Rugby World Cup 2015: Weekend’s Matches

 

A stunning performance by Greig Laidlaw against Samoa has booked Scotland a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. Scotland worryingly leaked three tries at an alarming rate in the first-half but they settled after half-time and tightened up their defence. Tommy Seymour, John Hardie and captain Greig Laidlaw all crossed the try line. In the end, it was Laidlaw’s boot that proved to be the difference between the two sides. He kicked all three conversions as well as five penalties. It was a thrilling Pool B game, which denied Japan a last-gasp shot at advancing to the knock-out stages.

The Samoans frightened Scotland with three first-half tries, which put them three points ahead at half-time. The Pacific Islanders had early momentum against Vern Cotter’s men but they couldn’t keep up their dazzling play in the second-half. Their discipline let them down as they conceded penalty after penalty after penalty. They remained a danger because of the quality of runners in their backs and a late fourth try from Samoa meant it was a tense last two minutes of the game with only three points in it, but Scotland held on to win the game.

Australia faced the full might of Wales this weekend but heroically held their defensive line intact. Fly-half Bernard Foley kicked all of Australia’s points. They had a 12-6 lead in the 56^th minute when they lost two of their players to the sin bin. The Wallabies scrambled and tackled for their lives, preventing Wales from scoring any points within that time. This hard-fought victory proved how hard it will be for other teams to beat them in the knock-out stages of the tournament.

Wales dominated the early stages of the game but poor discipline plagued Gatland’s team in the second half. His side paid a high price for failing to score when the Wallabies were down to thirteen men for seven minutes. They had many chances to cross the try line in that period but were repelled by an extraordinary defence. Liam Williams suffered a foot injury during the game, which has ruled him out of the rest of the tournament. Gatland now has a week to patch together a backline for a match against the Springboks in the quarter-final.

Henry Slade, Jack Nowell and Danny Care injected freshness into the England side who demolished Uruguay on Saturday. Man of the Match, Nick Easter celebrated his first international start in four years with a hat-trick of tries, Nowell crossed the try line three times, Watson added two more international tries to his tally and Henry Slade also got on the scoreboard with one try. Successive losses to Wales and Australia had already confirmed England’s World Cup fate but at least they finished the tournament with a good performance against the amateur side.

Argentina scored nine tries in a comfortable win over Namibia on Sunday. The Pumas secured the bonus-point before the half-time break with tries from Hernandez, Moroni, Agulla and Isa. Argentina’s youngest World Cup starting XV for 16 years were creative and showed adventure as their youthful exuberance shone through. Even though the young players showed no mercy against Namibia, head coach Daniel Hourcade is likely to call upon more experienced players for next weekend’s quarter-final against Ireland.

Namibia struggled to cope with the Pumas pace throughout the game but they did succeed in scoring three tries themselves, which came from Tromp, Greyling and Jantjies. They failed to win a game in this year’s tournament but the future does look bright for Namibia rugby. It was not the farewell they deserved but at least they signed off with a smile on their faces. Their final act of the tournament was a conversion attempt from the retiring prop, Johnny Redelinghuys. It was unsuccessful but was one of the most heart-warming moments of the tournament so far.

Italy finished third in Pool D as they secured a bonus-point win over Romania Sunday afternoon. Sarto, Gori and Allan scored first-half tries and Zanni went over the line shortly after the half-time break. Mauro Bergamasco did not feature in the match but he did mark the end of an era in Italian rugby having become just the second player to play in five World Cups. Italy remain the only Tier One side not to reach the quarter-final stage of a Rugby World Cup but they have qualified for the tournament in 2019.

Romania had the chance to beat Italy but they didn’t take it. Their hopes of stealing the third spot in Pool D ended when Johann van Heerden was sent to the sin-bin in the 16^th minute. They did enhance their reputation after a stirling second half display in Exeter. Lynn Howells side scored three tries in the game, two from Apostol and the other from Popirlan, making it the first time in World Cup history that they have scored a try in each of their pool games.

France had moments of brilliance against Ireland but not enough of them. They didn’t get off to a good start with Michalak and Spedding missing two early penalties. The French were a blunt attacking force in the first half but were unable to get their hands on the ball in the second half. Ireland made the French team look like a poorly coached rabble. After losing to Joe Schmidt’s team, France have drawn the shortest straw in rugby and will face the mighty All Blacks in the quarter-final.

Ireland will savour this victory over the French, and they deserve to. They beat Saint André’s men, but at a cost. Joe Schmidt lost Sexton and O’Connell in the first half of the game, and Peter O’Mahony in the second-half. O’Mahony and O’Connell have both been ruled out of the rest of the tournament meaning O’Connell has played his last game in a green jersey. Ian Madigan came on for Sexton in the 25^th minute of the game and immediately calmed Irish nerves. He knew this was his big moment and he took it with both hands. The Dublin native was then reduced to tears following the victory. Rob Kearney and Conor Murray scored the only tries of the game.

United States went into their match against Japan with only pride to play for. They had a healthy share of possession and territory against the Japanese scoring two tries, one by Chris Wyles and the other by Takudzwa Ngwenya. The Americans made Japan work hard throughout the game but they leave the Rugby World Cup without a win.

Japan became the first team in World Cup history to win three group matches and not progress to the quarter-finals. While they did not play to the best of their ability against the Americans, they showed that they will be a strong force when they host the next Rugby World Cup. Kotaro Matsushima scored Japan’s opening try in which captain Leitch drew in the defence to give him a clear run to the line. Two more tries followed by Fujita and Mafi. It was another good win for them but we now bid farewell to a Japan side that got everyone to fall in love with them.