Tonga have got their Rugby World Cup campaign back on track with a 35-21 victory over Namibia at Sandy Park Stadium. Ikale Tahi scored five tries in Exeter to put their shock defeat to Georgia in their opening Pool C fixture behind them and claim the extra bonus point that could improve their final position.
After a cagey start Tonga were first on the scoreboard in the seventh minute, Telusa Veainu seeing off two Namibian challenges before crossing the try line, with Vunga Lilo making a successful conversion. Five minutes later they extended their lead through Jack Ram, who collected the ball from the scrum before taking off on a long run down the wing that saw him breeze past three attempted tackles before scoring the try.
Johan Tromp responded with a try for Namibia, who took full advantage of a mistake by their opponents to reduce the lead. However, Tonga scored their third try of the contest soon after, as Latiume Fosita scrambled the ball over the line after Joe Tu'ineau had been denied by a number of challenges a few yards short.
Tonga led 22-7 at the break and quickly set about extending it early in the second half, with Ram going over again after a long, mazy run by Veainu had opened up the space. Namibia's Jacques Burger bundled the ball over for a try follwing sustained pressure on the Tongan backline, but Tonga moved further ahead within seven minutes as Veainu picked up his second try, collecting the ball from Ram on the overlap before crossing the line.
Lilo, however, missed the posts with the conversion. Burger then reduced the arrears in the 67th minute as he scored his second try of the contest. Namibia opted to go for an attacking line-out from a penalty instead of kicking for goal, and they were rewarded as Burger crossed the line following a successful drive.
Bjorn Kotze added the conversion to move the Welwitschias within 11 points of their opponents. However, they could not make the most of their momentum, as Tinus du Plessis gave away a penalty after coming in at the side. Kurt Morath, taking over kicking duties from Lilo, converted for the three points and became Tonga's all-time leading points scorer in the process.
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Sunday, 27 September 2015
RWC 2015 Sunday 27th September
Australia 65-3 Uruguay
Australia moved to the top of Pool A as they ran in 11 tries in a mammoth 65-3 win over Uruguay in their second Rugby World Cup match this afternoon.
It took them just seven minutes to take lead, as the power of their forwards pushed Uruguay back before Sean McMahon escaped with the ball to score a simple try.
Almost immediately from kickoff Joseph Tomane grabbed Australia's second try, with Quade Cooper kicking the extras.
Cooper was then sent to the sin bin in the 15th minute and Felipe Berchesi took advantage of his misdirection to kick three points for Uruguay.
However, Australia then began to assert their dominance, with Dean Mumm scoring a simple try before Henry Speight made sure of the bonus point with a try of his own.
In the 36th minute, Ben McCalman scored under the posts and Cooper kicked an easy conversion to give Australia a comfortable half-time lead.
Drew Mitchell then ran in two tries in quick succession to to make it 41-3, but Cooper missed both conversions.
McCalman registered his second try of the afternoon in the 61st minute before McMahon got his second after more powerful forward play.
Matt Toomua notched another try with a few minutes remaining and Tevita Kuridrani put the icing on the cake with the final play of the game.
Cooper kicked the extras, but question marks will circle his performance after the fly-half was sin-binned and missed five of his 11 conversions.
Scotland 39-16 USA
Scotland produced a rousing second-half comeback to secure a bonus-point victory over the USA in this afternoon's Rugby World Cup Pool B match in Leeds.
The Scottish fans far outnumbered those cheering on the Americans inside Elland Road, but it was a first half to forget for Vern Cotter's side.
Scotland led 6-3 after 15 minutes thanks to penalties from Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell after AJ MacGinty had kicked the States ahead, but that was as good as it got for the dark blues in the opening period.
Hogg missed his second attempt from range and then USA scored the only try of the first half after 20 minutes when prop Titi Lamositele powered over the line. MacGinty's conversion was skewed, but it went through in off the post to put the Eagles back in front.
Scotland should have gone over themselves five minutes later, but Hogg, after surging into USA territory, dragged his pass to Tim Visser down to knee height, making it difficult for the winger to collect and score.
Russell was next to miss a penalty for Scotland, but MacGinty remained nerveless and split the posts with the final kick of the half to give USA a half-time lead over a tier 1 side for the first time in their history.
Cotter made a pair of changes in the pack at half time, but it was out wide where they had instant success at the start of the second half as Visser was found by Hogg to score his first World Cup try. Russell missed the conversion to leave USA two points in front.
Scotland retook the lead five minutes later with another try as this time the other winger, Sean Maitland, saw a gap and surged through to touch down under the posts.
Russell added the extras but the States soon stopped the rot as MacGinty made it four from four to cut the lead to two.
Mike Tolkin's side appeared to have lost their defensive resolve from the first half and Scotland had a third try in 14 minutes when substitute WP Nel squeezed the ball over the line against the upright. Captain Greig Laidlaw had come on at scrum-half and took on kicking duties to put the Scots 25-16 in front.
The bonus-point try was scored with 15 minutes left on the clock when substitute Matt Scott darted through a tired USA defence to put the game out of reach.
Laidlaw kicked the extras to give Scotland double the points of their opponents and it looked like that would be the last of the scoring until another replacement, Duncan Weir, went over for a fifth Scottish second-half try in the penultimate minute.
Scotland go top of Pool B with a maximum 10 points out of 10 from their first two matches ahead of next Saturday's showdown with South Africa in Newcastle.
Ireland 44-10 Romania
Ireland have continued their impressive start to the World Cup by claiming a comfortable 44-10 victory over Pool D rivals Romania at Wembley.
Despite some quiet spells, Ireland were dominant throughout on the way to clinching the win and extra point in front of 89,267 people as Wembley once again held a record crowd for a World Cup game.
It was evident from the early drives that Ireland would be threatening with a quick tempo, and Romania found it difficult to land any blows in the battle for territory as Joe Schmidt watched his side remain stubborn in defence.
Ian Madigan scored a penalty either side of Valentin Calafeteanu's successful effort from close to the touchline with Romania offering signs that they could be difficult to break down, but it looked like the army of Ireland fans had been treated to a special moment just prior to their fly-half making it 6-3.
The first try of the afternoon appeared to arrive when Simon Zebo raced through to collect his own low kick before completing a brilliant piece of play by sliding in, but a replay proved that the full-back had a foot out of play while retrieving the ball moments earlier.
It was the wingers who did deliver the opening try as Keith Earls claimed a high ball off the kick before Ireland moved it quickly to release Tommy Bowe, whose slide in the opposite corner was confirmed as the TMO delighted those in green in the stands.
After playing such a key role in unlocking the Romanian line, Earls then registered a try of his own as Zebo took three players out of the game with a fine pass to allow his teammate to cross the line with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Ireland struggled to keep up the same intensity heading into the interval, but they needed just four second-half minutes to extend their advantage as Eoin Reddan's decision to split two the opposition with a kick along the floor allowed Earls to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Irish record of seven World Cup tries.
Another flat spell followed, despite Ireland's dominance, and their attacking fluency did not return until Csaba Gal was sent to the sin-bin for impeding Reddan, and the inside-centre was forced to watch his teammates collapse from the sidelines in a frantic spell.
Replacement Paddy Jackson moved the ball quickly enough to give Bowe an easy passage, and he offered another reminder of his qualities to Schmidt by delivering the bonus point which ensured Ireland moved ahead of France in Pool D.
There was still time for more as Ireland used the man advantage well to score a second try in the space of three minutes with another of Schmidt's replacements making an impact as Rob Kearney combined with Zebo before crossing over.
Madigan was unable to add the conversion, but it was a rare moment of disappointment for Ireland as they became just the second side after Scotland to claim maximum points from their opening two fixtures.
A tiring Romania were no match for their opponents in the closing stages as another converted try arrived when Chris Henry completed an impressive driving maul, and not even a late consolation try from Ovidiu Tonita could halt the celebrations as Ireland eased to the win.
Australia moved to the top of Pool A as they ran in 11 tries in a mammoth 65-3 win over Uruguay in their second Rugby World Cup match this afternoon.
It took them just seven minutes to take lead, as the power of their forwards pushed Uruguay back before Sean McMahon escaped with the ball to score a simple try.
Almost immediately from kickoff Joseph Tomane grabbed Australia's second try, with Quade Cooper kicking the extras.
Cooper was then sent to the sin bin in the 15th minute and Felipe Berchesi took advantage of his misdirection to kick three points for Uruguay.
However, Australia then began to assert their dominance, with Dean Mumm scoring a simple try before Henry Speight made sure of the bonus point with a try of his own.
In the 36th minute, Ben McCalman scored under the posts and Cooper kicked an easy conversion to give Australia a comfortable half-time lead.
Drew Mitchell then ran in two tries in quick succession to to make it 41-3, but Cooper missed both conversions.
McCalman registered his second try of the afternoon in the 61st minute before McMahon got his second after more powerful forward play.
Matt Toomua notched another try with a few minutes remaining and Tevita Kuridrani put the icing on the cake with the final play of the game.
Cooper kicked the extras, but question marks will circle his performance after the fly-half was sin-binned and missed five of his 11 conversions.
Scotland 39-16 USA
Scotland produced a rousing second-half comeback to secure a bonus-point victory over the USA in this afternoon's Rugby World Cup Pool B match in Leeds.
The Scottish fans far outnumbered those cheering on the Americans inside Elland Road, but it was a first half to forget for Vern Cotter's side.
Scotland led 6-3 after 15 minutes thanks to penalties from Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell after AJ MacGinty had kicked the States ahead, but that was as good as it got for the dark blues in the opening period.
Hogg missed his second attempt from range and then USA scored the only try of the first half after 20 minutes when prop Titi Lamositele powered over the line. MacGinty's conversion was skewed, but it went through in off the post to put the Eagles back in front.
Scotland should have gone over themselves five minutes later, but Hogg, after surging into USA territory, dragged his pass to Tim Visser down to knee height, making it difficult for the winger to collect and score.
Russell was next to miss a penalty for Scotland, but MacGinty remained nerveless and split the posts with the final kick of the half to give USA a half-time lead over a tier 1 side for the first time in their history.
Cotter made a pair of changes in the pack at half time, but it was out wide where they had instant success at the start of the second half as Visser was found by Hogg to score his first World Cup try. Russell missed the conversion to leave USA two points in front.
Scotland retook the lead five minutes later with another try as this time the other winger, Sean Maitland, saw a gap and surged through to touch down under the posts.
Russell added the extras but the States soon stopped the rot as MacGinty made it four from four to cut the lead to two.
Mike Tolkin's side appeared to have lost their defensive resolve from the first half and Scotland had a third try in 14 minutes when substitute WP Nel squeezed the ball over the line against the upright. Captain Greig Laidlaw had come on at scrum-half and took on kicking duties to put the Scots 25-16 in front.
The bonus-point try was scored with 15 minutes left on the clock when substitute Matt Scott darted through a tired USA defence to put the game out of reach.
Laidlaw kicked the extras to give Scotland double the points of their opponents and it looked like that would be the last of the scoring until another replacement, Duncan Weir, went over for a fifth Scottish second-half try in the penultimate minute.
Scotland go top of Pool B with a maximum 10 points out of 10 from their first two matches ahead of next Saturday's showdown with South Africa in Newcastle.
Ireland 44-10 Romania
Ireland have continued their impressive start to the World Cup by claiming a comfortable 44-10 victory over Pool D rivals Romania at Wembley.
Despite some quiet spells, Ireland were dominant throughout on the way to clinching the win and extra point in front of 89,267 people as Wembley once again held a record crowd for a World Cup game.
It was evident from the early drives that Ireland would be threatening with a quick tempo, and Romania found it difficult to land any blows in the battle for territory as Joe Schmidt watched his side remain stubborn in defence.
Ian Madigan scored a penalty either side of Valentin Calafeteanu's successful effort from close to the touchline with Romania offering signs that they could be difficult to break down, but it looked like the army of Ireland fans had been treated to a special moment just prior to their fly-half making it 6-3.
The first try of the afternoon appeared to arrive when Simon Zebo raced through to collect his own low kick before completing a brilliant piece of play by sliding in, but a replay proved that the full-back had a foot out of play while retrieving the ball moments earlier.
It was the wingers who did deliver the opening try as Keith Earls claimed a high ball off the kick before Ireland moved it quickly to release Tommy Bowe, whose slide in the opposite corner was confirmed as the TMO delighted those in green in the stands.
After playing such a key role in unlocking the Romanian line, Earls then registered a try of his own as Zebo took three players out of the game with a fine pass to allow his teammate to cross the line with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Ireland struggled to keep up the same intensity heading into the interval, but they needed just four second-half minutes to extend their advantage as Eoin Reddan's decision to split two the opposition with a kick along the floor allowed Earls to equal Brian O'Driscoll's Irish record of seven World Cup tries.
Another flat spell followed, despite Ireland's dominance, and their attacking fluency did not return until Csaba Gal was sent to the sin-bin for impeding Reddan, and the inside-centre was forced to watch his teammates collapse from the sidelines in a frantic spell.
Replacement Paddy Jackson moved the ball quickly enough to give Bowe an easy passage, and he offered another reminder of his qualities to Schmidt by delivering the bonus point which ensured Ireland moved ahead of France in Pool D.
There was still time for more as Ireland used the man advantage well to score a second try in the space of three minutes with another of Schmidt's replacements making an impact as Rob Kearney combined with Zebo before crossing over.
Madigan was unable to add the conversion, but it was a rare moment of disappointment for Ireland as they became just the second side after Scotland to claim maximum points from their opening two fixtures.
A tiring Romania were no match for their opponents in the closing stages as another converted try arrived when Chris Henry completed an impressive driving maul, and not even a late consolation try from Ovidiu Tonita could halt the celebrations as Ireland eased to the win.
Saturday, 26 September 2015
RWC 2015 Saturday 26th September
Italy 23-18 Canada
Italy got the better of Canada in a scrappy Rugby World Cup Pool D affair to earn their first win of the tournament in Leeds this afternoon.
After a stop-start opening 10 minutes, the first rugby union match in 23 years and only second ever at Elland Road was lit up with two tries in as many minutes.
Not long after Nathan Hirayama had kicked the first points of the day for Canada, DTH van der Merwe went over for his second try in two matches after linking up with Ciaran Hearn following a surge down the left.
Hirayama added the extras to put the Maple Leafs 10-0 up, but their double-digit lead lasted just a few seconds as Michele Rizzo scored his first international try after Edoardo Gori had burst through the Canada line.
Tommaso Allan made no mistake with the conversion and then sent over a penalty after 24 minutes to bring the scores level at 10 apiece.
The fly-half had to go off for a few minutes after picking up a head injury, but returned just before the break to kick the Azzurri into a 13-10 interval lead.
Just three minutes after half time Canada were back in front and again it was a solo effort that delighted the 33,000 inside Elland Road. Full-back Matt Evans beat the first tackle and then had too much pace for the covering Leonardo Sarto to touch down in the corner.
The Canadians were in the ascendency and they thought that they had gone further ahead moments later when Phil MacKenzie touched down after quick handling down the right. Referee George Clancy went upstairs to the TMO and replays confirmed that Conor Trainor's pass to the winger had gone forward.
Italy, who have never progressed past the group stage at a World Cup, went over for their second try in the 58th minute through Gonzalo Garcia, who saw a gap after captain Leonardo Ghiraldini had got within touching distance of the try line.
Despite Italy leading, Canada were seeing more of the ball and having better territory as the clock wound down. A period of sustained pressure in the 70th minute failed to result in a try and Hirayama opted to kick for goal to bring the Maple Leafs within two going into the closing stages.
Canada ran out of gas in the final 10 minutes as Italy saw out the win, giving themselves a five-point victory thanks to Allan's last-minute penalty.
Italy grab third place in the group, with Canada winless and bottom alongside Romania.
South Africa 46-6 Samoa
JP Pietersen scored a hat-trick of tried to lead South Africa to an emphatic 46-6 victory over Samoa at Villa Park in their Rugby World Cup Pool B fixture this evening.
The Springboks opened the scoring just moments after kickoff, settling any lingering nerves from their defeat to Japan in their opening fixture, with Handrie Pollard splitting the uprights.
Despite the two-time champions' bright start, Samoa soon took the lead as they started to dominate possession, allowing Michael Stanley to add a pair of penalties, but they could not get the try on the board.
Samoa had a lineout in a promising position as they continued to try to capitalise on their spell, but Pietersen intercepted the ball, sprinting back from inside South Africa territory to get the opening try of the match on the board.
Pollard could not add the conversion, but did split the posts with a further three penalties before the interval, while Samoa continued to be frustrated in South Africa territory.
There was an eye-catching moment in the final seconds of the opening 40 minutes as Stanley tried to kick the ball through for three more from inside his own half, but it fell just short.
It did not take the Springboks long to extend their lead after the break, as a series of quick passes resulted in Willie Le Roux finding Pietersen in the corner after a dominant spell.
Just as it looked like South Africa were starting to run away with it, Samoa pull off a spectacular move, with Tusi Pisi diving over after a stunning chip forward from Tim Nanai-Williams, but the TMO ruled that there was a forward pass in the build up.
Knowing that a fourth try would give them the bonus point, South Africa started to bear down on the Samoa try line again, with Le Roux coming up just short, while Bryan Habana looked sharp, but was unable to find the gap.
Schalk Brits came off the bench with 10 minutes remaining, and marked his World Cup debut with a try just moments later, grounding the ball following a maul, which also gives him his first international try.
Despite their comfortable lead, South Africa continued to pile forward in the closing stages of the match, shaking off the memories of last week's loss, eventually resulting in Pietersen sprinting over in the corner before grounding the ball for his third.
There was time for South Africa to increase their lead further as time elapsed, with the lively Habana sprinting down the left to finally get his try.
England 25-28 Wales
Wales launched a late comeback to clinch a famous 28-25 victory over England in their crucial Pool A clash at the Rugby World Cup this evening.
Both sides earned bonus-point victories in their opening match of the tournament last week, and it was Wales who made the brighter start at Twickenham when Dan Biggar knocked over an early penalty.
England responded with a kick of their own from Owen Farrell, chosen ahead of George Ford, but ill-discipline from Stuart Lancaster's men gave Biggar the chance to send his side ahead once again.
The battle of the boot would become a feature of the match, and Farrell got one over on his Welsh counterpart when he converted a drop goal to restore parity having seen Biggar miss one of his own earlier in the contest.
Another kick from the Saracens man put England into the lead for the first time on the night, and they would soon gain control of the match with the opening try.
Jonny May was the man to go over from close range in the corner, while Farrell's conversion extended the lead to 10 points and edged the hosts closer to a third consecutive win over their old rivals.
Biggar cut that deficit to seven before half time, and after the interval it was a case of both kickers keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Farrell and Biggar traded two penalties apiece in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, before the latter added another to make it a five-point game on the hour mark.
The injury-hit Welsh side were dealt another blow when Scott Williams was forced off on the stretcher, joining fellow centres Jonathan Davies and Cory Allen on the treatment table.
The decimated and makeshift backline were tested by some heavy pressure from England, but Lancaster's side were forced to settle for just three points once again as Farrell knocked over his fifth penalty of the match.
Despite their mounting injury problems, Wales set up a grandstand finish with their first try of the match as Gareth Davies collected a kick inside to cross over right underneath the posts.
Biggar's conversion tied the scores at 25-25, and the fly-half put his side ahead for the first time since the 18th minute with a penalty from the halfway line shortly afterwards.
England had a chance to level things up with a penalty of their own in the dying stages, but they opted to go for the lineout and were shoved into touch from the resulting maul.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match as Wales kept possession before kicking it out to touch as the clock went red.
Italy got the better of Canada in a scrappy Rugby World Cup Pool D affair to earn their first win of the tournament in Leeds this afternoon.
After a stop-start opening 10 minutes, the first rugby union match in 23 years and only second ever at Elland Road was lit up with two tries in as many minutes.
Not long after Nathan Hirayama had kicked the first points of the day for Canada, DTH van der Merwe went over for his second try in two matches after linking up with Ciaran Hearn following a surge down the left.
Hirayama added the extras to put the Maple Leafs 10-0 up, but their double-digit lead lasted just a few seconds as Michele Rizzo scored his first international try after Edoardo Gori had burst through the Canada line.
Tommaso Allan made no mistake with the conversion and then sent over a penalty after 24 minutes to bring the scores level at 10 apiece.
The fly-half had to go off for a few minutes after picking up a head injury, but returned just before the break to kick the Azzurri into a 13-10 interval lead.
Just three minutes after half time Canada were back in front and again it was a solo effort that delighted the 33,000 inside Elland Road. Full-back Matt Evans beat the first tackle and then had too much pace for the covering Leonardo Sarto to touch down in the corner.
The Canadians were in the ascendency and they thought that they had gone further ahead moments later when Phil MacKenzie touched down after quick handling down the right. Referee George Clancy went upstairs to the TMO and replays confirmed that Conor Trainor's pass to the winger had gone forward.
Italy, who have never progressed past the group stage at a World Cup, went over for their second try in the 58th minute through Gonzalo Garcia, who saw a gap after captain Leonardo Ghiraldini had got within touching distance of the try line.
Despite Italy leading, Canada were seeing more of the ball and having better territory as the clock wound down. A period of sustained pressure in the 70th minute failed to result in a try and Hirayama opted to kick for goal to bring the Maple Leafs within two going into the closing stages.
Canada ran out of gas in the final 10 minutes as Italy saw out the win, giving themselves a five-point victory thanks to Allan's last-minute penalty.
Italy grab third place in the group, with Canada winless and bottom alongside Romania.
South Africa 46-6 Samoa
JP Pietersen scored a hat-trick of tried to lead South Africa to an emphatic 46-6 victory over Samoa at Villa Park in their Rugby World Cup Pool B fixture this evening.
The Springboks opened the scoring just moments after kickoff, settling any lingering nerves from their defeat to Japan in their opening fixture, with Handrie Pollard splitting the uprights.
Despite the two-time champions' bright start, Samoa soon took the lead as they started to dominate possession, allowing Michael Stanley to add a pair of penalties, but they could not get the try on the board.
Samoa had a lineout in a promising position as they continued to try to capitalise on their spell, but Pietersen intercepted the ball, sprinting back from inside South Africa territory to get the opening try of the match on the board.
Pollard could not add the conversion, but did split the posts with a further three penalties before the interval, while Samoa continued to be frustrated in South Africa territory.
There was an eye-catching moment in the final seconds of the opening 40 minutes as Stanley tried to kick the ball through for three more from inside his own half, but it fell just short.
It did not take the Springboks long to extend their lead after the break, as a series of quick passes resulted in Willie Le Roux finding Pietersen in the corner after a dominant spell.
Just as it looked like South Africa were starting to run away with it, Samoa pull off a spectacular move, with Tusi Pisi diving over after a stunning chip forward from Tim Nanai-Williams, but the TMO ruled that there was a forward pass in the build up.
Knowing that a fourth try would give them the bonus point, South Africa started to bear down on the Samoa try line again, with Le Roux coming up just short, while Bryan Habana looked sharp, but was unable to find the gap.
Schalk Brits came off the bench with 10 minutes remaining, and marked his World Cup debut with a try just moments later, grounding the ball following a maul, which also gives him his first international try.
Despite their comfortable lead, South Africa continued to pile forward in the closing stages of the match, shaking off the memories of last week's loss, eventually resulting in Pietersen sprinting over in the corner before grounding the ball for his third.
There was time for South Africa to increase their lead further as time elapsed, with the lively Habana sprinting down the left to finally get his try.
England 25-28 Wales
Wales launched a late comeback to clinch a famous 28-25 victory over England in their crucial Pool A clash at the Rugby World Cup this evening.
Both sides earned bonus-point victories in their opening match of the tournament last week, and it was Wales who made the brighter start at Twickenham when Dan Biggar knocked over an early penalty.
England responded with a kick of their own from Owen Farrell, chosen ahead of George Ford, but ill-discipline from Stuart Lancaster's men gave Biggar the chance to send his side ahead once again.
The battle of the boot would become a feature of the match, and Farrell got one over on his Welsh counterpart when he converted a drop goal to restore parity having seen Biggar miss one of his own earlier in the contest.
Another kick from the Saracens man put England into the lead for the first time on the night, and they would soon gain control of the match with the opening try.
Jonny May was the man to go over from close range in the corner, while Farrell's conversion extended the lead to 10 points and edged the hosts closer to a third consecutive win over their old rivals.
Biggar cut that deficit to seven before half time, and after the interval it was a case of both kickers keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Farrell and Biggar traded two penalties apiece in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, before the latter added another to make it a five-point game on the hour mark.
The injury-hit Welsh side were dealt another blow when Scott Williams was forced off on the stretcher, joining fellow centres Jonathan Davies and Cory Allen on the treatment table.
The decimated and makeshift backline were tested by some heavy pressure from England, but Lancaster's side were forced to settle for just three points once again as Farrell knocked over his fifth penalty of the match.
Despite their mounting injury problems, Wales set up a grandstand finish with their first try of the match as Gareth Davies collected a kick inside to cross over right underneath the posts.
Biggar's conversion tied the scores at 25-25, and the fly-half put his side ahead for the first time since the 18th minute with a penalty from the halfway line shortly afterwards.
England had a chance to level things up with a penalty of their own in the dying stages, but they opted to go for the lineout and were shoved into touch from the resulting maul.
It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match as Wales kept possession before kicking it out to touch as the clock went red.
Friday, 25 September 2015
RWC 2015 ARG 54-9 GEO
A second-half blitz has helped Argentina on their way to a 54-9 bonus-point victory over Georgia at the Kingsholm Stadium.
Tomas Lavanini crossed over for the only try of the first half, but 40 unanswered points after the restart paved the way for Los Pumas to pick up their opening Pool C points.
Following a rather unorthodox start to the contest, in which Nicolas Sanchez kicked over the tournament's first drop goal with just a few minutes on the clock, it was the Lelos who found themselves having to do all the early defending.
The building Argentine pressure told when Lavanini was picked out on the right to touch down for just his second international score, putting Argentina on their way in front of a packed South American following in Gloucester.
Georgia, ranked five places below their opponents in the current world rankings, managed to drag themselves right back into things thanks to two well-taken penalties.
Merab Kvirikashvili - one of only two Georgians to be selected in all four of their World Cup squads - was able to find the sticks on both occasions, the latter of which came from close to the halfway line after Mamuka Gorgodze's illegal challenge.
The sloppy first half continued in a similar manner, as Sanchez was the next to split the sticks to punish a high Georgian tackle and edge his side back into a five-point advantage.
Milton Haig's men, who headed into this match looking to win back-to-back fixtures at a World Cup for the first time ever, were having to make do with pens in order to remain within touching distance of their opponents.
Kvirikashvili was again successful from range, but Argentina ensured that they headed into the break with that advantage - as slim as it was - still intact thanks to a second Sanchez pen.
Argentina again looked the stronger side in the opening stages following the restart, yet the second try somehow evaded them when the TMO ruled out Tomas Cubelli's effort.
Georgia were not helped by Gorgodze being sent to the sin bin for failing to roll away, and the pressure soon told courtesy of two quick-fire tries for Los Pumas.
Cubelli, still unhappy at that earlier decision, did not have to wait long until he could officially get his name on the scoresheet after being picked out by Facundo Isa with relative ease to finally give Argentina some breathing space.
The third score of the evening was awarded to Juan Imhoff, who found the whitewash almost immediately from the restart to completely kill off any hopes 14-man Georgia had of rescuing themselves.
While a bonus point looked a distant reality on the basis of the first-half showing, Daniel Hourcade's charges got their all-important fourth try through Cordero just four minutes later.
Sanchez was able to convert from all three, having missed his only attempt in the first half, to put Argentina some 26 points to the good heading into the final quarter of what had previously been a cagey affair.
Georgia probably should have pulled back a consolation try inside the final 15 minutes, with Merab Sharikadze finding himself in a promising position metres from the try-line, but it was to be Argentina who strengthened their grip on things.
Three more late tries followed, as Martin Landajo capitalised on a huge hole and found the chalk with far too much ease, before the replacement scrum-half played the ball on to Santiago Cordero to join the party.
It was then left to Imhoff to take his side beyond the half-century mark, as he burst past an increasingly tiring Georgian defence to round things off.
Argentina, who have maintained their record of never losing their opening two pool fixtures in this showpiece tournament, climb up to second place in the Pool C standings.
Tomas Lavanini crossed over for the only try of the first half, but 40 unanswered points after the restart paved the way for Los Pumas to pick up their opening Pool C points.
Following a rather unorthodox start to the contest, in which Nicolas Sanchez kicked over the tournament's first drop goal with just a few minutes on the clock, it was the Lelos who found themselves having to do all the early defending.
The building Argentine pressure told when Lavanini was picked out on the right to touch down for just his second international score, putting Argentina on their way in front of a packed South American following in Gloucester.
Georgia, ranked five places below their opponents in the current world rankings, managed to drag themselves right back into things thanks to two well-taken penalties.
Merab Kvirikashvili - one of only two Georgians to be selected in all four of their World Cup squads - was able to find the sticks on both occasions, the latter of which came from close to the halfway line after Mamuka Gorgodze's illegal challenge.
The sloppy first half continued in a similar manner, as Sanchez was the next to split the sticks to punish a high Georgian tackle and edge his side back into a five-point advantage.
Milton Haig's men, who headed into this match looking to win back-to-back fixtures at a World Cup for the first time ever, were having to make do with pens in order to remain within touching distance of their opponents.
Kvirikashvili was again successful from range, but Argentina ensured that they headed into the break with that advantage - as slim as it was - still intact thanks to a second Sanchez pen.
Argentina again looked the stronger side in the opening stages following the restart, yet the second try somehow evaded them when the TMO ruled out Tomas Cubelli's effort.
Georgia were not helped by Gorgodze being sent to the sin bin for failing to roll away, and the pressure soon told courtesy of two quick-fire tries for Los Pumas.
Cubelli, still unhappy at that earlier decision, did not have to wait long until he could officially get his name on the scoresheet after being picked out by Facundo Isa with relative ease to finally give Argentina some breathing space.
The third score of the evening was awarded to Juan Imhoff, who found the whitewash almost immediately from the restart to completely kill off any hopes 14-man Georgia had of rescuing themselves.
While a bonus point looked a distant reality on the basis of the first-half showing, Daniel Hourcade's charges got their all-important fourth try through Cordero just four minutes later.
Sanchez was able to convert from all three, having missed his only attempt in the first half, to put Argentina some 26 points to the good heading into the final quarter of what had previously been a cagey affair.
Georgia probably should have pulled back a consolation try inside the final 15 minutes, with Merab Sharikadze finding himself in a promising position metres from the try-line, but it was to be Argentina who strengthened their grip on things.
Three more late tries followed, as Martin Landajo capitalised on a huge hole and found the chalk with far too much ease, before the replacement scrum-half played the ball on to Santiago Cordero to join the party.
It was then left to Imhoff to take his side beyond the half-century mark, as he burst past an increasingly tiring Georgian defence to round things off.
Argentina, who have maintained their record of never losing their opening two pool fixtures in this showpiece tournament, climb up to second place in the Pool C standings.
Thursday, 24 September 2015
RWC 2015 NZL 58-14 NAM
New Zealand have made it two wins from two in their Rugby World Cup campaign and cemented their place at the top of Pool C despite conceding a second-half try to Namibia in a 58-14 victory at the Olympic Stadium.
Steve Hansen made 12 changes to his side from the opening 26-16 win over Argentina and his players were far from convincing for long periods despite keeping up their 100% record in defence of their 2011 crown.
With Dan Carter among those rested, Beauden Barrett was on kicking duty and his fifth-minute penalty started the rout before the first try of the match arrived barely 90 seconds later when Sonny Bill Williams offloaded for Victor Vito to go over in the corner.
The All Blacks had 82% possession in the opening 10 minutes and they made their dominance count again when Nehe Milner-Skudder skipped past two challenges to score, and it was three with barely a quarter of the game gone as Williams moved into space before playing a no-look offload for Malakai Fekitoa to extend the advantage.
Theuns Kotze's two penalties in reply for Namibia were greeted with enthusiasm from the crowd and Johan Tromp was denied by a last-ditch Williams challenge before Namibia shot themselves in the foot, allowing Barrett to break through Jacques Burger's tackle from a lineout and sprint home for a fourth try to earn the champions a bonus point before half time.
Namibia winger David Philander knocked on as he could not grasp the chance to intercept and score a famous try downfield, before Milner-Skudder added his second of the game to give Hansen's much-changed side a five-try 34-6 advantage at the break.
Kotze added a third penalty after the restart but the lead was extended again through Julian Savea's strength as the winger powered over after a patient move, but Namibia's golden moment arrived four minutes later.
The underdogs boldly went for touch from a penalty instead of kicking for the posts, and the swept the ball across the field and back again in a well-worked move before centre Johan Deysel bullied his way over the line to spark wild celebrations.
Any momentum that might have given them was stifled, however, as Jaco Engels was sin-binned for knocking the ball from Kerr-Barlow's hand as the scrum-half attempted a pass from the ruck, and New Zealand took advantage as Ben Smith scored soon afterwards.
Namibia captain Burger left the field to a rapturous reception with 15 minutes to play in recognition of a committed display as his side continued to make the All Blacks work hard, and the frustration continued for Hansen's side as Luke Romano's score was scuppered by an accidental offside.
New Zealand did finish with a flourish as Savea got them past the 50-point mark with his second try of the evening and Codie Taylor added a ninth and final try as the champions secured a hard-fought victory over their resilient opponents.
Steve Hansen made 12 changes to his side from the opening 26-16 win over Argentina and his players were far from convincing for long periods despite keeping up their 100% record in defence of their 2011 crown.
With Dan Carter among those rested, Beauden Barrett was on kicking duty and his fifth-minute penalty started the rout before the first try of the match arrived barely 90 seconds later when Sonny Bill Williams offloaded for Victor Vito to go over in the corner.
The All Blacks had 82% possession in the opening 10 minutes and they made their dominance count again when Nehe Milner-Skudder skipped past two challenges to score, and it was three with barely a quarter of the game gone as Williams moved into space before playing a no-look offload for Malakai Fekitoa to extend the advantage.
Theuns Kotze's two penalties in reply for Namibia were greeted with enthusiasm from the crowd and Johan Tromp was denied by a last-ditch Williams challenge before Namibia shot themselves in the foot, allowing Barrett to break through Jacques Burger's tackle from a lineout and sprint home for a fourth try to earn the champions a bonus point before half time.
Namibia winger David Philander knocked on as he could not grasp the chance to intercept and score a famous try downfield, before Milner-Skudder added his second of the game to give Hansen's much-changed side a five-try 34-6 advantage at the break.
Kotze added a third penalty after the restart but the lead was extended again through Julian Savea's strength as the winger powered over after a patient move, but Namibia's golden moment arrived four minutes later.
The underdogs boldly went for touch from a penalty instead of kicking for the posts, and the swept the ball across the field and back again in a well-worked move before centre Johan Deysel bullied his way over the line to spark wild celebrations.
Any momentum that might have given them was stifled, however, as Jaco Engels was sin-binned for knocking the ball from Kerr-Barlow's hand as the scrum-half attempted a pass from the ruck, and New Zealand took advantage as Ben Smith scored soon afterwards.
Namibia captain Burger left the field to a rapturous reception with 15 minutes to play in recognition of a committed display as his side continued to make the All Blacks work hard, and the frustration continued for Hansen's side as Luke Romano's score was scuppered by an accidental offside.
New Zealand did finish with a flourish as Savea got them past the 50-point mark with his second try of the evening and Codie Taylor added a ninth and final try as the champions secured a hard-fought victory over their resilient opponents.
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
RWC 2015 Weds 23rd Sept
Scotland 45-10 Japan
Scotland ran in five second-half tries to move to the top of Pool B with a 45-10 victory over Japan at the Rugby World Cup this afternoon.
After a tight first half, Scotland ran riot against a tiring Japan side who appeared to be suffering the effects of their famous win over South Africa on Saturday, claiming a bonus point along the way.
Vern Cotter's side showed no signs of rust in the opening stages of their first game at the tournament, with captain Greig Laidlaw getting his side on the board inside two minutes with a penalty.
Japan, who in contrast had just four days to recover after pulling off arguably the biggest upset in the competition's history, found themselves on the back foot early on and soon fell six behind when Laidlaw added another kick.
However, the Brave Blossoms showed the first signs of their refusal to be remembered as a flash in the pan by getting the opening try of the contest when Amanaki Mafi touched down following a driving maul.
The lineout was set up by Ayumu Goromaru's perfect kick to touch, and the full-back, scorer of 24 points against South Africa in their opening match, added the extras to give his side the lead.
It was Gloucester's Laidlaw who was proving to be the difference on his home club ground at Kingsholm, however, and two more penalties from the Scottish skipper ensured that his side would go into the break with a 12-7 lead.
Japan did have chances to cut that deficit before the half-time whistle, with captain Michael Leitch turning down three points in favour of a kick for touch - the same tactic that proved so endearing, and more importantly successful, on the way to stunning the Springboks. This time it did not pay off, however, while Goromaru missed a kick moments later.
The full-back atoned for that error by making a try-saving tackle to deny Tommy Seymour right at the end of the half, and he added another three points early in the second half to reduce the deficit to two.
Scotland responded quickly, however, and registered their first try of the contest 10 minutes after the interval when John Hardie went over in the corner, although Laidlaw missed the conversion.
A second arrived soon after for Cotter's men as they began to take control of proceedings, Stuart Hogg's break paving the way for Mark Bennett to touch down underneath the posts.
Japan went in search of a reply, but fatigue was perhaps beginning to creep in for Eddie Jones's side and they couldn't catch Seymour as the winger raced through having pinched the ball in front of Male Sa'u.
Bennett powered over for a fourth with a little over 10 minutes remaining, handing Scotland a crucial bonus point that puts them in pole position to reach the quarter-finals from Pool B.
Finn Russell then capped off the Scotland scoring with his side's fifth try on his 23rd birthday, before Cotter's side were able to hold firm against some late pressure to seal the convincing win.
Australia 28-13 Fiji
Australia have kicked off their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 28-13 victory over Fiji at the Millennium Stadium.
The Wallabies took control heading into half time thanks to David Pocock's brace, but they were unable to push on and claim a bonus point in South Wales.
It was Australia who were on top in the early stages, without truly being able to cause their opponents any real problems in a cagey start to the contest.
Fiji were dealt an early blow when Waisea Nayacalevu was stretchered off the field with what appeared to be a tournament-ending injury.
A slack forward pass from the Pacific Islanders then gifted Bernard Foley the chance to get his - and indeed Australia's - first points of the competition when finding the sticks from close range.
John McKee's men, currently ranked ninth in the world, soon hit back when Nemani Nadolo followed in suit by himself kicking over after the much-fancied Aussies conceded two penalties in quick succession.
Buoyed by that, a period of Fiji domination followed when a wave of attacks ended narrowly short, and that would ultimately prove costly as the Wallabies soon found their stride.
Skipper Stephen Moore successfully picked out Pocock from a dangerous lineout, allowing the openside flanker to cross over for his fifth Test try in the famous yellow and green strip.
Foley made no mistake from the conversion to keep alive his perfect early kicking record, while there was more joy to come five minutes later when Pocock found the whitewash for a second time.
The score - which makes Pocock his country's record-scoring forward at a World Cup - came directly on the back of Campese Ma'afu being disciplined, as Fiji began to crumble in the latter stages of the opening 40 minutes.
There was still time for Foley to extend the two-time winners' lead even further when more handling errors from the Fijians saw them punished in the closing moments of a half that had shown so much promise at one stage.
With a bonus-point win very much the target for Michael Cheika's charges, they were quick out of the blocks following the restart and well on their way thanks to Sekope Kepu.
Israel Folau instigated the initial move when charging down the left, before a well-worked ruck culminated in Kepu adding his name to the scoresheet.
The extras were added by Foley and, while Nadolo did manage to bolster his side's tally by three more points from the boot, Australia remained firm against a Fiji side showing more promise in the final third all of a sudden.
That was until the hour mark, at least, when the growing pressure finally told and Ben Volavola found a gap at the back to touch down for his first international score.
It was also an historic moment in the context of this showpiece tournament, too, taking the overall scoring beyond the 5,000-point mark.
Nadolo was on target from the follow-up to bring the Flying Fijians even closer, but 12 points still remained the difference heading into the final 10 minutes.
The task looked all the more difficult for Fiji as, after a brief stoppage in play when James Slipper was knocked unconscious, Foley was successful with his penalty attempt to kill off any momentum from McKee's men.
Tevita Kuridrani was shown a yellow with around six minutes still left on the clock against the country of his birth, with Australia - still with just the single defeat in the opening game of a World Cup - unable to cross over for a fourth try.
France 38-11 Romania
France have beaten Romania 38-11 in their second Group D Rugby World Cup match after tries from Sofiane Guitoune, Yannick Nyanga, Wesley Fofana and Gael Fickou.
Morgan Parra opened the scoring for France with eight minutes on the clock by converting a penalty.
Florin Vlaicu then charged over the try line for Romania, but was denied by the TMO due to the ball not touching the ground. Nonetheless, the 82-cap centre levelled things with a penalty very shortly after due to an offside for France.
Vlaicu had a chance to put his side ahead with 25 minutes gone, but mis-hit a penalty which went wide of the posts.
Romania were down to 14 men shortly after, with Paulico Ion dismissed for 10 minutes after dragging a scrum down illegally.
It took France less than a minute to make use of the player advantage as Guitoune stretched to force the ball over the line, with Parra securing the conversion.
Les Bleus grabbed their second try of the evening with just over five minutes until half time thanks to Yannick Nyanga, who was found by Noa Nakaitaci on the right wing and touched the ball over.
Vlaicu punted over a penalty as the half time whistle blew, but it was France who went in with the advantage at the break.
It took over 25 minutes of the second period for the scoreboard to see any changes, with France waiting patiently for their third try before Guitoune was able to stretch an arm out to score his second of the match while under pressure.
After Parra converted, Wesley Fofana then went over to secure a bonus point for Les Bleus, having to reach over his head to place the ball beyond the try line while under pressure from Madalin Lemnaru.
Romania picked up a consolation try with six minutes remaining in the match as Andrei Radoi drove the ball over the line, but France punished their opponents once again late on with Gael Fickou weaving through for his side's fifth try of the night, and Rory Kockott converted to complete the scoring.
Scotland ran in five second-half tries to move to the top of Pool B with a 45-10 victory over Japan at the Rugby World Cup this afternoon.
After a tight first half, Scotland ran riot against a tiring Japan side who appeared to be suffering the effects of their famous win over South Africa on Saturday, claiming a bonus point along the way.
Vern Cotter's side showed no signs of rust in the opening stages of their first game at the tournament, with captain Greig Laidlaw getting his side on the board inside two minutes with a penalty.
Japan, who in contrast had just four days to recover after pulling off arguably the biggest upset in the competition's history, found themselves on the back foot early on and soon fell six behind when Laidlaw added another kick.
However, the Brave Blossoms showed the first signs of their refusal to be remembered as a flash in the pan by getting the opening try of the contest when Amanaki Mafi touched down following a driving maul.
The lineout was set up by Ayumu Goromaru's perfect kick to touch, and the full-back, scorer of 24 points against South Africa in their opening match, added the extras to give his side the lead.
It was Gloucester's Laidlaw who was proving to be the difference on his home club ground at Kingsholm, however, and two more penalties from the Scottish skipper ensured that his side would go into the break with a 12-7 lead.
Japan did have chances to cut that deficit before the half-time whistle, with captain Michael Leitch turning down three points in favour of a kick for touch - the same tactic that proved so endearing, and more importantly successful, on the way to stunning the Springboks. This time it did not pay off, however, while Goromaru missed a kick moments later.
The full-back atoned for that error by making a try-saving tackle to deny Tommy Seymour right at the end of the half, and he added another three points early in the second half to reduce the deficit to two.
Scotland responded quickly, however, and registered their first try of the contest 10 minutes after the interval when John Hardie went over in the corner, although Laidlaw missed the conversion.
A second arrived soon after for Cotter's men as they began to take control of proceedings, Stuart Hogg's break paving the way for Mark Bennett to touch down underneath the posts.
Japan went in search of a reply, but fatigue was perhaps beginning to creep in for Eddie Jones's side and they couldn't catch Seymour as the winger raced through having pinched the ball in front of Male Sa'u.
Bennett powered over for a fourth with a little over 10 minutes remaining, handing Scotland a crucial bonus point that puts them in pole position to reach the quarter-finals from Pool B.
Finn Russell then capped off the Scotland scoring with his side's fifth try on his 23rd birthday, before Cotter's side were able to hold firm against some late pressure to seal the convincing win.
Australia 28-13 Fiji
Australia have kicked off their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 28-13 victory over Fiji at the Millennium Stadium.
The Wallabies took control heading into half time thanks to David Pocock's brace, but they were unable to push on and claim a bonus point in South Wales.
It was Australia who were on top in the early stages, without truly being able to cause their opponents any real problems in a cagey start to the contest.
Fiji were dealt an early blow when Waisea Nayacalevu was stretchered off the field with what appeared to be a tournament-ending injury.
A slack forward pass from the Pacific Islanders then gifted Bernard Foley the chance to get his - and indeed Australia's - first points of the competition when finding the sticks from close range.
John McKee's men, currently ranked ninth in the world, soon hit back when Nemani Nadolo followed in suit by himself kicking over after the much-fancied Aussies conceded two penalties in quick succession.
Buoyed by that, a period of Fiji domination followed when a wave of attacks ended narrowly short, and that would ultimately prove costly as the Wallabies soon found their stride.
Skipper Stephen Moore successfully picked out Pocock from a dangerous lineout, allowing the openside flanker to cross over for his fifth Test try in the famous yellow and green strip.
Foley made no mistake from the conversion to keep alive his perfect early kicking record, while there was more joy to come five minutes later when Pocock found the whitewash for a second time.
The score - which makes Pocock his country's record-scoring forward at a World Cup - came directly on the back of Campese Ma'afu being disciplined, as Fiji began to crumble in the latter stages of the opening 40 minutes.
There was still time for Foley to extend the two-time winners' lead even further when more handling errors from the Fijians saw them punished in the closing moments of a half that had shown so much promise at one stage.
With a bonus-point win very much the target for Michael Cheika's charges, they were quick out of the blocks following the restart and well on their way thanks to Sekope Kepu.
Israel Folau instigated the initial move when charging down the left, before a well-worked ruck culminated in Kepu adding his name to the scoresheet.
The extras were added by Foley and, while Nadolo did manage to bolster his side's tally by three more points from the boot, Australia remained firm against a Fiji side showing more promise in the final third all of a sudden.
That was until the hour mark, at least, when the growing pressure finally told and Ben Volavola found a gap at the back to touch down for his first international score.
It was also an historic moment in the context of this showpiece tournament, too, taking the overall scoring beyond the 5,000-point mark.
Nadolo was on target from the follow-up to bring the Flying Fijians even closer, but 12 points still remained the difference heading into the final 10 minutes.
The task looked all the more difficult for Fiji as, after a brief stoppage in play when James Slipper was knocked unconscious, Foley was successful with his penalty attempt to kill off any momentum from McKee's men.
Tevita Kuridrani was shown a yellow with around six minutes still left on the clock against the country of his birth, with Australia - still with just the single defeat in the opening game of a World Cup - unable to cross over for a fourth try.
France 38-11 Romania
France have beaten Romania 38-11 in their second Group D Rugby World Cup match after tries from Sofiane Guitoune, Yannick Nyanga, Wesley Fofana and Gael Fickou.
Morgan Parra opened the scoring for France with eight minutes on the clock by converting a penalty.
Florin Vlaicu then charged over the try line for Romania, but was denied by the TMO due to the ball not touching the ground. Nonetheless, the 82-cap centre levelled things with a penalty very shortly after due to an offside for France.
Vlaicu had a chance to put his side ahead with 25 minutes gone, but mis-hit a penalty which went wide of the posts.
Romania were down to 14 men shortly after, with Paulico Ion dismissed for 10 minutes after dragging a scrum down illegally.
It took France less than a minute to make use of the player advantage as Guitoune stretched to force the ball over the line, with Parra securing the conversion.
Les Bleus grabbed their second try of the evening with just over five minutes until half time thanks to Yannick Nyanga, who was found by Noa Nakaitaci on the right wing and touched the ball over.
Vlaicu punted over a penalty as the half time whistle blew, but it was France who went in with the advantage at the break.
It took over 25 minutes of the second period for the scoreboard to see any changes, with France waiting patiently for their third try before Guitoune was able to stretch an arm out to score his second of the match while under pressure.
After Parra converted, Wesley Fofana then went over to secure a bonus point for Les Bleus, having to reach over his head to place the ball beyond the try line while under pressure from Madalin Lemnaru.
Romania picked up a consolation try with six minutes remaining in the match as Andrei Radoi drove the ball over the line, but France punished their opponents once again late on with Gael Fickou weaving through for his side's fifth try of the night, and Rory Kockott converted to complete the scoring.
Sunday, 20 September 2015
RWC 2015 Sunday 20th Sept
Samoa 25-16 USA
Samoa have won their first match of the Rugby World Cup after defeating USA 25-16.
The teams had met four previous times, with Samoa triumphing in all four, but USA had never lost by more than seven points against their opponents. A series of penalties conceded by the USA was the difference with the teams both scoring two tries.
Samoa got three points on the board in the ninth minute when Jack Lam was brought down illegally and Tusu Pisi's kick was on target.
It was a tight opening 20 minutes of the match, and Pisi missed his second attempt at the posts in the 16th minute.
They scored the game's first try four minutes later though when Tim Nanai-Williams picked up a Pisi grubber kick to touch down
The conversion was missed but that did not stop Samoa extending their lead to 11 points seven minutes later. With USA penalised for not releasing, Pisi put the ball through the posts.
Just as it looked like Samoa might dominate the match, USA found their rhythm. AJ MacGinty pulled three points back after Samoa were caught offside.
USA captain Chris Wyles scored a well-worked try just two minutes later, crossing the line after a series of passes amongst the American backs.
Pisi put another penalty through the posts just before half time to give Samoa a six-point lead.
Samoa asserted their dominance in the second half, and scored their second try of the match when Ofisa Treviranus claimed a loose ball to give Samoa a 19-8 lead.
Penalties proved costly for USA and they gave another one away in the 50th minute when Andrew Duratalo committed a high tackle. Pisi extended the lead from in front of the posts.
AJ MacGinty took USA into double figures when he was on target after a Samoa foul, but that was cancelled out when substitute Michael Stanley kicked through the posts from the sideline.
Replacement Chris Baumann crossed the line in the 74th minute as USA sensed a comeback and MacGinty had the chance to come within a score of Samoa. He missed the conversion though and Samoa ran out 25-16 winners.
Wales 54-9 Uruguay
Wales have kicked off their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 54-9 victory over Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium.
A slow start from the Red Dragons was capitalised on by their 19th-in-the-world opponents, but a hat-trick of tries from Cory Allen helped his side well on their way to a bonus-point win.
The Southern Hemisphere minnows, competing in this showpiece competition for the first time since 2003, made a dream start to the contest by successfully kicking over two pens inside the opening 10 minutes.
Felipe Berchesi held his nerve to punish a Wales side lacking any discipline and showing some early tournament jitters, leaving the weakened home outfit with some work to do.
Buoyed by a now-boisterous backing in South Wales, the Red Dragons rallied and were finally rewarded when the returning Samson Lee dived over at the end of a strong maul, before Rhys Priestland - on kicking duties this afternoon - added the extras.
Allen touched down for a second soon after, giving Wales just a little breathing space in the first-ever Test meeting between the teams, and once more Priestland made no mistake from the follow-up.
Uruguay showed yet again that they should not be completely written off in Pool A, however, adding three more points via the boot of Berchesi - who at the same time equalled the best individual points record by a Teros player at the World Cup - to close the gap once more.
Wales still had time to make things slightly more comfortable heading into the break, though, thanks to a second try of the clash from Allen.
The Cardiff Blues centre, without an international score to his name prior to today, was picked out by Priestland at the end of a sweeping move to push his side closer to that previous bonus-point triumph with 30 minutes on the clock.
There was more joy to come for Allen, as with two minutes of overtime played he successfully charged through the Uruguay backline to edge Warren Gatland's men further ahead and complete an impressive personal hat-trick of tries.
It was the 2011 semi-finalists who had the better of the early exchanges following the restart, too, though they were made to wait until 10 minutes in before bagging a fourth score.
Wales, breaking from an opposition lineout, made big strides and were able to keep the momentum alive through Hallam Amos, before Priestland split the sticks for a fourth time.
With attention switching ahead to next weekend's potentially pivotal showdown with England at Twickenham, Gatland would have been concerned to see a number of players hobble off, including hat-trick hero Allen on the 54-minute mark.
Yet the Red Dragons were not finished there, adding two more tries before the contest was out, the first of which came on the back of another rolling maul which Gareth Davies - the first scrum-half to produce a try in this year's tournament - profited from.
Priestland was unsuccessful with his conversion on this occasion, but it did not appear to matter when Scott Williams looked for all the world to have himself crossed the whitewash, only for the TMO to adjudge that Amos' initial pass had been thrown forward.
Justin Tipuric then joined the party in the final 10 minutes when, yet again, a rolling Welsh maul ended with the hosts adding another five points to their growing score.
Davies rounded off the try-scoring in the dying stages to put the icing on the cake for Wales, setting up a likely make-or-break meeting with England in six days' time.
New Zealand 26-16 Argentina
New Zealand got off to a winning start in their Rugby World Cup campaign as they came from behind to beat Argentina 26-16 at Wembley.
After a disappointing end to the first half, the defending champions recovered after the break with tries from Aaron Smith and Sam Cane to secure the win over their South American rivals.
The All Blacks got off to a good start as Dan Carter's penalty inside five minutes gave them a 3-0 lead. Pablo Matera then picked up a sin bin for a late tackle on Julian Savea and Carver followed this up with another penalty in the 10th minute.
New Zealand continued to pule men forward during their one-man advantage and extended their lead in the 20th minute when the experienced Carter scored his third penalty of the night to make it 9-0.
Argentina suddenly hit back just two minutes later when Guido Petti surged towards the line and forced his way over to grab the first try of the game. Nicolas Sanchez then stepped up to make the conversion to reduce the deficit.
Richie McCaw received a sin bin 10 minutes from the break after for a trip on Juan Imhoff and Sanchez followed this up with another conversion to give Argentina a 10-9 lead. The All Blacks continued to lose their discipline as Conrad Smith also received a yellow card in the 38th minute.
Sanchez stepped up yet again to maintain his 100% record but Carter managed to reduce their opponent's lead when a converted a penalty of his own to make it 12-13 going into the break.
Argentina started the second half brightly as Sanchez's penalty gave his side a four-point advantage as they continued to hold New Zealand back with their numerical advantage.
However, the defending champions refused to lay down and they clawed their way back when Aaron Smith managed to dodge a tackle from Imhoff and score the first try of the game. Carter then stepped up to put the ball in between the posts.
Argentina tried to respond straight away as Sanchez chipped the ball forward for Imhoff to chase but Beauden Barrett got under it and took it into touch for the All Blacks.
Both sides continued to look for the next try and it was New Zealand who got it as they put together a string of passes before Sam Cane dived over the line in the left corner. Carter then converted to make it 26-16 with 13 minutes to go.
The Pumas tried to claw their way back late on but it wasn't enough as New Zealand held on to secure their first win of the tournament.
Samoa have won their first match of the Rugby World Cup after defeating USA 25-16.
The teams had met four previous times, with Samoa triumphing in all four, but USA had never lost by more than seven points against their opponents. A series of penalties conceded by the USA was the difference with the teams both scoring two tries.
Samoa got three points on the board in the ninth minute when Jack Lam was brought down illegally and Tusu Pisi's kick was on target.
It was a tight opening 20 minutes of the match, and Pisi missed his second attempt at the posts in the 16th minute.
They scored the game's first try four minutes later though when Tim Nanai-Williams picked up a Pisi grubber kick to touch down
The conversion was missed but that did not stop Samoa extending their lead to 11 points seven minutes later. With USA penalised for not releasing, Pisi put the ball through the posts.
Just as it looked like Samoa might dominate the match, USA found their rhythm. AJ MacGinty pulled three points back after Samoa were caught offside.
USA captain Chris Wyles scored a well-worked try just two minutes later, crossing the line after a series of passes amongst the American backs.
Pisi put another penalty through the posts just before half time to give Samoa a six-point lead.
Samoa asserted their dominance in the second half, and scored their second try of the match when Ofisa Treviranus claimed a loose ball to give Samoa a 19-8 lead.
Penalties proved costly for USA and they gave another one away in the 50th minute when Andrew Duratalo committed a high tackle. Pisi extended the lead from in front of the posts.
AJ MacGinty took USA into double figures when he was on target after a Samoa foul, but that was cancelled out when substitute Michael Stanley kicked through the posts from the sideline.
Replacement Chris Baumann crossed the line in the 74th minute as USA sensed a comeback and MacGinty had the chance to come within a score of Samoa. He missed the conversion though and Samoa ran out 25-16 winners.
Wales 54-9 Uruguay
Wales have kicked off their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 54-9 victory over Uruguay at the Millennium Stadium.
A slow start from the Red Dragons was capitalised on by their 19th-in-the-world opponents, but a hat-trick of tries from Cory Allen helped his side well on their way to a bonus-point win.
The Southern Hemisphere minnows, competing in this showpiece competition for the first time since 2003, made a dream start to the contest by successfully kicking over two pens inside the opening 10 minutes.
Felipe Berchesi held his nerve to punish a Wales side lacking any discipline and showing some early tournament jitters, leaving the weakened home outfit with some work to do.
Buoyed by a now-boisterous backing in South Wales, the Red Dragons rallied and were finally rewarded when the returning Samson Lee dived over at the end of a strong maul, before Rhys Priestland - on kicking duties this afternoon - added the extras.
Allen touched down for a second soon after, giving Wales just a little breathing space in the first-ever Test meeting between the teams, and once more Priestland made no mistake from the follow-up.
Uruguay showed yet again that they should not be completely written off in Pool A, however, adding three more points via the boot of Berchesi - who at the same time equalled the best individual points record by a Teros player at the World Cup - to close the gap once more.
Wales still had time to make things slightly more comfortable heading into the break, though, thanks to a second try of the clash from Allen.
The Cardiff Blues centre, without an international score to his name prior to today, was picked out by Priestland at the end of a sweeping move to push his side closer to that previous bonus-point triumph with 30 minutes on the clock.
There was more joy to come for Allen, as with two minutes of overtime played he successfully charged through the Uruguay backline to edge Warren Gatland's men further ahead and complete an impressive personal hat-trick of tries.
It was the 2011 semi-finalists who had the better of the early exchanges following the restart, too, though they were made to wait until 10 minutes in before bagging a fourth score.
Wales, breaking from an opposition lineout, made big strides and were able to keep the momentum alive through Hallam Amos, before Priestland split the sticks for a fourth time.
With attention switching ahead to next weekend's potentially pivotal showdown with England at Twickenham, Gatland would have been concerned to see a number of players hobble off, including hat-trick hero Allen on the 54-minute mark.
Yet the Red Dragons were not finished there, adding two more tries before the contest was out, the first of which came on the back of another rolling maul which Gareth Davies - the first scrum-half to produce a try in this year's tournament - profited from.
Priestland was unsuccessful with his conversion on this occasion, but it did not appear to matter when Scott Williams looked for all the world to have himself crossed the whitewash, only for the TMO to adjudge that Amos' initial pass had been thrown forward.
Justin Tipuric then joined the party in the final 10 minutes when, yet again, a rolling Welsh maul ended with the hosts adding another five points to their growing score.
Davies rounded off the try-scoring in the dying stages to put the icing on the cake for Wales, setting up a likely make-or-break meeting with England in six days' time.
New Zealand 26-16 Argentina
New Zealand got off to a winning start in their Rugby World Cup campaign as they came from behind to beat Argentina 26-16 at Wembley.
After a disappointing end to the first half, the defending champions recovered after the break with tries from Aaron Smith and Sam Cane to secure the win over their South American rivals.
The All Blacks got off to a good start as Dan Carter's penalty inside five minutes gave them a 3-0 lead. Pablo Matera then picked up a sin bin for a late tackle on Julian Savea and Carver followed this up with another penalty in the 10th minute.
New Zealand continued to pule men forward during their one-man advantage and extended their lead in the 20th minute when the experienced Carter scored his third penalty of the night to make it 9-0.
Argentina suddenly hit back just two minutes later when Guido Petti surged towards the line and forced his way over to grab the first try of the game. Nicolas Sanchez then stepped up to make the conversion to reduce the deficit.
Richie McCaw received a sin bin 10 minutes from the break after for a trip on Juan Imhoff and Sanchez followed this up with another conversion to give Argentina a 10-9 lead. The All Blacks continued to lose their discipline as Conrad Smith also received a yellow card in the 38th minute.
Sanchez stepped up yet again to maintain his 100% record but Carter managed to reduce their opponent's lead when a converted a penalty of his own to make it 12-13 going into the break.
Argentina started the second half brightly as Sanchez's penalty gave his side a four-point advantage as they continued to hold New Zealand back with their numerical advantage.
However, the defending champions refused to lay down and they clawed their way back when Aaron Smith managed to dodge a tackle from Imhoff and score the first try of the game. Carter then stepped up to put the ball in between the posts.
Argentina tried to respond straight away as Sanchez chipped the ball forward for Imhoff to chase but Beauden Barrett got under it and took it into touch for the All Blacks.
Both sides continued to look for the next try and it was New Zealand who got it as they put together a string of passes before Sam Cane dived over the line in the left corner. Carter then converted to make it 26-16 with 13 minutes to go.
The Pumas tried to claw their way back late on but it wasn't enough as New Zealand held on to secure their first win of the tournament.
Saturday, 19 September 2015
RWC 2015 Saturday 19th Sept
Tonga 10-17 Georgia
Georgia squeezed past Tonga 17-10 in a bruising encounter at Kingsholm in Pool C in the Rugby World Cup.
The match started tentatively and Kurt Morath and Merab Kvirikashvili traded penalties as both sides' discipline and handling let them down in the opening quarter.
Mamuka Gorgodze powered through the middle of a ruck and stretched over the line after some good forward play to give the Georgians the lead. Kvirikashvili converted before poor Tonga hands ruined two promising counter attacks which would have got them back in the game.
Tonga turned down the chance to go for three points and opted to kick for the corner, but a tough forward pass call ruined the chance for Viliami Ma'afu to cross to bring the scores level.
The strong Georgian defence held firm after the break and missed the chance to extend the lead with a Kvirikashvili missed penalty. Kvirikashvili made amends though after his break was recycled and flanker Giorgi Tkhilaishvili picked up the loose ball to flop over the line.
Kvirikashvili converted before Tonga fought their way back in to the game and they had another try disallowed for a poor grounding. The Tongans were not to be denied a third time though after Fetu'u Vainikolo crossed in the corner with Morath adding the conversion.
Georgian fullback Kvirikashvili received a yellow card for giving away a penalty in the run-up to Vainikolo's try, but Tonga could not find away through the 14 men in black shirts as the game ended in favour of the Europeans
Ireland 50-7 Canada
Ireland secured a bonus-point victory over Canada at the Millenium Stadium this afternoon thanks to tries from Sean O'Brien, Iain Henderson, Johnny Sexton, Dave Kearney, Sean Cronin, Rob Kearney and Jared Payne.
Johnny Sexton put Ireland 3-0 up early on from just under the posts, Canada's scrum-half Gordon McRorie missed a penalty for Canada moments earlier.
Sean O'Brien drove towards the Canadian line at the back of the Irish maul to touch down after 17 minutes, Sexton putting over the resulting conversion, before Iain Henderson made it 15-0 to Ireland minutes later with Sexton again adding the extra two points from the boot.
It was Sexton who then turned try scorer, racing down the left and touching down in the corner, but the out-half failed to put his own conversion over.
Dave Kearney secured the bonus point for Ireland, finding a hole in Canada's defence to score the team's fourth try from a Sexton pass, the fly-half making no mistake from his conversion to give his side a 29-0 lead at half-time.
Canada thought they had their first points of the half just before the whistle when DTH Van der Merwe went over the line, only for the try to be ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass in the build-up.
Ireland lost Paul O'Connell to the sin-bin straight away in the second-half, but Kieran Crowley's men were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
Hooker Sean Cronin scored Ireland's first points of the second half, touching down under the posts after good work from substitue fly-half Ian Madigan, who converted to make it 36-0 to the Irish.
Canada eventually got on the board after 68 minutes, DTH Van der Merwe racing over after a failed grubber kick from Payne gifted the winger possession.
Another substitute fly-half in the form of Nathan Hirayama converted Canada's try, before Ireland made it six different try scorers when Rob Kearney was released by Keith Earls to make it 41-7.
Madigan converted again, before the out-half set up centre Payne and converted once more to give Ireland a 50-7 win.
South Africa 32-34 Japan
A late try from Karne Hesketh has given Japan a shock 34-32 victory over South Africa in the Rugby World Cup this evening.
Japan struck the first blow in the tie, with Ayumu Goromaru stroking over after being fouled by Zane Kirchner.
South Africa responded with an 18th-minute try from Francois Louw, Patrick Lambie converting the flanker's score to give the Springboks a four point lead.
Japan went back in front after 30 minutes, a driving maul towards the South Africa line resulting in captain Michael Leitch touching down, Goromaru converting again to make it 10-7 to Eddie Jones's side.
The Springboks responded almost straight away as hooker Bismarck du Plessis replicated Leitch's efforts by using the maul to good effect before jumping over the line for his side's second try, the 10th of his career.
Lambie failed to add the extra two points from the boot, meaning Heyneke Meyer's men took a 12-10 lead into the half.
Japan struck first in the second period, Goromaru making up for his first-half penalty miss by splitting the posts after Tendai Mtawarira was caught offside.
South Africa once again responded immediately, lock Lodewyk de Jager sprinting away from the Japanese defence to touch down and hand Lambie a relatively easy conversion attempt, the fly-half making no mistake.
Goromaru kept Japan in touch with another penalty to make it a three-point game after 48 minutes, before the same man levelled the scores moments later with another penalty kick.
The favourites restored their lead with a Lambie penalty after Mtawrira was tackled late, before Japan responded through Goromaru with another penalty.
South Africa looked to be pulling away on 63 minutes though, as Adriaan Strauss sidestepped Kotaro Matsushima before scoring a try, which Handre Pollard converted to give the Springboks a nine point lead.
Japan pegged their opponents back on 69 minutes though, as Goromaru ran to the corner to score his side's second try, before converting to level the scores.
The Springboks moved into the lead again moments later, as Pollard was brought down illegally. The substitute took the penalty and scored, to give South Africa a three-point lead.
With one minute remaining Coenraad Oosthuizen received a yellow card for an illegal tackle on Takeshi Kizu, and with their one-man advantage Japan thought they had scored a try as their maul crossed the line, but the television match official ruled against it.
Five minutes after regulation time Japan snatched victory from 14-man South Africa, as Hesketh scored a try at the left corner for a 34-32 victory.
France 32-10 Italy
Frederic Michalak has put on an accurate kicking performance, helping the French overcome the Italians in their Rugby World Cup pool encounter against Italy at Twickenham this evening.
Tries from Nicolas Mas and Rabah Slimani also capped off a dominant performance by the French, as they walk away convincing winners.
The victory was soured by the injury of winger Yoann Huget, who struggled to hold back the tears as he was brought off with a suspected anterior cruciate ligaments injury.
The French controlled the first half, relying on Michalak's kicking to build their lead, as the number 10 scored 12 of his side's 15 points.
The second half started as the first ended, with Michalak adding another three points to his side's tally.
Shortly after, France scored their first try of the game as Michalak kicked through for Slimani to gather and cross over.
The Italians responded with a try of their own, as Giovanbattista Venditti raced over to the far right touchline after evading Leonardo Sarto's tackle, reducing the gap to 15 points.
Huget then failed to return to his feet on the hour-mark after injuring his anterior cruciate ligaments, which will rule the French winger out for the rest of the tournament.
France powered on and scored their second try of the match through Mas, who converted the try by touching the base of the goalposts, stretching the lead to 20 points.
The converted Michalak penalty gave France a 32-10 win over the Italians, putting France second in Pool B behind Ireland with four points.
Georgia squeezed past Tonga 17-10 in a bruising encounter at Kingsholm in Pool C in the Rugby World Cup.
The match started tentatively and Kurt Morath and Merab Kvirikashvili traded penalties as both sides' discipline and handling let them down in the opening quarter.
Mamuka Gorgodze powered through the middle of a ruck and stretched over the line after some good forward play to give the Georgians the lead. Kvirikashvili converted before poor Tonga hands ruined two promising counter attacks which would have got them back in the game.
Tonga turned down the chance to go for three points and opted to kick for the corner, but a tough forward pass call ruined the chance for Viliami Ma'afu to cross to bring the scores level.
The strong Georgian defence held firm after the break and missed the chance to extend the lead with a Kvirikashvili missed penalty. Kvirikashvili made amends though after his break was recycled and flanker Giorgi Tkhilaishvili picked up the loose ball to flop over the line.
Kvirikashvili converted before Tonga fought their way back in to the game and they had another try disallowed for a poor grounding. The Tongans were not to be denied a third time though after Fetu'u Vainikolo crossed in the corner with Morath adding the conversion.
Georgian fullback Kvirikashvili received a yellow card for giving away a penalty in the run-up to Vainikolo's try, but Tonga could not find away through the 14 men in black shirts as the game ended in favour of the Europeans
Ireland 50-7 Canada
Ireland secured a bonus-point victory over Canada at the Millenium Stadium this afternoon thanks to tries from Sean O'Brien, Iain Henderson, Johnny Sexton, Dave Kearney, Sean Cronin, Rob Kearney and Jared Payne.
Johnny Sexton put Ireland 3-0 up early on from just under the posts, Canada's scrum-half Gordon McRorie missed a penalty for Canada moments earlier.
Sean O'Brien drove towards the Canadian line at the back of the Irish maul to touch down after 17 minutes, Sexton putting over the resulting conversion, before Iain Henderson made it 15-0 to Ireland minutes later with Sexton again adding the extra two points from the boot.
It was Sexton who then turned try scorer, racing down the left and touching down in the corner, but the out-half failed to put his own conversion over.
Dave Kearney secured the bonus point for Ireland, finding a hole in Canada's defence to score the team's fourth try from a Sexton pass, the fly-half making no mistake from his conversion to give his side a 29-0 lead at half-time.
Canada thought they had their first points of the half just before the whistle when DTH Van der Merwe went over the line, only for the try to be ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass in the build-up.
Ireland lost Paul O'Connell to the sin-bin straight away in the second-half, but Kieran Crowley's men were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
Hooker Sean Cronin scored Ireland's first points of the second half, touching down under the posts after good work from substitue fly-half Ian Madigan, who converted to make it 36-0 to the Irish.
Canada eventually got on the board after 68 minutes, DTH Van der Merwe racing over after a failed grubber kick from Payne gifted the winger possession.
Another substitute fly-half in the form of Nathan Hirayama converted Canada's try, before Ireland made it six different try scorers when Rob Kearney was released by Keith Earls to make it 41-7.
Madigan converted again, before the out-half set up centre Payne and converted once more to give Ireland a 50-7 win.
South Africa 32-34 Japan
A late try from Karne Hesketh has given Japan a shock 34-32 victory over South Africa in the Rugby World Cup this evening.
Japan struck the first blow in the tie, with Ayumu Goromaru stroking over after being fouled by Zane Kirchner.
South Africa responded with an 18th-minute try from Francois Louw, Patrick Lambie converting the flanker's score to give the Springboks a four point lead.
Japan went back in front after 30 minutes, a driving maul towards the South Africa line resulting in captain Michael Leitch touching down, Goromaru converting again to make it 10-7 to Eddie Jones's side.
The Springboks responded almost straight away as hooker Bismarck du Plessis replicated Leitch's efforts by using the maul to good effect before jumping over the line for his side's second try, the 10th of his career.
Lambie failed to add the extra two points from the boot, meaning Heyneke Meyer's men took a 12-10 lead into the half.
Japan struck first in the second period, Goromaru making up for his first-half penalty miss by splitting the posts after Tendai Mtawarira was caught offside.
South Africa once again responded immediately, lock Lodewyk de Jager sprinting away from the Japanese defence to touch down and hand Lambie a relatively easy conversion attempt, the fly-half making no mistake.
Goromaru kept Japan in touch with another penalty to make it a three-point game after 48 minutes, before the same man levelled the scores moments later with another penalty kick.
The favourites restored their lead with a Lambie penalty after Mtawrira was tackled late, before Japan responded through Goromaru with another penalty.
South Africa looked to be pulling away on 63 minutes though, as Adriaan Strauss sidestepped Kotaro Matsushima before scoring a try, which Handre Pollard converted to give the Springboks a nine point lead.
Japan pegged their opponents back on 69 minutes though, as Goromaru ran to the corner to score his side's second try, before converting to level the scores.
The Springboks moved into the lead again moments later, as Pollard was brought down illegally. The substitute took the penalty and scored, to give South Africa a three-point lead.
With one minute remaining Coenraad Oosthuizen received a yellow card for an illegal tackle on Takeshi Kizu, and with their one-man advantage Japan thought they had scored a try as their maul crossed the line, but the television match official ruled against it.
Five minutes after regulation time Japan snatched victory from 14-man South Africa, as Hesketh scored a try at the left corner for a 34-32 victory.
France 32-10 Italy
Frederic Michalak has put on an accurate kicking performance, helping the French overcome the Italians in their Rugby World Cup pool encounter against Italy at Twickenham this evening.
Tries from Nicolas Mas and Rabah Slimani also capped off a dominant performance by the French, as they walk away convincing winners.
The victory was soured by the injury of winger Yoann Huget, who struggled to hold back the tears as he was brought off with a suspected anterior cruciate ligaments injury.
The French controlled the first half, relying on Michalak's kicking to build their lead, as the number 10 scored 12 of his side's 15 points.
The second half started as the first ended, with Michalak adding another three points to his side's tally.
Shortly after, France scored their first try of the game as Michalak kicked through for Slimani to gather and cross over.
The Italians responded with a try of their own, as Giovanbattista Venditti raced over to the far right touchline after evading Leonardo Sarto's tackle, reducing the gap to 15 points.
Huget then failed to return to his feet on the hour-mark after injuring his anterior cruciate ligaments, which will rule the French winger out for the rest of the tournament.
France powered on and scored their second try of the match through Mas, who converted the try by touching the base of the goalposts, stretching the lead to 20 points.
The converted Michalak penalty gave France a 32-10 win over the Italians, putting France second in Pool B behind Ireland with four points.
Friday, 18 September 2015
RWC 2015: Group A: ENG 35-11 FIJI
ENG 35-11 FIJ
England have opened their 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign with a 35-11 win over Fiji at Twickenham after Mike Brown scored two tries for the host nation.
George Ford got the opening points of the tournament on the board just a couple of minutes after kickoff as the home side benefited from a handling error by Ben Volavola, allowing England to force a penalty from the resulting scrum.
The Fiji fly-half could have leveled the score shortly after as the Pacific Islanders were awarded a penalty of their own, but his attempt at the uprights clipped the outside of the left post.
The host nations extended their lead midway through the opening period when Dominiko Waqaniburotu gave away a penalty for a tackle on Jonny May, allowing England to surge towards the try line, eventually forcing a penalty try when Nikola Matawalu illegally blocked the charge, earning himself 10 minutes in the sin bin.
England continued to dominate, with Mike Brown diving over after Jonathan Joseph found him with a pass out wide, but Fiji started to see more of the ball once back up to 15 men.
Matawalu tried to make amends for his earlier yellow card with a pacy run down the right, but the scrum-half lost control of the ball as he dived for the line, forcing the referee to wipe off his score.
However, Nemani Nadolo finally got Fiji off the mark half an hour into the contest, collecting a kick forward from Volavola before dodging a tackle from Anthony Watson, leaving him to leap across, while both sides added a further three points from penalties before the interval.
Fiji looked stronger at the start of the second half, slowing England down as Stuart Lancaster's side pushed for a third try, before cutting the cap to seven points when Volavola added the first points of the second half from a penalty with just 15 minutes remaining.
Owen Farrell came off the bench to restore England's 10-point advantage, before Brown added his second try of the evening following a pass from Farrell to May, who set up the full-back to power over out wide.
Knowing that a fourth try would give them a bonus point, England were quickly on the attack again, with Brown just being halted as he tried to break for a hat-trick.
Brown powered towards the line again with just a couple of minutes remaining before passing to Farrell, but a string of quick passes from right to left failed to result in the elusive fourth try for the 2003 champions.
There was just time for one final push towards the line though, with Sam Burgess offloading to Brown, before the ball popped up to Billy Vunipola, leaving the second-half replacement to surge across the line despite Matawalu's attempts to hold him up.
England have opened their 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign with a 35-11 win over Fiji at Twickenham after Mike Brown scored two tries for the host nation.
George Ford got the opening points of the tournament on the board just a couple of minutes after kickoff as the home side benefited from a handling error by Ben Volavola, allowing England to force a penalty from the resulting scrum.
The Fiji fly-half could have leveled the score shortly after as the Pacific Islanders were awarded a penalty of their own, but his attempt at the uprights clipped the outside of the left post.
The host nations extended their lead midway through the opening period when Dominiko Waqaniburotu gave away a penalty for a tackle on Jonny May, allowing England to surge towards the try line, eventually forcing a penalty try when Nikola Matawalu illegally blocked the charge, earning himself 10 minutes in the sin bin.
England continued to dominate, with Mike Brown diving over after Jonathan Joseph found him with a pass out wide, but Fiji started to see more of the ball once back up to 15 men.
Matawalu tried to make amends for his earlier yellow card with a pacy run down the right, but the scrum-half lost control of the ball as he dived for the line, forcing the referee to wipe off his score.
However, Nemani Nadolo finally got Fiji off the mark half an hour into the contest, collecting a kick forward from Volavola before dodging a tackle from Anthony Watson, leaving him to leap across, while both sides added a further three points from penalties before the interval.
Fiji looked stronger at the start of the second half, slowing England down as Stuart Lancaster's side pushed for a third try, before cutting the cap to seven points when Volavola added the first points of the second half from a penalty with just 15 minutes remaining.
Owen Farrell came off the bench to restore England's 10-point advantage, before Brown added his second try of the evening following a pass from Farrell to May, who set up the full-back to power over out wide.
Knowing that a fourth try would give them a bonus point, England were quickly on the attack again, with Brown just being halted as he tried to break for a hat-trick.
Brown powered towards the line again with just a couple of minutes remaining before passing to Farrell, but a string of quick passes from right to left failed to result in the elusive fourth try for the 2003 champions.
There was just time for one final push towards the line though, with Sam Burgess offloading to Brown, before the ball popped up to Billy Vunipola, leaving the second-half replacement to surge across the line despite Matawalu's attempts to hold him up.
Sunday, 13 September 2015
Pro 12 Sunday 13th September
Ospreys 18-20 Munster
Munster snatched victory over Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium thanks to CJ Stander's late try.
The replacement back-row went over after a series of drives on the Ospreys' line to tie the scores, with Ian Keatley converting for the win.
Six penalties from Sam Davies had seemed set to earn Ospreys their first Pro12 win of the new season.
But Tyler Bleyendaal's cross-kick to Stephen Fitzgerald kept Munster in contention before Stander crossed.
Before kick-off Ospreys honoured the memory of former player Jerry Collins at what was their first home game of the campaign.
In addition to a minute's silence, the Welsh region retired the six jersey - the number which Collins wore most often for Ospreys - for the match as a mark of respect.
Instead blind-side flanker Joe Bearman wore a shirt that was blank on the back where the number would normally be.
Former New Zealand back-row Collins and wife Alana Madill died in a car crash in France in June 2015, with their daughter, Ayla, surviving following hospital treatment.
A tight first half saw Ospreys edge the scoreboard thanks to three Davies penalties, with Bleyendaal replying with two of his own for Munster.
Try chances were few and far between, but Ospreys scrum-half Brendon Leonard produced one beautiful break from around the edge of a ruck that foundered without the support it deserved.
Munster number eight Robin Copeland also caught the eye as he found a huge whole in the Ospreys midfield to charge into the home 22, but the Welsh defenders held firm to turn over possession from a dangerous position.
Davies stretched Ospreys' lead after the restart with his fourth penalty but Munster replied with a well-worked try to take the lead.
Ospreys had to commit too many defenders to keep out a series of close-range drives at their line, so when the ball was spun back to Bleyendaal the fly-half was able to find wing Fitzgerald in acres of space on the left with a cross-kick.
Bleyendaal's conversion gave Munster a one-point advantage, but Ospreys kept their heads and won another penalty that Davies slotted to retake the lead going into the last quarter.
Bolstered by some fresh legs off the bench, the Ospreys scrum - which had been under pressure early in the match - splintered the opposing eight to earn another kickable penalty that Davies again struck sweetly between the posts.
But needing a converted try to steal victory, Munster worked their way to the Ospreys line and after a series of drives sent replacement back-row Stander over.
The conversion was still needed to seal victory, but replacement fly-half Keatley showed few nerves as he stroked the ball over to spoil Ospreys' afternoon.
Saturday, 12 September 2015
Pro 12 Saturday 12th September
Scarlets 22-12 Ulster
Scarlets survived having three players sent to the sin-bin for the second week in succession to beat Ulster in their Pro12 encounter at Parc y Scarlets.
Treviso 24-27 Edinburgh
Greig Tonks knocked over a late penalty to give Edinburgh a hard-earned victory over Treviso in Italy.
Leinster 23-15 Cardiff Blues
Scarlets survived having three players sent to the sin-bin for the second week in succession to beat Ulster in their Pro12 encounter at Parc y Scarlets.
Pete Edwards, John Barclay and George Earle were all shown yellow, but Scarlets remained mostly in control.
Fly-half Dan Jones kicked 17 points, with Hadleigh Parkes scoring a try.
Ulster threatened a comeback when Rory Scholes crossed before being awarded a penalty try, but a late Jones penalty denied them even a losing bonus point.
Scarlets, unchanged from their opening win at champions Glasgow,started brightly and Parkes almost squeezed in at the right corner after a flowing Scarlets counter-attack, but Scholes just dragged his opposite winger into touch.
Fly-half Jones kept the scoreboard ticking over for the home side, though, with three penalties.
But the disciplinary problems that saw Scarlets finish last week's win at Scotstoun with three men in the sin-bin continued, with prop Edwards yellow-carded three minutes before half-time for not using his arms in the tackle.
Referee Andrew Brace had already issued a warning for the same offence to scrum-half Aled Davies and this time reached for his pocket.
But Ulster - so impressive against Welsh opposition last week whenbeating Ospreys at home - were not able to take full advantage of the indiscretion, as Stuart McCloskey skewed the resulting penalty wide of the right-hand post.
Instead Scarlets continued to dominate and Jones missed a penalty soon after the restart, but kicked a brilliant touchline conversion soon after when Parkes claimed a try.
Scarlets' forwards sucked in the Ulster defence before the ball was spread wide by fly-half Jones to Gareth Owen, who fixed the last defender before sending his winger over for a try.
Stung into action, Ulster at last maintained pressure in the Scarlets 22 and the home side had number eight Barclay sin-binned for slowing possession at a ruck.
This time the visitors made their numerical advantage count and wing Scholes twisted through James Davies' tackle to score an unconverted try in the left corner.
Jones added a fourth penalty but Ulster, encouraged by their earlier success, continued to go through the phases.
Another try-line struggle saw Scarlets replacement lock Earle collapse a maul, give up a penalty try - converted by McCloskey - and earn himself 10 minutes in the sin-bin.
But with time running out, Ulster fly-half Peter Nelson was caught trying to run the ball out of defence, conceding a penalty that opposite number Jones tucked away to give Scarlets victory and deny the visitors a losing bonus point.
Treviso 24-27 Edinburgh
Greig Tonks knocked over a late penalty to give Edinburgh a hard-earned victory over Treviso in Italy.
First-half tries from Phil Burleigh, Damien Hoyland and Sam Beard gave the visitors a great platform.
But Andrea Pratichetti and Duncan Naude touched down either side of half-time and Jayden Hayward kicked his fourth successful penalty to level the game.
Tonks then took his points tally to 12 with a penalty on 72 minutes to make it two wins from two in the Pro12.
Following on from last weekend's 16-9 win against Leinster, Burleigh opened the scoring after just four minutes, while winger Hoyland made it three tries in two games as he sprinted clear.
Beard provided the pass for Hoyland and then dived in at the corner seven minutes before half time.
But a good spell of home pressure saw Pratichetti touch down against the post protector and Edinburgh's lead was cut to eight points at the interval.
Edinburgh then had Neil Cochrane sin-binned for repeated infringements and Naude forced his way over the line to cut the deficit further, although Hayward failed to land the extras this time.
But the New Zealander would later level the game at 24-24 before Tonks delivered the winning kick.
Edinburgh needed to withstand a further barrage, with Treviso knocking on just short of the line before Alan Solomons' side could boot the ball clear.
Leinster 23-15 Cardiff Blues
Leinster earned their first win of the Pro12 season but had to battle hard to beat Cardiff Blues despite dominating possession for most of the contest.
Two Rhys Patchell penalties put Cardiff 6-0 up but a Jack Conan try helped the home side move 10-6 up with Isa Nacewa moving beyond 400 points for Leinster.
Another Patchell penalty cut the lead to 10-9 by the break and his two further kicks put Cardiff 15-13 up.
But Nacewa's third penalty and a late penalty try proved enough for Leinster.
After retaking the lead with Nacewa's 65th-minute penalty, Leinster dominated the next 12 minutes of action and the clinching penalty try came after Blues skipper Josh Navidi had been sin-binned for coming in from the side as the home side were camped on the Cardiff line.
Four-times champions Leinster opened their campaign last weekend with a 16-9 defeat in Edinburgh with Cardiff earning a 61-13 bonus-point win over perennial Pro12 struggles Zebre.
Patchell's two early penalties gave Cardiff a 6-0 advantage at the RDS with his second effort from just inside his own half.
However, Leinster, minus their 16 Ireland World Cup squad members, regrouped to dominate possession with flanker Josh van der Flier and centre Ben Te'o both particularly prominent.
Veteran Nacewa's first penalty brought up his 400 points for the Irish province and they were ahead by the 16th minute as Conan burrowed his way over after a break by the lively Te'o.
Nacewa's conversion increased Leinster's lead but Cardiff produced remarkable discipline to withstand further pressure and then snatched three points before the break as Patchell slotted another long-range penalty.
After having 76% of the first-half possession, Leinster increased their lead to 13-9 thanks to a second Nacewa penalty but Cardiff continued to show great resolve as two Patchell penalties put them 15-13 up.
At that stage, a remarkable rearguard action win appeared on for the visitors but Leinster reasserted themselves in the closing 15 minutes as Nacewa's third penalty was followed by their clinching penalty try following Navidi's 75th-minute sin-binning.
Leinster were already camped on the line when the Blues skipper was yellow carded and from the resultant line-out, another maul ended up with referee Ben Whitehouse signalling the penalty try, which Nacewa converted.
Patchell attempted to snatch a bonus point with a late ambitious drop goal attempt but was off target.
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