RUGBY WORLD CUP
POOL PHASE REPORT
HOSTS Japan reached the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever after a thrilling bonus-point victory over Scotland in Yokohama made it four wins out of four in Pool A.
Kenki Fukuoka scored either side of the half time gong to add to tries by Kotaro Matsushima and Keita Inagaki as the Japanese took firm control in the biggest match in their history.
Scotland actually took an early lead when Finn Russell completed a move which he started with just seven minutes on the clock.
But, for the remainder of the half, Gregor Townsend's men could not lay a glove on their opponents - and, within three minutes of the restart, Fukuoka had secured a bonus point by scoring the fourth Japanese try of the game.
At 28-7 down, Scotland looked just about out of it - with the only positive being that there was still time for them to rectify the situation.
WP Nel gave the first signs that the contest was not yet quite over by bundling over in the 50th minute before Townsend immediately made wholesale changes to his line-up.
Indeed, Zander Fagerson had only been on the pitch for a matter of a couple of minutes when he further reduced the arrears to seven points.
To their credit, though, Japan never panicked and the Cherry Blossoms gradually regained control of proceedings to stop the scoring and seal a sixth successive World Cup win.
Scotland could be satisfied at least that their fate had been decided on the pitch yesterday - as that was no sure thing after a week of uncertainty culminated in the devastating arrival of Typhoon Hagibis on Saturday.
In all, three matches were cancelled due to Hagibis including a decisive Pool B match between New Zealand and Italy and a Pool C decider between England and France.
Of course, Italy have a rotten record against the All Blacks in World Cups having lost all five previous meetings by an average of almost 60 points.
Nevertheless, the surprising lack of contingency planning by World Rugby deprived the disappointed Azzurri of any chance at all of sending shockwaves through the sport by knocking out the holders.
Remarkably, it meant instead that - for the fifth successive World Cup - the Italians finished in third place in the Pool with two wins out of four.
Next week, New Zealand will play - and they will play against an Ireland team which has beaten them twice in the last three years.
But, despite topping the rankings heading into the tournament, the form of the Irish has been wracked with inconsistency throughout this calendar year, something which was amply demonstrated during these Pool stages.
A convincing 22-3 win over Scotland was followed in the next match by a shock 19-12 defeat to Japan and there is a definite feeling that Joe Schmidt's Men in Green may well have peaked too soon during their brilliant 2018.
Certainly, that is not something which can be suggested of Jamie Joseph's Japanese outfit who have now climbed to their highest ever World Rugby ranking of seventh.
In a tasty quarter final clash on Sunday, the Cherry Blossoms take on South Africa, the team against which they made their first big splash four years ago at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.
At 32-29 down in Brighton, the Japanese famously kicked for the corner to push for a last-ditch try instead of taking a kick at the posts to secure a still highly creditable tie.
It worked - but ultimately counted only for blissful memories as the Blossoms were subsequently stung by a fixture programme which required them to play Scotland only four days later.
With Scottish hopes slain this time, it is now onto the Springboks again for Japan though it would be fair to say that the hosts no longer have the element of surprise.
In fact, twice previous champions South Africa easily won 41-7 in a warm-up match for this World Cup between the teams - and Rassie Erasmus's men will begin as heavy odds-on favourites to make it to a fifth semi final in just seven editions.
England are also aiming for a fifth appearance in a semi final when they take on Australia in the first quarter final match in Oita on Saturday.
The teams met at the last World Cup at Twickenham as the Wallabies thrashed England to dump the hosts out of their own tournament at the Pool stage.
But, since then, the tables have turned - and England, under Aussie coach Eddie Jones, have won all six meetings between the sides held in the last three-and-a-bit years.
Furthermore, the English squad will be well-rested having last played back on 5 October after Typhoon Hagibis caused the cancellation of their Pool decider against France on Saturday.
On the other hand, though, there is a genuine concern that England are seriously undercooked heading into the business end of the competition having played only 17 minutes against a Tier I opponent at full strength.
Of course, it was not England's fault that Leicester Tigers lock Tomás Lavanini was sent off so early for Argentina.
Lavanini was dismissed after his shoulder caught Owen Farrell cleanly on the jaw and so became one of a record seven players to receive a red card at this World Cup following a clampdown by World Rugby on high tackles.
Somehow, Farrell avoided being taken off the pitch for a standard head injury assessment (HIA) despite Saracens kicker then looking decidedly poor from the tee.
Indeed, England were nowhere near their best from an all-round perspective - and yet were always going to win comfortably against the Pumas with a man advantage for over three-quarters of the contest.
For Argentina, this was a first Pool stage exit since 2003 as the South Americans had also earlier lost narrowly to France in Tokyo.
In a complete game of two halves, the French stormed into a 20-3 lead at the interval before the Argentines came roaring back in the second period with tries from Guido Petti and Julián Montoya.
Both scores came through rolling mauls off a line-out and left Argentina with plenty of time to rescue the game.
Les Bleus were seriously rattled and began to lose their discipline which allowed Benjamín Urdapilleta to slot over two penalties which, incredibly, put the Pumas in a one-point lead with just 10 minutes left.
But this advantage lasted less than a minute before Camille Lopez executed a 38-metre drop goal from his wand of a left peg to put France back ahead.
Even then, there was still enough time for full-back Emiliano Boffelli to send a long-range penalty just wide when it would have won the game for Argentina.
Instead, the French held on for a 23-21 victory, a scoreline which they later repeated against Tonga in what was another tense affair.
Once again in that match in Kumamoto, Jacques Brunel's men had strode confidently into a 17-0 lead through tries from Virimi Vakatawa and Alivereti Raka.
But, once again, Les Bleus began to panic at the slightest bit of resistance as Newcastle Falcons' scrum-half Sonatane Takulua dived over from close range just before half time and Malietoa Hingano pounced early in the second period.
Suddenly, Tonga sensed a repeat of their 2011 upset over the French - but Romain Ntamack slotted over two penalties to ease Les Bleus' nerves just a little.
Nonetheless, there was still enough time for Tonga flanker Zane Kapeli to claim a cross-field kick and score - and still enough time after that for a restart.
It was too late, however, once Damian Penaud collected Lopez's kick and France were able to boot the ball out of play to ensure they remain the only northern hemisphere side never to have gone out at the Pool stage.
Regardless of that proud record, though, it is incredibly difficult to see this French vintage causing too many sleepless nights for their quarter final opponents Wales.
The Welsh head into the knockout stages ranked in second behind New Zealand only, having topped their Pool for the first time since 1999.
It was also the first time that Wales had won all four of their Pool matches since the competition was expanded to 20 teams in 2003.
The key to these achievements can be derived from the cracking 29-25 win over Australia in a breathless encounter in Tokyo.
At one stage, it seemed as if Warren Gatland's men were going to run away with it - and, indeed, they took a 23-8 lead into half time after tries from Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies.
Davies' try was particularly memorable with the scrum-half intercepting Will Genia's loose pass before sprinting from 10 metres inside his own half to cross the line.
However, Australia were not finished off just yet. Dane Haylett-Petty's try early in the second half brought renewed hope for the Wallabies but brought to Welsh minds a foreboding sense of history repeating after so many agonising past defeats to the Aussies.
Those fears deepened as Michael Hooper drove over from close range and Matt Toomua kicked a penalty to reduce the Wales lead to a single point, only for replacement Rhys Patchell to kick his third penalty with eight minutes left.
Effectively, Gatland's side had to navigate the final few moments with 14 men as full-back Liam Williams soldiered on with an injury - but, nevertheless, they dug in admirably to record a famous victory.
Nothing, though, was especially straightforward in Pool D, something neatly exemplified by the match-by-match progress of Fiji.
The Pacific islanders held half-time leads against both Australia and Wales before falling away in the second period - while, in between, they suffered a surprising 30-27 defeat to the lowest-ranked team in the section, Uruguay.
While that result effectively guaranteed an easy path to the knockout rounds for Wales and Australia, the race for third place - and automatic qualification for 2023 - was thrown wide open.
Ultimately, favourites Fiji recovered from their shock reverse against the Uruguayans to record a vital bonus point in a six-try 45-10 victory over Georgia.
And that meant all three Tier II teams in Pool D finished with one win and three defeats - but with Fiji in third through bonus points.
Overall, the performance of the Tier II at this World Cup was, once again, generally encouraging.
True, there were some painful lessons for Namibia and Canada in Pool B at the hands of southern hemisphere giants New Zealand and South Africa.
Meanwhile, Russia - who were late replacements for the disqualified Romania and Spain - were shut out in consecutive matches in Pool A against Ireland and Scotland.
But, despite all that, Tier II teams collectively managed to keep Tier I opponents below a total of 1000 points for the first time since the expansion in 2003.
Undoubtedly, the performance of Japan - surely now Tier II in name only - has helped in that regard, but the hosts' progress is, of course, to the credit of World Rugby and not its detriment.
Only eight teams and eight matches are left now - and New Zealand remain the outright favourites.
Rather excitingly, though, this Rugby World Cup still feels completely wide open.
POOL STAGE RESULTS AND STATISTICS
| W | L | F | A | Tries | Pts | |
| (Q) JAPAN | 4 | 0 | 115 | 62 | 13 | 19 |
| (Q) IRELAND | 3 | 1 | 121 | 27 | 18 | 16 |
| SCOTLAND | 2 | 2 | 119 | 55 | 16 | 11 |
| SAMOA | 1 | 3 | 58 | 128 | 8 | 5 |
| RUSSIA | 0 | 4 | 19 | 160 | 1 | 0 |
| 20-Sep | JAPAN | 30-10 | RUSSIA | Tokyo |
| 11:45 | Matsushima (3), Labuschagne Tamura (2) Tamura, Matsuda - | T P C DG | Golosnitsky Kushnarev Kushnarev - | |
| 22-Sep | IRELAND | 27-3 | SCOTLAND | Yokohama |
| 08:45 | Ryan, Best, Furlong Carty Sexton, Murray - | T P C DG | - Laidlaw - - | |
| 24-Sep | RUSSIA | 9-34 | SAMOA | Kumagaya |
| 11:15 | - Kushnarev (2) - Kushnarev | T P C DG | Leiua (2), Amosa, Fidow (2), Lee-Lo - Pisi (2) - | |
| 28-Sep | JAPAN | 19-12 | IRELAND | Shizuoka |
| 08:15 | Fukuoka Tamura (4) Tamura - | T P C DG | Ringrose, R Kearney - Carty - | |
| 30-Sep | SCOTLAND | 34-0 | SAMOA | Kobe |
| 11:15 | Maitland, Laidlaw, penalty (2) Laidlaw Laidlaw (2) Hogg | T P C DG | - - - - | |
| 03-Oct | IRELAND | 35-0 | RUSSIA | Kobe |
| 11:15 | Kearney, O'Mahony, Ruddock, Conway Ringrose - Sexton (3), Carty (2) - | T P C DG | - - - - | |
| 05-Oct | JAPAN | 38-19 | SAMOA | Toyota |
| 11:30 | Lafaele, Himeno, Fukuoka, Matsushima Tamura (4) Tamura (3) - | T P C DG | Taefu Taefu (4) Taefu - | |
| 09-Oct | SCOTLAND | 61-0 | RUSSIA | Shizuoka |
| 08:15 | Hastings (2), G Horne (3), Turner Seymour, Barclay, McInally - Hastings (8) - | T P C DG | - - - - | |
| 12-Oct | IRELAND | 47-5 | SAMOA | Fukuoka |
| 11:45 | Best, Furlong, Sexton (2), Larmour Stander, Conway - Sexton (4), Carbery (2) - | T P C DG | J Lam - - - | |
| 13-Oct | JAPAN | 28-21 | SCOTLAND | Yokohama |
| 11:45 | Matsushima, Inagaki, Fukuoka (2) - Tamura (4) - | T P C DG | Russell, Nel, Fagerson - Laidlaw (2), Russell - |
POOL B New Zealand and South Africa qualify for the Quarter Finals
| W | L | F | A | Tries | Pts | |
| (Q) NEW ZEALAND | 3 | 0 | 157 | 22 | 22 | 16 |
| (Q) SOUTH AFRICA | 3 | 1 | 185 | 36 | 27 | 15 |
| ITALY | 2 | 1 | 98 | 78 | 14 | 12 |
| NAMIBIA | 0 | 3 | 34 | 175 | 3 | 2 |
| CANADA | 0 | 3 | 14 | 177 | 2 | 2 |
| 21-Sep | NEW ZEALAND | 23-13 | SOUTH AFRICA | Yokohama |
| 10:45 | Bridge, Barrett Mo'unga (2), Barrett Mo'unga (2) - | T P C DG | Du Toit Pollard Pollard Pollard | |
| 22-Sep | ITALY | 47-22 | NAMIBIA | Higashiosaka |
| 06:15 | Penalty, Allan, Tebaldi, Padovani, Canna Poledri, Minozzi - Allan (3), Canna (2) - | T P C DG | Stevens, Greyling, Plato Loubser Loubser (2) - | |
| 26-Sep | ITALY | 48-7 | CANADA | Fukuoka |
| 08:45 | Steyn, Budd, Negri, penalty, Bellini, Zani Minozzi Allan Allan (3), Canna - | T P C DG | Coe - Nelson - | |
| 28-Sep | SOUTH AFRICA | 57-3 | NAMIBIA | Toyota |
| 10:45 | Mbonambi (2), Louw, Mapimpi (2), Am Gelant, Kolisi, Brits - E Jantjies (6) - | T P C DG | - Loubser - - | |
| 02-Oct | NEW ZEALAND | 63-0 | CANADA | Oita |
| 11:15 | J Barrett, Williams, B Barrett, Ioane S Barrett, Frizell, Weber (2), penalty - Mo'unga (8) - | T P C DG | - - - - | |
| 04-Oct | SOUTH AFRICA | 47-3 | ITALY | Shizuoka |
| 10:45 | Kolbe (2), Mbonambi, Am, Mapimpi, Snyman, Marx Pollard (2) Pollard (4) - | T P C DG | - Allan - - | |
| 06-Oct | NEW ZEALAND | 71-9 | NAMIBIA | Tokyo |
| 05:45 | Reece (2), Lienert-Brown (2), Ta'avao B Smith (2), Moody, Whitelock J Barrett, Perenara - Barrett (8) - | T P C DG | - Stevens (3) - - | |
| 08-Oct | SOUTH AFRICA | 66-7 | CANADA | Kobe |
| 11:15 | de Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant Steyn, Brits, Willemse, Malherbe - Jantjies (8) - | T P C DG | Heaton - Nelson - | |
| 12-Oct | NEW ZEALAND | C-C | ITALY | Toyota |
| 05:45 | Cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis | |||
| 13-Oct | NAMIBIA | C-C | CANADA | Kamaishi |
| 04:15 | Cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis |
POOL C England and France qualify for the Quarter Finals
| W | L | F | A | Tries | Pts | |
| (Q) ENGLAND | 3 | 0 | 119 | 20 | 17 | 17 |
| (Q) FRANCE | 3 | 0 | 79 | 51 | 9 | 15 |
| ARGENTINA | 2 | 2 | 106 | 91 | 14 | 11 |
| TONGA | 1 | 3 | 67 | 105 | 9 | 6 |
| UNITED STATES | 0 | 4 | 52 | 156 | 7 | 0 |
| 21-Sep | FRANCE | 23-21 | ARGENTINA | Tokyo |
| 08:15 | Fickou, Dupont Ntamack (2) Ntamack (2) Lopez | T P C DG | Petti, Montoya Sanchez, Urdapilleta (2) Sanchez - | |
| 22-Sep | ENGLAND | 35-3 | TONGA | Sapporo |
| 11:15 | Tuilagi (2), George, Cowan-Dickie Farrell (3) Farrell (3) - | T P C DG | - - Takulua - | |
| 26-Sep | ENGLAND | 45-7 | UNITED STATES | Kobe |
| 11:45 | Cokanasiga (2), Ford, Vunipola Cowan-Dickie, McConnochie, Ludlam - Ford (5) - | T P C DG | Campbell - MacGinty - | |
| 28-Sep | ARGENTINA | 28-12 | TONGA | Higashiosaka |
| 05:45 | Montoya (3), Carreras - Urdapilleta (4) - | T P C DG | Veainu (2) - Takulua - | |
| 02-Oct | FRANCE | 33-9 | UNITED STATES | Fukuoka |
| 08:45 | Huget, Raka, Fickou, Serin, Poirot - Ramos, Lopez (3) - | T P C DG | - MacGinty (3) - - | |
| 05-Oct | ENGLAND | 39-10 | ARGENTINA | Tokyo |
| 09:00 | May, Daly, B Youngs, Ford, Nowell Cowan-Dickie Farrell Farrell (3) - | T P C DG | Moroni Urdapilleta Boffelli - | |
| 06-Oct | FRANCE | 23-21 | TONGA | Kumamoto |
| 08:45 | Vakatawa, Raka Ntamack (3) Ntamack (2) - | T P C DG | Takulua, Hingano, Kapeli - Takulua (2), Fosita - | |
| 09-Oct | ARGENTINA | 47-17 | UNITED STATES | Kumagaya |
| 05:45 | Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2) De La Fuente, Bertranou - Sanchez (5), Urdapilleta - | T P C DG | Scully (2), Lasike - MacGinty - | |
| 12-Oct | ENGLAND | C-C | FRANCE | Yokohama |
| 09:15 | Cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis | |||
| 13-Oct | UNITED STATES | 19-31 | TONGA | Higashiosaka |
| 06:45 | Te'o (2), Lamborn - MacGinty (2) - | T P C DG | Fisiihoi, Hingano, Piutau, Veainu Takulua Takulua (2), Faiva, Piutau - |
POOL D Wales and Australia qualify for the Quarter Finals
| W | L | F | A | Tries | Pts | |
| (Q) WALES | 4 | 0 | 136 | 69 | 17 | 19 |
| (Q) AUSTRALIA | 3 | 1 | 136 | 68 | 20 | 16 |
| FIJI | 1 | 3 | 110 | 108 | 17 | 7 |
| GEORGIA | 1 | 3 | 65 | 122 | 9 | 5 |
| URUGUAY | 1 | 3 | 60 | 140 | 6 | 4 |
| 21-Sep | AUSTRALIA | 39-21 | FIJI | Sapporo |
| 05:45 | Hooper, Hodge, Latu (2), Kerevi, Koroibete Hodge Lealiifano, Tommua (2) - | T P C DG | Yato, Nayacalevu Volavola (3) Volavola - | |
| 23-Sep | WALES | 43-14 | GEORGIA | Toyota |
| 11:15 | J Davies, Tipuric, Adams, L Williams T Williams, North Biggar Biggar (4), Halfpenny - | T P C DG | Mamukashvili, Chilachava - Abzhandadze (2) - | |
| 25-Sep | FIJI | 27-30 | URUGUAY | Kamaishi |
| 06:15 | Dolokoto, Mawi, Ratuniyarawa, Matuwala (2) - Matavesi - | T P C DG | Arata, Diana, Cat Berchesi (3) Berchesi (3) - | |
| 29-Sep | GEORIA | 33-7 | URUGUAY | Kumagaya |
| 06:15 | Todua, Giorgadze, Chilachava, Bregvadze Kveseladze - Abzhandadze (4) - | T P C DG | Vilaseca - Berchesi - | |
| 29-Sep | AUSTRALIA | 25-29 | WALES | Tokyo |
| 08:45 | Ashley-Cooper, Haylett-Petty, Hooper Foley, Toomua Toomua (2) - | T P C DG | Parkes, G Davies Patchell (3) Patchell, Biggar Biggar, Patchell | |
| 03-Oct | GEORGIA | 10-45 | FIJI | Higashiosaka |
| 06:15 | Gorgodze Matiashvili Matiashvili - | T P C DG | Nayacalevu, Lomani, Tuisova, Radradra (2), Kunatani, Ratuniyarawa - Volavola (5) - | |
| 05-Oct | AUSTRALIA | 45-10 | URUGUAY | Oita |
| 06:15 | Haylett-Petty (2), Petaia Kuridrani (2), Genia, Slipper - Lealiifano (5) - | T P C DG | Diana Berchesi Berchesi - | |
| 09-Oct | WALES | 29-17 | FIJI | Oita |
| 10:45 | Adams (3), L Williams Patchell Biggar (2), L Williams - | T P C DG | Tuisova, Murimurivalu, penalty - - - | |
| 11-Oct | AUSTRALIA | 27-8 | GEORGIA | Fukuroi |
| 11:15 | White, Koroibete, Dempsey, Genia Toomua Toomua (2) - | T P C DG | Todua Matiashvili - - | |
| 13-Oct | WALES | 35-13 | URUGUAY | Kumamoto |
| 09:15 | Smith, Adams, penalty, T Williams G Davies - Halfpenny (4) - | T P C DG | Kessler Berchesi (2) Berchesi - |
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