RUGBY WORLD CUP: Results Saturday 10 October

Australia 15, Wales 6 at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)
England 60, Uruguay 3 in Manchester (World Cup, Pool A)
Scotland 36, Samoa 33 in Newcastle (World Cup, Pool B)

Briefly
Australia put on a stunning ten minute display of defence against Wales in the second half. Reduced to 13 players they held out a great effort by Wales to score in a thrilling encounter. The score was 12-6 to Australia. A Welsh try with the conversion would have put them in the lead. But Wales could not breach the defence. Stand up tall Australia and be proud. Yet another amazing game at this tournament.

Probably the best game of rugby at the tournament to date saw Scotland just edge out Samoa 36-33. What a game! Running rugby at its best. Whew!!

England defeated Uruguay 60-3. That was that!

After today’s results the quarter finals look like this.

Australia v Scotland
Wales v South Africa
New Zealand v Ireland or France
Ireland or France v Argentina

The quarter finals will take place next Saturday and Sunday

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Saturday’s Games

Due to other commitments previews have to be brief.

10.10.2015
Australia v Wales at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)

This is a crucial game in Pool A. The winner will take top spot and will play either Scotland or Japan in the quarter finals. The loser will have the much harder game against South Africa.

Prediction: Wales by 5 points. Score 26-21

England v Uruguay in Manchester (World Cup, Pool A)

Nothing much to write about this one. England are out of the tournament and will want to appease their fans with a huge win which they are capable of doing. Uruguay will be going home without a win and having to re qualify for the 2019 tournament.

Prediction: England by 73 points. Score 81-8

Samoa v Scotland in Newcastle (World Cup, Pool B)

Samoa has been a huge disappointment at this tournament. They will put up a good fight in the first half but I expect Scotland to be too strong in the second.

Prediction: Scotland by 13 points. Score 24-11

AUSTRALIA 33, ENGLAND 13: Rugby World Cup, Pool A

03.10.2015

SENSATIONAL GAME. ENGLAND OUT!

In what has to be one of the most sensational results in all Rugby World Cups, Australia has created rugby history by eliminating host nation England from the tournament.

This has been a sensational Rugby World Cup already and we are only at the pool stages. Is there more sensation to come? I blooming hope so!

England were comprehensively outplayed by Australia in every facet of the game. Australia’s defence was outstanding, they dominated the breakdowns, the scrums and simply out scored their opponents.

For England this is the end of their tournament. How bitterly disappointed the team, coaching staff and fans must be. Heartbroken would probably be putting it mildly. Devastating!

Australia has now put their hand up as a serious contender for a place in the finals.

ENGLAND v AUSTRALIA: Rugby World Cup, Pool A

03.10.2015

Image thanks to www.englandrugby.com

Venue: Twickenham

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Pool Standings

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	BP	PT
WALES	3	3	0	0	105	47	58	11	2	1	13
AUSTRALIA	2	2	0	0	93	16	77	14	1	1	9
ENGLAND	2	1	0	1	60	39	21	5	2	2	6
FIJI	3	0	0	3	37	86	-49	3	9	0	0
URUGUAY	2	0	0	2	12	119	-107	0	19	0	0

Preview
It doesn’t get better than this. Probably the most crucial pool match of this World Cup and certainly the most important to this date. A loss by England would be catastrophic as it would almost certainly eliminate them from the quarter finals. If that happens it would be the first time at a Rugby World Cup tournament that the host nations has not reached the quarter finals.Heads could roll!

A win to Australia would bring them to at least level with Wales on the points table and set up a vital pool clash on the 10th October. The Aussies have been the improving team among the top nations in world rugby. They won the Rugby Championship for the first time, including win over New Zealand. This is a vastly improved side from a year ago.

Twickenham will be all noise but the English fans will also be holding their breath and crossing everything they can find.

Last Five Encounters
29.11.2014 England 26-17 at Twickenham (Cook Cup)
02.11.2013 England 20-13 at Twickenham (Cook Cup)
17.11.2012 Australia 20-14 at Twickenham (Cook Cup)
13.11.2010 England 35-18 at Twickenham (Cook Cup)
19.06.2010 England 21-20 in Sydney (Cook Cup)

England has dominated Australia at test level in recent times.

Previous World Cups
06.10.2007 England 12-10 in Marseilles (World Cup,quarter final)
22.11.2003 England 20-17 in Sydney (World Cup, Final)
11.06.1995 England 25-22 in Capetown (World Cup, Quarter final)
02.11.1991 Australia 12-6 at Twickenham (World Cup, Final)
23.05.1987 Australia 19-6 in Sydney (World Cup)

These two teams have a long history at World Cup tournaments with England holding an edge.

Australia Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
27.09.2015 v Uruguay W 65-3 in Birmingham (World Cup, Pool A)
23.09.2015 v Fiji W 28-13 in Cardiff (World Cup, Pool A)
05.09.2015 v United States W 47-10 in Chicago
15.08.2015 v New Zealand L 13-41 in Auckland (Bledisloe Cup)
08.08.2015 v New Zealand W 27-19 in Sydney (Rugby Champ., Bledisloe Cup)

England Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
26.09.2015 v Wales L 25-28 at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)
18.09.2015 v Fiji W 35-11 at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)
05.09.2015 v Ireland W 21-13 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)
22.08.2015 v France L 20-25 in Paris (World Cup Warm Up)
15.08.2015 v France W 19-15 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: England 2nd, Australia 6th

World Rugby Ranking Points
Australia 86.75, England 82.35

Prediction: Almost too close to call. Australia by 1 point. Score 27-26

TEAMS

England
15 Michael Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Bradley Barritt, 11 Jonathan May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 Benjamin Morgan, 7 Christopher Robshaw (Capt.), 6 Thomas Wood, 5 Geoffrey Parling,
4 Joseph Launchbury, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Thomas Youngs, 1 Joseph Marler
Replacements
16 Robert Webber, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 George Kruis,
20 Nicholas Easter, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 George Ford, 23 Samuel Burgess
Head Coach: Stuart Lancaster

Australia
15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matthew Giteau, 11 Robert Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 William Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Robert Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas,
3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (Capt.), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Gregory Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Benjamin McCalman, 21 Nicholas Phipps, 22 Matthew Toomua, 
23 Kurtley Beale
Head Coach: Michael Cheika

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Saturday 27 September

26.09.2015
Wales 28, England 25 at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)
South Africa 46, Samoa 6 in Birmingham (World Cup, Pool B)
Italy 23, Canada 18 in Leeds (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
After being behind in just about every aspect of the games Wales stormed home in the last quarter of the match to snatch a 28-25 win over England in their pool match. The Twickenham crowd was noisy and full of song for most of the match as England looked to have the game well under control when leading 21-12 with 30 minutes remaining. Wales’ comeback was remarkable but came with costly injuries.

England now have to win against Australia on the 3rd October to hold second place in the pool or become the first Rugby World Cup host to miss the quarter finals. Desperate stuff.

South Africa blew away the memory of the loss to Japan with an emphatic 46-6 victory over a brave but outclassed Samoan side. The Samoans were not match for a South African side that were determined to stamp their mark on this tournament. Sadly South African captain Jean de Villiers has been ruled out of the tournament with a broken jaw.

Italy had to struggle past a gallant Canadian side that came close to scoring the second major upset of the tournament.

ENGLAND v WALES: Rugby World Cup Pool A

26.09.2015

Venue: Twickenham

Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	BP	PT
WALES	1	1	0	0	54	9	45	8	0	1	5
ENGLAND	1	1	0	0	35	11	24	4	1	1	5
AUSTRALIA	1	1	0	0	28	13	15	3	1	0	4
FIJI	2	0	0	2	24	63	-39	2	7	0	0
URUGUAY	1	0	0	1	9	54	-45	0	8	0	0

Preview
It doesn’t get bigger than this game in Rugby World Cup Pool play. Two of Europe’s fiercest rivals will square off in the pool of death. Apart from the France-Ireland clash in Pool D this is one of THE crucial games before the quarter finals. Both teams have everything to win and an awful lot to lose from the outcome.

England were shaky in their 35-11 win over Fiji in the opening game of this tournament. They did enough but didn’t impress against a tough Fijian side who played a part of that game with 14 men. Their second game in front of their home crowd will see a huge improvement.

Wales’ preparation for this game was an easy win over Uruguay, hardly ideal before such a crucial game. Their lead up form was impressive during the warm up games which included, like England, a win over 6 Nations Champion Ireland.

So this is it. The first BIG clash of the tournament. It at the home of rugby and it will be in front of a packed house. What an atmosphere! What a game!

Last Five Encounters  W 3, E 2
06.02.2015 England 21-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
09.03.2014 England 29, Wales 18 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
16.03.2013 Wales 30-3 at Cardiff (6 Nations)
25.02.2012 Wales 19-12 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
13.08.2011 Wales 19-9 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm-up)

Previous Rugby World Cups
08.06.1987 Wales 16-3 in Brisbane (World Cup)

England Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
05.09.2015 v Ireland W 21-13 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)
22.08.2015 v France L 20-25 in Paris (World Cup Warm Up)
15.08.2015 v France W 19-15 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)
14.03.2015 v Scotland W 25-13 at Twickenham (6 Nations;Calcutta Cup)
01.03.2015 v Ireland L 9-19 in Dublin (6 Nations)

Wales Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
05.09.2015 v Italy W 23-19 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm Up)
29.08.2015 v Ireland W 16-10 in Dublin (World Cup warm Up)
08.08.2015 v Ireland L 21-35 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm Up)
21.03.2015 v Italy W 61-20 in Rome (6 Nations)
14.03.2015 v Ireland W 23-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Wales 1st, England 2nd

World Rugby Ranking Points
England 85.04, wales 84.63

Data from www.rugbyinternational.net

Prediction: England by 6 points. Score 29-23

TEAMS

England
15 Michael Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Bradley Barritt, 12 Samuel Burgess, 11 Jonathon May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 William Vunipola, 7 Christopher Robshaw (Capt.), 6 Thomas Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Geoffrey Parling, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Thomas Youngs, 1 Joseph Marler
Replacements
16 Robert Webber, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Joseph Launchbury, 20 James Haskell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 George Ford,
23 Alexander Goode

Head Coach: Stuart Lancaster

Wales
15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 James Roberts,
11 Hallam Amos, 10 Daniel Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau,
7 Samuel Warburton (Capt.), 6 Daniel Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements
16 Kenneth Owens, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Luke Charteris,
20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Alexander Cuthbert

Head Coach: Warren Gatland

ENGLAND 35, FIJI 11: World Cup, Pool A

18.09.2015

England stuttered and stumbled their way to a win over Fiji following the opening ceremony of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

This was a match full of tension and full of errors. There was one stage in the second half when Fiji threatened to run away with the game. England brought on some timely replacements, took control of the game and eventually shut Fiji out.

If England plays like this again they may well struggle to make it past the quarter finals stage.

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	BP	PT
ENGLAND	1	1	0	0	35	11	24	4	1	1	5
FIJI	1	0	0	1	11	35	-24	1	4	0	0
AUSTRALIA
WALES
URUGUAY

ENGLAND v FIJI: Rugby World Cup, Pool A

18.09.2015

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Image thanks to http://toursof2012sites.com

Venue: Twickenham

Pool Standings

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	TF	TA	BP	PT
AUSTRALIA
ENGLAND
FIJI
WALES
URUGUAY

Preview
Following the opening ceremony, the on field action for the 2015 Rugby World Cup finals begins with the England-Fiji clash.

The Fijians will produce some tough tackles and moments of brilliance in the first half and give the hosts an awful fright. But England will be expecting that. Their better fitness and skill levels will pull them through. They should be pulling away by the end of the match.

Fiji’s performances pre tournament have been impressive. Don’t be surprised if the scores are closer but only the wildest optimist would predict a Fiji win. Still test rugby is a funny old game and this is the rugby world cup.

Other Previews
http://www.englandrugby.com/news/features/england-fiji-facts-and-stats/

Last Five Encounters
10.11.2012 England 54-12 at Twickenham
20.10.1999 England 45-24 at Twickenham (World Cup, Quarter Final Playoff)
20.07.1991 England 28-12 in Suva
04.11.1989 England 58-23 at Twickenham
17.06.1988 England 25-12 in Suva

The 1988 game was the first full test between these two sides. Thus Fiji has never defeated England in test rugby.

Previous World Cups
20.10.1999 England 45-24 at Twickenham (World Cup, Quarter Final Playoff)

England Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
05.09.2015 v Ireland W 21-13 at Twickenham ( World Cup Warm Up)
22.08.2015 v France L 20-25 in Paris (World Cup Warm Up)
15.08.2015 v France W 19-15 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm Up)
21.03.2015 v France W 55-35 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
14.03.2015 v Scotland W 25-13 at Twickenham (Calcutta Cup, 6 Nations)

Fiji Last Five P 5, W 3, D 1, L 1
06.09.2015 v Canada W 47-18 in London (World Cup Warm Up)
03.08.2015 v Samoa W 39-29 in Vancouver (Pacific Nations Cup, Final)
29.07.2015 v Japan W 27-22 in Toronto (Pacific Nations Cup)
24.07.2015 v Samoa D 30-30 in Suva (Pacific Nations Cup)
18.07.2015 v New Zealand Maori L 26-27 in Suva

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: England 2nd, Fiji 11th

World Rugby Ranking Points
England 85.04, Fiji 77.04

Prediction: England by 17 points. Score 35-18

TEAMS

England

15		Michael Brown	London Harlequins
14		Anthony Watson	Bath Rugby
13		Jonathan Joseph	Bath Rugby
12		Bradley Barritt	London Saracens
11		Jonathan May	Gloucester Rugby
10		George Ford	Bath Rugby
9		Benjamin Youngs	Leicester Tigers
8		Benjamin Morgan	Gloucester Rugby
7		Christopher Robshaw (Capt.)	London Harlequins
6		Thomas Wood	Northampton Saints
5		Geofrey Parling	Exeter Chiefs
4		Courtney Laws	Northampton Saints
3		Daniel Cole	Leicester Tigers
2		Thomas Youngs	Leicester Tigers
1		Joseph Marler	London Harlequins
16		Robert Webber	Bath Rugby
17		Marko Vunipola	London Saracens
18		Kieran Brookes	Northampton Saints
19		Joseph Launchbury	London Wasps
20		William Vunipola	London Saracens
21		Richard Wigglesworth	London Saracens
22		Owen Farrell	London Saracens
23		Samuel Burgess	Bath Rugby
		HEAD COACH: Stuart Lancaster

Fiji

15		Metuisela Talebula Maijaina	Union Bordeaux Bègles, France
14		Waisea Nayacalevu Vuidravuwalu	Stade Français, France
13		Vereniki Goneva	Leicester Tigers, England
12		Gabiriele Lovobalavu	Unattached
11		Nemani Nadolo	Canterbury Crusaders, New Zealand
10		Benjamin Volavola	NSW Waratahs, Australia
9		Nikola Matawalu	Bath Rugby, England
8		Sakiusa Masi Matadigo	Lyon Olympique Universitaire, France
7		Akapusi Qera (Capt.)	Montpellier Hérault Rugby, France
6		Dominiko Waqaniburotukula	CA Brive, France
5		Leone Nakarawa	Glasgow Warriors, Scotland
4		Apisalome Ratuniyarawa	SU Agen, France
3		Manasa Saulo Ramumu	RC Timişoara, Romania
2		Sunia Koto Vuli	RC Narbonne Méditérranée, France
1		Campese Ma'afu	Provence Rugby, France
16		Tuapati Talemaitoga	Provence Rugby, France
17		Peni Ravai	Nadroga
18		Isei Colati	U S O Nivernaise, France
19		Tevita Cavubati	Tasman, New Zealand
20		Peceli Yato	Worcester Warriors, England
21		Nemia Kenatale	Farul Constanta, Romania
22		Joshua Matavesi	Neath Swansea Ospreys
23		Asaeli Tikoirotuma	London Irish, England
		HEAD COACH: John McKee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiji_national_rugby_union_team