time, however, Ntamack blows the kick at the uprights and the score remains
France 10-0 Tonga 17mins From the restart, the ball finds touch for a Tonga defensive lineout just inside their own half, won cleanly...
France 10-0 Tonga 18mins France wrestle back possession at the breakdown, but Tonga quickly have it back and they make serious yards into French territory
France 10-0 Tonga 20mins 9 phases in and Tonga are on the French 22, but the ball is painfully slow and the ball is taking an age to appear, France eventually stealing it as it's spilled and Raka charges off with it
France 10-0 Tonga 21mins The ball flies to touch for a defensive Tongan lineout back in their own half and they catch drive to their 10m before clearing over halfway
France 10-0 Tonga 22mins Tonga arrive quickly and turnover the ball at the breakdown and go 6 phases before Ntamack is pinged for a deliberate knock on
France 10-0 Tonga 23mins Tonga clear to touch for an attacking lineout, but they knock on and France are able to escape their 22 and make a few yards...
France 10-0 Tonga 24mins Back at the 10m, France knock on for a Tongan scrum, well won but aerial football both way leads to a Médard kick off the side of his boot going awry and into touch
France 10-0 Tonga 25mins Tonga's lineout is a mess and the ball goes long for France to attack, and they do well before play is halted...
France 10-0 Tonga 26mins The ball is long gone when Lousi again launches, this time into Gregory Alldritt, with his shoulder, arm arriving the next day, and the No8 is injured
France 10-0 Tonga 27mins Don't know what the officials are playing at - same player - second shoulder charge - only a penalty. Bad reffing - and inconsistent with the rest of the RWC. Play resumes.
France 10-0 Tonga 28mins Sublime break from Raka of c.60m after the knock on in the Tongan 22 is kicked back to the French 22, but he spills once back in the opposition 22
France 10-0 Tonga 29mins Understandably, the French are mad as hell at Tongans getting away with so much, and handbags threaten. Ref Berry has little control over this game & he has words with the captains - can't see anything changing though
France 15-0 Tonga 31mins Tonga will keep trying it on if they're not penalised seriously; Tonga scrum has to be reset and with Tonga on their knees, Baptiste Serin hurls the ball out to Raka and he charges to score unhindered
France 17-0 Tonga 32mins There are no issues with the conversion this time as Ntamack pops the ball through the uprights
France 17-0 Tonga 34mins Tonga restart and win the battle of the ball, Penaud almost steals it in defence but a penalty is coming for a French knock on
France 17-0 Tonga 36mins There is a lot of chat in this match - from Reef Berry who is commenting like he's in the pub with his mates having a bit of banter. Eventually, a Tongan scrum is set...
France 17-0 Tonga 37mins Tonga clear their lines for an attacking lineout on the 22, and this time they secure the ball
France 17-0 Tonga 38mins The Tongans battle their way forward closer to the French whitewash and 9 phases in they are under but not through the posts, the ball appearing painfully slowly...
France 17-0 Tonga 39mins 11 phases in and it looks like Tonga may have scored through Sonatane Takulua - Ref Berry thinks it's short, as does his assistant ref so he goes to TMO
France 17-7 Tonga 40mins The ball is lost, but not until after Takulua has grounded the ball - it's a try! And the gong rings out as he tees up and converts his try before the HT whistle

France 17-7 Tonga HT T: Vakatawa, Raka C: Ntamack (2) P: Ntamack | T: Takulua C: Takulua

France 17-7 Tonga HT Well, thoroughly unimpressed with that refereeing. Lousi should have missed at half the first 40 minutes with those shoulder-charging cheap shots. Cannot believe the officials let those go. Poor discipline from Tonga 🙄

France 17-7 Tonga 40mins A driving maul goes far from the French 22 to halfway despite Leva Fifita attempting to drag Sébastien Vahaamahina out of it by his neck right under the nose of Ref Berry 🙄
France 17-7 Tonga 41mins Siosiua Halanukonuka has replaced Ma'afu Fia in the front row
France 17-7 Tonga 42mins It's a Tongan scrum from which they win the free kick, pumping the ball over halfway for an attacking lineout on the French 22
France 17-7 Tonga 43mins The lineout is well won and the Tongans drive to the whitewash but are halted short, Les Bleus turning them over
France 17-7 Tonga 44mins The French clear well for an attacking lineout over halfway, and they have a plan here...
France 22-7 Tonga 45mins ...the throw coming back to Chat, and Vahaamahina bolts away, offloading to Charles Ollivon who charges over the whitewash to score. But...
France 17-7 Tonga 45mins ...Ref Berry goes to TMO Kitt and the ball is called forward to Ollivon - no try
France 17-12 Tonga 46mins Tongan penalty and they clear to touch for an attacking French lineout, efficiently won but the ball goes loose and Cooper Vuna makes a sparkling break, a chip ahead bounces into the hands of Malietoa Hingano to score
France 17-14 Tonga 48mins Takulua adds the extras and suddenly it's game on in Kumamoto, the French having lost their way and playing with little shape or structure now
France 17-14 Tonga 50mins From the restart, Penaud is attack, is tackled quite obviously by Maama Vaipulu in mid-air, and despite a replay of it, the officials ignore it completely
France 20-14 Tonga 51mins However, the Tongans are pinged for crossing, running into  their own men and Ntamack tees up and adds three points
France 20-14 Tonga 52mins Jefferson Poirot, Rabah Slimani and Vahaamahina are replaced by Cyril Baille, Emerick Setiano and Bernard le Roux
France 20-14 Tonga 53mins Antoine Dupont has replaced Serin at scrum half
France 20-14 Tonga 54mins France win their 22 lineout and drive to the whitewash, but are turned over just previous to scoring
France 20-14 Tonga 56mins Takulua clears and it's another attacking lineout in the 22 for Les Bleus as the ball does not go far - that is one but the Tongans turnover at the breakdown
France 20-14 Tonga 57mins Sosefo Sakalia has replaced Paula Ngauamo while the Tongans attempt to stay on top of this French side in their own 22, to hold them out from scoring
France 23-14 Tonga 59mins Eventually the infringing from Tonga is punished by another penalty from Ntamack in front of the posts
France 23-14 Tonga 59mins Leon Fukofuka has replaced Takulua
France 23-14 Tonga 60mins Squad captain Guilhem Guirado comes on for Chat, while a Tongan is down injured, and before play can be resumed, Fifita is forced off for an HIA by Ref Berry after the Matchday doc insists; Daniel Faleafa is on
France 23-14 Tonga 61mins Time is off after the restart, Yacouba Camara on for Alldritt and Nasi Manu for Vaipulu
France 23-14 Tonga 62mins As play resumes, France are on the front foot while Ngauamo returns for Sakalia so it was likely a blood replacement
France 23-14 Tonga 63mins But the Tongans have other ideas and steal possession, though they struggle to exit their half and are forced to clear over halfway...
France 23-14 Tonga 64mins ...but it comes directly back, and the ball is in the goal area at Telusa Veainu's feet for an age as he gives his team a breather before touching the ball down
France 23-14 Tonga 64mins Vunipola Fifita replaces Siegfried Fisi'ihoi in the front row
France 23-14 Tonga 65mins The ball is cleared back to the French 22, and from a midfield ruck, Dupont deftly gets the ball wide to Raka who charges down the line, chips ahead, it bounces for him and he is just short of the corner flag...
France 23-14 Tonga 66mins ...but Manu wrestles the ball away legally and the Tongans can clear the French out and back
France 23-14 Tonga 66mins Camille Lopez and Pierre-Louis Barassi replace Ntamack and Vakatawa | Latiume Fosita and Atieli Pakalani are on for James Faiva and David Halaifonua
France 28-14 Tonga 67mins However, Dupont hurls the ball out to Penaud who bolts toward the 22, straight through it and grounds the ball behind the line for another try
France 23-14 Tonga 68mins But again, the officials collude to delete another French try - and they do, Médard having knocked on half an hour ago(!) for a Tongan scrum way back from their 22
France 23-14 Tonga 69mins It's then discovered that even earlier, there was a Tongan knock on so the scrum is now from Les Bleus, on the Tongan 10m
France 23-14 Tonga 69mins The scrum is well won the ball is promptly knocked on toward the Tongan 22 - Tonga scrum coming
France 23-14 Tonga 70mins Before the scrum, Fifita returns from his HIA clear and the setpiece is won by Tonga and they run the ball away, but a foot in touch gives France a halfway lineout
France 23-14 Tonga 72mins Faleafa returns to the park quickly, this time for Lousi as the French win their lineout and fiercely attack the Tongan 22 again, the ball finding the tryline aerially...
France 23-14 Tonga 73mins ...the French almost on it in the chase, but Tonga get on it first and clear well. France are forced to make that ground again but more aerial football means the ball is not in hand so they can't actually attack
France 23-14 Tonga 75mins Tonga force Les Bleus back, and the ball is knocked on by Dupont in attack - Tongan defensive scrum on their 22 and they battle up to halfway efficiently
France 23-14 Tonga 76mins France are pinged for not moving away and Tonga clear for a 22 attacking lineout, hoping to score something more before the game is done
France 23-14 Tonga 77mins Tonga win this setpiece too and charge to the far side of the posts and make some serious inroads closer to the French whitewash...
France 23-19 Tonga 78mins Les Bleus are finding it hard to hold the Tongans out, and the Islanders recycle quickly, hurtling the ball inside for Zane Kapeli to catch the crosskick and fly over the whitewash to score
France 23-21 Tonga 79mins There's the shadow of a knock on in the breakdown, but the TMO decides not to show Ref Skeen and allows the try so Fosita converts to bring it with 2 points
France 23-21 Tonga 80mins The gong rings out after the restart, France reclaim the ball from Penaud to Camara back to Penaud and he thumps it into touch for the narrow win

REVIEW

 

• France qualify for the quarter-finals. They join England in this pool as teams that progress.

• France are the only team from the northern hemisphere to have finished in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in each year it was held.

• Tonga, USA and Argentina are eliminated. Argentina are eliminated in the pool phase for the first time since 2003. They reached the quarter-finals in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

• Romain Ntamack is on 23 RWC points in total. Father Émile scored 30 points in World Cup matches (all tries).

• Ntamack scored a personal-high 13 points against Tonga.

• Pierre-Louis Barassi became the eighth player to make his test debut for France in a World Cup match. The previous seven include Jean-Marc Doussain, who made his debut for Les Bleus in the RWC 2011 final.

• Sione Kalamafoni and Siale Piutau played their 11th Rugby World Cup match, equalling the Tonga record (shared by Soane Tonga'uiha and Vunga Lilo).

 

15 Maxime Médard 14 Damian Penaud 13 Virimi Vakatawa 12 Sofiane Guitoune 11 Alivereti Raka 10 Romain Ntamack 9 Baptiste Serin 1 JEFFERSON POIROT (C) 2 Camille Chat 3 Rabah Slimani 4 Paul Gabrillagues 5 Sébastien Vahaamahina 6 Wenceslas Lauret 7 Charles Ollivon 8 Gregory Alldritt BENCH: 16 Guilhem Guirado 17 Cyril Baille 18 Emerick Setiano 19 Bernard le Roux 20 Yacouba Camara 21 Antoine Dupont 22 Camille Lopez 23 Pierre-Louis Barassi

SCORERS  T: Vakatawa, Raka C: Ntamack (2) P: Ntamack (3)

15 Telusa Veainu 14 Cooper Vuna 13 Malietoa Hingano 12 SIALE PIUTAU (C) 11 David Halaifonua 10 James Faiva 9 Sonatane Takulua 1 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi 2 Paula Ngauamo 3 Ma'afu Fia 4 Sam Lousi 5 Leva Fifita 6 Sione Kalamafoni 7 Zane Kapeli 8 Maama Vaipulu BENCH: 16 Sosefo Sakalia 17 Vunipola Fifita 18 Siua Halanukonuka 19 Daniel Faleafa 20 Nasi Manu 21 Leon Fukofuka 22 Latiume Fosita 23 Atieli Pakalani

SCORERS T: Takulua, Hingano, Kapeli C: Takulua (2), Fosita

Man of the Match:  Alivereti Raka

Referee: Nic Berry (ARU) Asst. Referees: Paul Williams (NZRU), Matthew Carley (RFU) TMO: Ben Skeen (NZRU)

 

 

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