The summer Jimmy (and Mo) caught the train

ENGLAND finished the Test summer on their lowest note since Kiwi head coach Brendon McCullum took charge in May 2022 after a woeful eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka at the Oval. 

Previously, it had looked as if England were going to be able to move on from the James Anderson era in impressive fashion by claiming a clean sweep of both home Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka. 

But the collective performance of the team against the Sri Lankans in the third Test smacked of the sort of arrogance of which England are probably often wrongly accused. 

Losing the toss for the third time in the series, the home side nevertheless reached a solid 221-3 at the end of a first day which was marred by bad light and the strange eagerness of umpires Chris Gaffaney and Joel Wilson to take the players off the pitch at the earliest opportunity. 

It meant ticket holders saw only 44 overs on a day of absolutely no rain in south London whatsoever - and it rightly reopened the debate over whether punters were getting sufficient value for money. 

Back to the match itself - and, on day two, England progressed to 261-3 but then proceeded to throw away their wickets with a series of loose shots, losing 7-64 to finish on a suboptimal total of 325. 

Following that, some outrageously attacking fields bordered on being somewhat disrespectful to Sri Lanka - while a further element of farce was introduced by umpires Gaffaney and Wilson in the seventh over. 

Examining their light meters, the officials insisted Chris Woakes finished his fourth set by bowling four balls of club-standard off-spin despite sunshine beginning to beam through the clouds.

Then, Gus Atkinson was allowed to take the next over and bowl at 88mph - and, considering this was meant to be elite sport, much of the action and officiating on display left a lot to be desired. 

Rather more satisfyingly, England produced a better performance with the ball at the start of day three to dismiss their opponents for 263 and gain a seemingly handy first innings lead of 62.

Here then was the chance for the home side to bat Sri Lanka out of the game and make a major stride towards that clean sweep of victories. 

Instead, England were 71-6 at the afternoon drinks break as left-arm seamer Vishwa Fernando began to swing the ball beautifully. 

Then that became 82-7 in front of a stunned Oval crowd before Jamie Smith, to his credit, made 67 in a fine counter-attacking effort to drag England's lead beyond 200 at tea. 

On a pitch offering plenty, a prime English bowling unit might have been able to defend the 219 runs required by Sri Lanka - but this extremely raw attack was badly exposed against the finesse of Pathum Nissanka. 

The opener carried his bat for a delightful Test career-best 127 to earn his country a memorable win, 26 years on from the triumph in their only other visit to the Oval in 1998.

By contrast, for England, this was a highly damaging defeat which effectively ended their already slim hopes of a maiden appearance in the World Test Championship final.

Now, it seems quite a while ago - even though the first home Test of the year did not take place until July to accommodate the ICC T20 World Cup which took place throughout June.

But Anderson's retirement remained the main story of an underwhelming Test season - one without a high-profile visitor to these shores and in which tickets went unsold while big sporting events such as the Olympics, Paralympics and European Championship happened elsewhere. 

Ahead of the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's, Anderson announced it would be his last after the England hierarchy stated explicitly that, in preparation for the next away Ashes series, he would not be considered for any squads beyond the end of the summer. 

In that sense, it was a slightly awkward departure - but, although the now 42-year-old felt he still had more to give, he also confirmed understood the decision and there were no hard feelings. 

This was a far more understated farewell than that of his long-time strike partner Stuart Broad, who retired against the old enemy Australia by scoring a six from his final ball with the bat and taking a wicket with his final ball, 

And, in itself, that was quite typical of Anderson. While Broad finished with a fantastic return of 604 wickets, he particularly relished Ashes contests and revelled in picking his moments. 

By contrast, Anderson was simply the embodiment of consistency. Indeed, the opposition did not seem to matter to him as long as he was taking wickets. 

Never the fastest, the Burnley Express made up for a lack of outright pace with a prodigious ability to swing and reverse swing the ball. Sometimes, in cloudy and humid conditions, he was pretty much unplayable. 

Anderson, though, was more than a mere one-trick pony - and it was obvious he worked hard at his craft throughout his career. 

Unusually for a pace bowler, his average - like a fine wine - continued to improve with age, and even in overseas conditions - the flatter decks of Australia and rank turners in the subcontinent - he was rarely less than miserly in controlling the run-rate on days when he could not be at his penetrative best. 

Strangely, on English soil for his final Test, Anderson was in fact not quite at his best as, perhaps for once, the emotion of the occasion got the better of him. 

It certainly was not the West Indies batting outfit - and, even in this rather quiet conclusion to his career, he still took 1-26 and 3-32 to finish on an incredible 704 Test scalps. 

On the all-time list, Jimmy from Burnley sits third with only two spinners - Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka (800) and the late Aussie great Shane Warne (708) - above him. 

Now, the strain on the body and the sheer plethora of opportunities available in the game for pace bowlers to swan off to less physically demanding and money-rich T20 competitions means that Anderson's record might never be beaten. 

However, Anderson loved the elongated struggle provided by First Class cricket - and, despite the positive results for England this summer, his longevity and consistency leaves a massive hole to fill. 

In fairness, there are some signs that England will be able finally to move on from the Anderson-Broad axis.

Surrey fast-bowler Atkinson enjoyed a dream debut, taking 7-45 and 5-61 for match figures of 12-106, as England blew away the West Indies for 121 and 136 in the first Test at Lord's. 

More remarkably still, Atkinson produced this effort despite playing while the speeding driver who killed his mother in a crash was being sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

And, commendably, the 26-year-old continued to take wickets throughout the summer to finish the home Test season on 34 scalps at an average of 20.17. 

Thankfully, for the sake of cricket, the second Test against the Windies at Trent Bridge was slightly more competitive as the visitors registered a score of 457 - and even took a first innings lead of 41 runs. 

On a good wicket in Nottingham, though, England also made hay with the bat, scoring 400+ scores in both innings for the first time in history as Ollie Pope (121), Joe Root (122) and Harry Brook (109) all reached three figures during the match. 

Inevitably, the resulting chase of 385 proved far too much for the West Indies as young spinner Shoaib Bashir made his first major contribution in an England shirt with a match-winning 5-41. 

As such, Bashir notably became - at the age of 20 years and 279 days - the youngest England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a home Test, coincidentally taking that record from Anderson. 

In the third Test at Edgbaston, West Indies - merely trying to salvage some pride - elected to bat in the third Test at Edgbaston, but could only produce another under-par effort of 282 in the first innings. 

The second innings was even tougher for the men from the Caribbean as Mark Wood (5-40) proved far too hot to handle - and openers Ben Duckett and skipper Ben Stokes were able easily to knock off the runs for a 10-wicket victory inside three days.

Stokes had opened the batting for only the second time in his Test career after Zak Crawley fractured a finger in the field. 

By the time that the Sri Lanka series came around, though, Stokes too was injured after tearing his left hamstring while playing for the Northern Superchargers in the truly lamentable Hundred competition.

That meant instead that Dan Lawrence came in at the top of the order - but the 27-year-old middle-order man rarely looked comfortable in the role and scored just 120 runs at an average of 20, with a top score of 35.

Lawrence was not alone in his struggles. Brook disappointed for the first time in a series while stand-in skipper Ollie Pope seemed slightly overawed by the position and his form suffered badly until his 154 in a losing cause. 

Consequently, the batting unit was again more often than not propped up by Root - and his twin tons in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's took him above Sir Alastair Cook to the top of the list of England century-makers in the format. 

Root now has 34 Test centuries and 12,402 runs - and his uncharacteristic failure to produce a significant score in the third Test defeat only served to emphasise just how greatly England rely upon their former captain. 

Wicket-keeper Smith at least can hold his head up following a more than decent start to his own Test career. 

Consistently smart behind the stumps with his glovework, the 24-year-old also made significant contributions with the bat including a maiden Test century in the first Test at Old Trafford to take that match away from Sri Lanka. 

Indeed, this was still a largely successful summer for an England team which is clearly in transition - and too much introspection for a side in development can be just as damaging as too little. 

Not that there is a lot of time for a deep analysis in any case. The Test team are back in action in just 26 days on 7 October in a three-match tour of Pakistan ahead of a further three games away in New Zealand before Christmas. 

And, prior to all that, England take on Australia in three home T20 Internationals and five One-Day Internationals in a series of matches which will begin today and end on 29 September as mid-autumn approaches. 

The main significance of the white-ball matches is that they will be the first for the team under McCullum after the 42-year-old replaced tactical dunce Matthew Mott

Unsurprisingly, McCullum has already moved to put his own stamp on the squads - and there is no room for 37-year-old Moeen Ali. 

Moeen took the decision upon his omission to retire from international cricket - but, while he cannot boast the sort of figures achieved by Anderson, his tally of 204 Test wickets included a dozen in the successful 2015 Ashes series. 

Meanwhile, Moeen's willingness to bat anywhere in the order made him a key figure over the years in white-ball squads - and he played a part in the triumphant 2019 Cricket World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup tournaments. 

Nevertheless, with little room for sentiment, the Bazball revolution continues unabated - and, despite the patchy results and some annoying performances, it has been largely good couple of years following the staid tactics of Chris Silverwood. 

But, with all of the teams united once again under one coach and an Ashes series just over a year away, the McCullum era really has now begun to enter the phase on which it truly will be judged. 


RESULTS

	WEST INDIES • England won the series 3-0
10-14 July	England 371 beat West Indies 121 & 136 by an innings and 114 runs	Lord's
18-21 July	England 416 & 425 beat West Indies 457 & 143 by 241 runs	Trent Bridge
26-28 July	England 376 & 87-0 beat West Indies 282 & 175 by 10 wickets	Headingley
	SRI LANKA • England won the series 2-1
21-24 August	England 358 & 205-5 beat Sri Lanka 236 & 326 by five wickets	Old Trafford
29 August -1 September	England 427 & 251 beat Sri Lanka 196 & 292 by 190 runs	Lord's
6-9 September	Sri Lanka 263 & 219-2 beat England 325 & 156 by eight wickets	The Oval

FIXTURES

	AUSTRALIA • Fixtures
11 September	FIRST T20  (D/N)	Southampton
13 September	SECOND T20  (D/N)	Cardiff
15 September	THIRD T20  (D/N)	Old Trafford
19 September	FIRST ODI  (D/N)	Trent Bridge
21 September	SECOND ODI	Headingley
24 September	THIRD ODI  (D/N)	Chester-le-Street
27 September	FOURTH ODI  (D/N)	Lord's
29 September	FIFTH ODI	Bristol

	PAKISTAN • Fixtures
7-11 October	FIRST TEST	Multan
15-19 October	SECOND TEST	Karachi
24-28 October	THIRD TEST	Rawalpindi
	NEW ZEALAND • Fixtures
27 November- 1 December	FIRST TEST	Christchurch
5-9 December	SECOND TEST	Wellington
13-17 December	THIRD TEST	Hamilton

Index 2023

INDEX 2023

So, good riddance 2023, you utter shitfest of a year. Whether or not life actually does begin at 40, as the cliché would suggest, it has certainly changed a lot for me in the last 12 months. RIP Dad, I miss you every day and I will always love you.

Nevertheless, it would be churlish not to admit that there have still been some highlights. My lovely niece Maya is growing up fast, always makes me smile and usually makes me laugh like a gargling drain with her antics.

I also loved my trip to Greece (except for the bit when my phone got stolen), my latest Glastonbury Festival renewal (where the Foo Fighters especially were truly epic), yet another visit to Prague (where me and my friends got to have a go at being Pilsner Urquell tapsters), a raucous weekend in Ibiza (except for the bit when my phone got stolen), and I also bimbled around a bit of Germany which I had never previously seen.

Of course, that trip to Germany derived from a serious prolonged upturn in form from my beloved Newcastle United who finished last season in the top four for the first time in 20 years.

But, to be quite honest, even Newcastle United let me down this year in the biggest games of the calendar year at Wembley in February in the Carabao Cup Final - even if the crowd in Trafalgar Square on the night before was epic - and then again against AC Milan at St James Park this month.

There have been various other weekends away in the UK which have captured the imagination: the snooker in Sheffield in April, Nottingham in May to see Team GB regain their place at the top table in international ice hockey, York for Hallowe'en, and another visit to Lindisfarne Festival in September.

Unfortunately, though, I finished the year still partly recovering from a hairline fracture to my ankle sustained at Lindisfarne after the injury suffered several setbacks, although some of them were admittedly self-inflicted.

Additionally, I have spent much of the run-up to Christmas battling an acute bout of the lurgy which has hung around for the last seven weeks and, at times, made me sound like a 40-a-day smoker.

It basically made an already exhausting year just that little bit more difficult to get through - and, despite numerous undoubted highlights, I am afraid this is a year which, for quite some time, I have been desperate to consign to the archives.

For what it's worth, this blog still gets updated with the occasional updates - and, hopefully, 2024 will provide opportunities for some write-ups on a brighter note.

An index of the posts made in 2023 can be found below:

CRICKET
Ashes 2023
16.06  Baz-ball faces its biggest Test of all in Ashes
11.07  Ashes alive after England win Headingley nail-biter
01.08  Broad signs off in style as Ashes series ends drawn
World Cup
05.10  Preview: Confident India hold all the cards
14.11  Not defending anything
19.11  Australia tear down India's cloak of invincibility

FOOTBALL
Season 2022/23
04.05  Haaland breaks goal record to send Man City back top
13.06  Manchester City complete incredible Treble
Season 2023/24
15.08  Manchester City go for four in a row
04.12  Another chance for England at Euro 2024

RUGBY UNION
World Cup
08.09  Preview: C'est le moment... peut-être
04.11  Back-to-back Boks outlast All Blacks

SNOOKER
World Championships
14.04  Snooker finds itself in a terrible fix
01.05  Belgian Bullet slays maximum man Selby

POLITICS
By elections
24.07  Another messy night

PERSONAL
Glastonbury 2023
30.06  There goes My Hero

So, take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind

Down the foggy ruins of time

Far past the frozen leaves

The haunted frightened trees

Out to the windy beach

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky

With one hand waving free

Silhouetted by the sea

Circled by the circus sands

With all memory and fate

Driven deep beneath the waves

Let me forget about today until tomorrow

Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

Not defending anything

AHEAD of the Cricket World Cup, England captain Jos Buttler stated plainly: "We're not defending anything" - and, on that note, he has been proven to be entirely correct.

Buttler intended his words to mean that England would attack this tournament head on - but, in reality, his team stumbled for the last five-and-a-half weeks from one miserable defeat to the next.

The campaign began back on 5 October with a heavy reverse to New Zealand, the side who they had squeezed past by the barest of margins in the Final at Lord's four years earlier.

And, although a thumping victory over Bangladesh in the second match gave little indication of what was to follow, England were brought quickly back down to earth following a historic 69-run defeat to Afghanistan.

From that point onwards, it got much worse. South Africa took the English bowling attack to the cleaners as the 2019 champions came within a single run of conceding 400 for the first time ever in a One Day International.

In response, England collapsed under scoreboard pressure and ultimately finished 229 runs behind on 170 all out.

Five days later in Bangalore, England's humiliation was complete as they succumbed by eight wickets to an erratic Sri Lanka side after being bowled out for 156 in 33.2 overs while a literal vulture circled the ground.

That left 16.4 overs unbowled in that innings - 100 balls exactly. A screeching irony if ever there was one.

One hundred balls one week - one hundred runs the next; it felt as if the cricket gods were actively haunting English cricket with the number 100.

England next went down against India by that margin despite an improved bowling display which restricted the hosts to 229-9.

It proved more than enough, though, as a brittle batting line-up wilted once again.

Ben Stokes attempted to hit his way into some form but was out for a duck off the 10th ball of a torturous innings.

Yet, remarkably, given their sheer collective incompetence, England had not officially been eliminated as a result of their fifth defeats out of six.

However, Australia were more than happy to hammer the final nail in the holders' coffin - and eventually did, as England failed to chase down a modest target of 287, despite the efforts of Stokes who played a far more measured innings.

That left rock-bottom England with two dead-rubbers against Netherlands and Pakistan - although the importance of these fixtures was rather randomly increased mid-tournament.

Confirmation came from the International Cricket Council (ICC) that only the top eight would qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy, an announcement which caught several teams - including England - by surprise.

It is unclear exactly when the ICC had decided this and the cynic will find it difficult to believe the decision was nothing other than an attempt to give some sort of meaning to matches which would have been otherwise quite meaningless.

Ultimately, England finished seventh to avoid that indignity, comfortably beating Netherlands by 160 runs before making it back-to-back wins against Pakistan where they belatedly showed some signs of being back to their best to compile a score of 337-9.

Pakistan, and neighbours Afghanistan, were the only teams in the final round of matches with a technical chance of breaking into the top four.

However, both had been left with an almost impossible task to finish above New Zealand on net run rate after the Black Caps made light work of Sri Lanka.

Certainly then, there can be no doubt that the best four teams - India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand - have made it through to the knockout stage.

Pretty much everyone, though, had identified at least three of the sides since the end of matchday four back in mid-October.

Indeed, a lack of overall drama has been reflected by a scarcity of close finishes throughout the competition - with the two biggest World Cup wins in terms of runs both occurring during this edition.

By contrast, only one match has been won by less than a 20-run margin and only one match won by a chasing team more than seven wickets down.

Moreover, the fact that those two matches - Australia v New Zealand and South Africa v Pakistan - occurred within 24 hours of each other has left long stretches in the schedule with a tedious lack of jeopardy or excitement.

Nevertheless, there have been some outstanding individual performances - especially with the bat.

Leading run-scorer Virat Kohli engineered his first century of the tournament against Bangladesh by retaining the strike - then, against South Africa on his 35th birthday, he drew level with his idol Sachin Tendulkar on 49 ODI tons, equalling the all-time record.

Quinton de Kock was the second most prolific player, scoring four centuries against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia and New Zealand in what he has stated will be his last World Cup.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, in his first ever senior international tournament, 23-year-old New Zealander Rachin Ravindra has already made three tons against England on his World Cup debut, Australia and Pakistan.

The Australians have dominated in terms of producing the biggest individual scores with Glenn Maxwell hitting a mammoth unbeaten 201 off 128 balls to save the five-time champions from perilous positions of 49-4 and 91-7 against the doughty Afghans.

For good measure, Mitchell Marsh then smashed 177 not out off 132 balls in the Aussies' very next match against Bangladesh for the second highest score of the tournament.

It has been undoubtedly a much more difficult competition with the ball, in general - but it is yet another man in Canary Yellow, spinner Adam Zampa, who leads the way with 22 wickets.

Having said that, Mohammed Shami has easily been the pick of the bowlers in the group stage.

The veteran seamer took 16 wickets at an average of under 10-a-piece in just five matches - including 5-18 against Sri Lanka and 5-54 against New Zealand - as India successfully bowled out seven of their nine opponents on their way to a perfect nine wins out of nine.

At the risk of being accused of sour grapes though, this has sadly not been a well-organised or well-delivered tournament by the ICC, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) or the Indian authorities.

For a start, the organisers were still rejigging the match schedule and venues as late as 9 August, leaving travelling fans with no hope of making advance plans.

Pakistan supporters found it particularly difficult to gain visa access to their neighbouring country - and, against Australia, the few who had made it were even stopped from cheering on their side by police in the stadium.

Beyond the India matches which all had raucous atmospheres of course, crowds otherwise - while not low - have looked sparse in some of the more cavernous grounds.

Sometimes it makes you wonder if the people in charge actually want One Day International cricket to fail - and there is certainly plenty of concern for the future of the format.

Nevertheless, by far the biggest opprobrium in this regard should be reserved for the players and teams who have disrespected the 50-over game - and, as defending champions, England especially have charges to answer for their desperate performances.

Even before the start of the tournament, muddled thinking was evident with World Cup-winning opener Jason Roy told he was in the squad before being discarded at the last minute for Harry Brook because of concerns over a back injury.

Such worries did not seem to be considered when it came to Stokes after he dramatically reversed his decision to retire from ODIs and slotted back into the 15-man selection despite not being fully fit himself.

Worse was to follow. Spooked by the prevalence of T20 franchise leagues around the world, the ECB offered multi-year deals to centrally-contracted players for the first time.

Remarkably though, the deals were signed off right in the middle of a tournament with the very same players who were making a complete mess of their trophy defence - all with the sole exception of David Willey.

To his credit, Willey - who was far from the worst performer - continued to steam in and the left-arm seamer was rewarded on his final appearance against Pakistan with his 100th ODI wicket.

Understandably though, the 33-year-old has now retired from international cricket - and the decision not to offer him a deal was undoubtedly the final straw.

Rumours abounded of disharmony in the camp - rumours which were denied by Australian head coach Matthew Mott who merely watched on gormlessly as his team was routinely dismantled.

Mott - who had previously led an all-conquering Aussie women's team which barely needed coaching to beat their modest competition - seemed to lack any idea how to turn things around when England's hitherto talented batting unit began to falter.

Instead, the Aussie made few public statements and seemed to have even fewer ideas, shirking all responsibility as his side sank ever deeper into the quicksand.

Furthermore, the question must be asked that, if it was still such a happy camp, then how were England playing quite this poorly?

Some of it can be explained by a lack of practice with the holders playing only 42 matches in the 50-over format between their triumph and this tournament compared to 88 games between 2015 and 2019.

Additionally, some of those matches were played at the exact same time as England were also contesting a Test series, resulting in a lack of cohesion between the all-format players and the white-ball specialists.

Put simply though, some of England players in India are just too old and have been badly exposed by the intensity of a long, drawn out World Cup.

In the defeats to Sri Lanka, India and Australia, England did not field a single player aged under 30 - and it was really quite sad to see this golden generation fail over and over again.

Hopefully, once the dust settles, the players in this squad can be remembered for what it achieved rather than what it became - but, contracts or not, this really should be the end of the line for the majority, at least in ODI cricket.

That should include Buttler who has struggled to step up as Eoin Morgan's successor and has even seen his batting form crumble to the extent that he averaged an abysmal 15.33 at this World Cup.

Yet, ECB managing director Rob Key has backed Buttler and Mott with the former included by the latter in the next white-ball squad for a tour of the Caribbean next month.

For now, though, England must watch on as India, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia squabble over a prize which was so hard-won but sadly also so easily given away.

GROUP STAGE TABLE

		W	L	NRR	Pts	Results
(Q)	INDIA	9	0	2.57	18	WWWWWWWWW
(Q)	SOUTH AFRICA	7	2	1.26	14	WWLWWWWLW
(Q)	AUSTRALIA	7	2	0.84	14	LLWWWWWWW
(Q)	NEW ZEALAND	5	4	0.74	10	WWWWLLLLW
5	PAKISTAN	4	5	-0.20	8	WWLLLLWWL
6	AFGHANISTAN	4	5	-0.34	8	LLWLWWWLL
7	ENGLAND	3	6	-0.57	6	LWLLLLLWW
8	BANGLADESH	2	7	-1.09	4	WLLLLLLWL
9	SRI LANKA	2	7	-1.42	4	LLLWWLLLL
10	NETHERLANDS	2	7	-1.83	4	LLWLLWLLL

GROUP STAGE RESULTS

01 Thu 05-Oct	9:30	ENGLAND	282-9	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by nine wickets
Ahmedabad		NEW ZEALAND	283-1 36.2
02 Fri 06-Oct	9:30	PAKISTAN	286 49	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 81 runs
Hyderabad		NETHERLANDS	205 41
03 Sat 07-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	156 37.2	▪️ BANGLADESH won by six wickets
Dharamshala		BANGLADESH	158-4 34.4
04 Sat 07-Oct	9:30	SOUTH AFRICA	428-5	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 102 runs
Delhi		SRI LANKA	326 44.5
05 Sun 08-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	199 49.3	▪️ INDIA won by six wickets
Chennai		INDIA	201-4 41.2
06 Mon 09-Oct	9:30	NEW ZEALAND	322-7	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 99 runs
Hyderabad		NETHERLANDS	223 46.3
07 Tue 10-Oct	6:00	BANGLADESH	227 48.2	▪️ ENGLAND won by 137 runs
Dharamshala		ENGLAND	364-9
08 Tue 10-Oct	9:30	PAKISTAN	345-4 48.2	▪️ PAKISTAN won by six wickets
Hyderabad		SRI LANKA	344-9
09 Wed 11-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	272-8	▪️ INDIA won by eight wickets
Delhi		INDIA	273-2 35
10 Thu 12-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	177 40.5	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 134 runs
Lucknow		SOUTH AFRICA	311-7
11 Fri 13-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	245-9	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by eight wickets
Chennai		NEW ZEALAND	248-2 42.5
12 Sat 14-Oct	9:30	INDIA	192-3 30.3	▪️ INDIA won by seven wickets
Ahmedabad		PAKISTAN	191 42.5
13 Sun 15-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	284 49.5	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by 69 runs
Delhi		ENGLAND	215 40.3
14 Mon 16-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	215-5 35.2	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by five wickets
Lucknow		SRI LANKA	209 43.3
15 Tue 17-Oct	9:30	SOUTH AFRICA	207 42.5	▪️ NETHERLANDS won by 38 runs
Dharamshala		NETHERLANDS	245-8 43
16 Wed 18-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	139 34.4	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 149 runs
Chennai		NEW ZEALAND	288-6
17 Thu 19-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	256-8	▪️ INDIA won by seven wickets
Pune		INDIA	261-3 41.3
18 Fri 20-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	367-9	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 62 runs
Bangalore		PAKISTAN	305 45.3
19 Sat 21-Oct	6:00	NETHERLANDS	262 49.4	▪️ SRI LANKA won by five wickets
Lucknow		SRI LANKA	263-5 48.2
20 Sat 21-Oct	9:30	ENGLAND	170 22	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 229 runs
Mumbai		SOUTH AFRICA	399-7
21 Sun 22-Oct	9:30	INDIA	274-6 48	▪️ INDIA won by four wickets
Dharamshala		NEW ZEALAND	273
22 Mon 23-Oct	9:30	AFGHANISTAN	286-2 49	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by eight wickets
Chennai		PAKISTAN	282-7
23 Tue 24-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	233 46.4	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 149 runs
Mumbai		SOUTH AFRICA	382-5
24 Wed 25-Oct	9:30	AUSTRALIA	399-8	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 309 runs
Delhi		NETHERLANDS	90 21
25 Thu 26-Oct	9:30	ENGLAND	156 33.2	▪️ SRI LANKA won by eight wickets
Bangalore		SRI LANKA	160-2 25.4
26 Fri 27-Oct	9:30	PAKISTAN	270 46.4	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by one wicket
Chennai		SOUTH AFRICA	271-9 47.2
27 Sat 28-Oct	6:00	AUSTRALIA	388 49.2	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by five runs
Dharamshala		NEW ZEALAND	383-9
28 Sat 28-Oct	9:30	BANGLADESH	142 42.2	▪️ NETHERLANDS won by 87 runs
Kolkata		NETHERLANDS	229
29 Sun 29-Oct	8:30	ENGLAND	129 34.5	▪️ INDIA won by 100 runs
Lucknow		INDIA	229-9
30 Mon 30-Oct	8:30	AFGHANISTAN	242-3 45.2	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by seven wickets
Pune		SRI LANKA	241 49.3
31 Tue 31-Oct	8:30	BANGLADESH	204 45.1	▪️ PAKISTAN won by seven wickets
Kolkata		PAKISTAN	205-3 32.3
32 Wed 01-Nov	8:30	NEW ZEALAND	167 35.3	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 190 runs
Pune		SOUTH AFRICA	357-4
33 Thu 02-Nov	8:30	INDIA	357-8	▪️ INDIA won by 302 runs
Mumbai		SRI LANKA	55 19.4
34 Fri 03-Nov	8:30	AFGHANISTAN	181-3 31.3	▪️ AFGHANISTAN won by seven wickets
Lucknow		NETHERLANDS	179 46.3
35 Sat 04-Nov	5:00	NEW ZEALAND	401-6	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 21 runs DLS
Bangalore		PAKISTAN	200-1 25.3
36 Sat 04-Nov	8:30	AUSTRALIA	286 49.3	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 33 runs
Ahmedabad		ENGLAND	253 48.1
37 Sun 05-Nov	8:30	INDIA	326-5	▪️ INDIA won by 243 runs
Kolkata		SOUTH AFRICA	83 27.1
38 Mon 06-Nov	8:30	BANGLADESH	282-7 41.1	▪️ BANGLADESH won by three wickets
Delhi		SRI LANKA	279 49.3
39 Tue 07-Nov	8:30	AUSTRALIA	293-7 46.5	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by three wickets
Mumbai		AFGHANISTAN	291-5
40 Wed 08-Nov	8:30	ENGLAND	339-9	▪️ ENGLAND won by 160 runs
Pune		NETHERLANDS	179 37.2
41 Thu 09-Nov	8:30	NEW ZEALAND	172-5 23.2	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by five wickets
Bangalore		SRI LANKA	171 46.4
42 Fri 10-Nov	8:30	AFGHANISTAN	244	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by five wickets
Ahmedabad		SOUTH AFRICA	247-5 47.3
43 Sat 11-Nov	5:00	AUSTRALIA	307-2 44.4	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by eight wickets
Pune		BANGLADESH	306-8
44 Sat 11-Nov	8:30	ENGLAND	337-9	▪️ ENGLAND won by 93 runs
Kolkata		PAKISTAN	244 43.3
45 Sun 12-Nov	8:30	INDIA	410-4	▪️ INDIA won by 160 runs
Bangalore		NETHERLANDS	250 47.5

SEMI FINAL RESULTS

SF1 Wed 15-Nov	8:30	INDIA	397-4	▪️ INDIA won by 70 runs
Mumbai		NEW ZEALAND	327 48.5
SF2 Thu 16-Nov	8:30	SOUTH AFRICA	212 49.4	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by three wickets
Kolkata		AUSTRALIA	215-7 47.2

CENTURIES

201* Glenn Maxwell (Australia) v Afghanistan 

177* Mitchell Marsh (Australia) v Bangladesh
174 Quinton de Kock (South Africa) v Bangladesh 

163 David Warner (Australia) v Pakistan
152* Devon Conway (New Zealand) v England

140 Dawid Malan (England) v Bangladesh

137 Travis Head (Australia) v India FINAL
134 Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) v India SF

131* Muhammad Rizwan (Pakistan) v Sri Lanka

131 Rohit Sharma (India) v Afghanistan

130 Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) v India

129 Ibrahim Zadran (Afghanistan) v Australia

128* Shreyas Iyer (India) v Netherlands

126* Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan) v New Zealand

123* Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) v England

122 Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) v Pakistan

121 Mitchell Marsh (Australia) v Pakistan

117 Virat Kohli (India) v New Zealand SF
116 Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) v Australia

113 Abdullah Shafique (Pakistan) v Sri Lanka

111 Mahmudullah (Bangladesh) v South Africa

109 Quinton de Kock (South Africa) v Australia

109 Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa) v England

109 Travis Head (Australia) v New Zealand
108 Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa) v Sri Lanka

108 Sadeera Samarawickrama (Sri Lanka) v Pakistan
108 Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) v Pakistan
108 Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) v Bangladesh

108 Ben Stokes (England) v Netherlands

106 Aiden Markram (South Africa) v Sri Lanka

106 Glenn Maxwell (Australia) v Netherlands

105 Shreyas Iyer (India) v New Zealand SF
104 David Warner (Australia) v Netherlands
103* Virat Kohli (India) v Bangladesh

102 KL Rahul (India) v Netherlands

101* Virat Kohli (India) v South Africa
100 David Miller (South Africa) v Australia SF
100 Quinton de Kock (South Africa) v Sri Lanka

FIVE-WICKET HAULS

7-57 Mohammed Shami (India) v New Zealand SF
5-18 Mohammed Shami (India) v Sri Lanka
5-33 Ravindra Jadeja (India) v South Africa
5-52 Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) v Netherlands

5-54 Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) v Australia

5-54 Mohammed Shami (India) v New Zealand
5-80 Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) v India

Back-to-back Boks outlast All Blacks

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023

THE FINAL
28 October 2023 - Stade de France, Saint-Denis

NEW ZEALAND 11
Tries B Barrett Penalties Mo'unga (2)
SOUTH AFRICA 12 
Penalties Pollard (4)

New Zealand B Barrett; Jordan, Ioane, J Barrett, Telea; Mo'unga, Smith; De Groot, Taylor, Lomax, Retallick, S Barrett, Frizell, Cane (capt), Savea

Replacements Liernert-Brown for Jordan (71), McKenzie for Mo'unga (75), Christie for Smith (66), Williams for de Groot (66), Taukeiaho for Taylor (66), Papali'i for Retallick (71).Not Used: Laulala, Whitelock
Sin Bin Frizzel (2) Sent Off Cane (27)

South Africa Willemse; Arendse, Kriel, De Allende, Kolbe; Pollard, De Klerk; Kitshoff, Mbonambi, Malherbe, Etzebeth, Mostert, Kolisi (capt), Du Toit, Vermeulen

Replacements Fourie for Nbonambi (4) Le Roux for Willemse (66), Nche for Kitshoff (52), Kleyn for Etzebeth (58), Snyman for Mostert (52), Wiese for Kolisi (73), Smith for Vermeulen (58)

Sin Bin Kolisi (45), Kolbe (74)

Referee Wayne Barnes (England) Attendance 80,065 

SOUTH AFRICA retained the Rugby World Cup as the boot of Handre Pollard and a first-half red card to New Zealand skipper Sam Cane decided this Final in Paris.

Remarkably, for the third knockout match out of three, the Springboks prevailed by a single point to move onto four world titles, now one more than their opponents.

In a tight and fiery first half, the two teams had managed three penalties to one when, with just 28 minutes of the Final played, All Blacks captain Cane caught the head of Jesse Kriel with a high shoulder challenge. 

Cane was yellow-carded by English referee Wayne Barnes initially - but the new bunker review system, brought in for this World Cup, determined that he had committed a sending off offence. 

Suddenly, this delicately-balanced Final had shifted firmly favour of the Springboks - yet, to their amazing credit, the All Blacks did not give up. 

Indeed, it could have been 14 v 14 if Siya Kolisi had been dismissed early in the second half for a head-high tackle on Ardie Savea. 

Undeterred, Aaron Smith thought he had scored on 54 minutes but Savea was adjudged to have knocked the ball on earlier in the move. 

Then, in the 58th minute, Beuden Barrett did score, only for Richie Mo'unga to miss a vital conversion. 

Thereafter, though, the Springboks shut the game down and Pollard did what he needed to do, as Jacques Nienaber's men survived a late scare when Cheslin Kolbe was sent to the sin bin. 

It was another glorious end for South Africa but a thoroughly frustrating one for New Zealand - up there with their most painful defeats ever. 

Earlier, in the semi finals, South Africa had also ended English progress - though only after Steve Borthwick's men led almost all the way through.

In a repeat of the 2019 Final, England played the match, for the most part, on their own terms and enjoyed a 15-6 lead with less than half an hour of play left after a stunning drop goal by Owen Farrell. 

The South Africans remained patient, though - and, following a neat move by Deon Fourie from a line-out, lock RG Snyman powered over to put his team back within touching distance with 10 minutes left.

Barely five minutes later, the England scrum was penalised and Pollard put the Boks ahead leaving their suddenly frantic opponents without enough time to respond. 

England's dream was over - but only just - and only after Borthwick's men easily exceeded pre-tournament expectations by reaching the last four, the only northern hemisphere team to do so.

Favoured by a kindly draw for sure, England at least had enough about them to take advantage of their circumstances and deserve credit in particular for having run the eventual champions so close. 

After all, the other semi final was something of a blow-out as New Zealand easily dealt with Argentina.

Will Jordan virtually sealed his place at the top of the try scoring charts with a hat-trick as altogether the All Blacks ran in seven tries to take their tournament total to 48.

Beuden Barrett eventually made that 49 as NZ finished well clear of Ireland and France in joint-second place on 30 - although, of course, that particular statistic will come as no consolation at all to the devastated Kiwis. 

For their part, Argentina - despite reaching a third Rugby World Cup semi final - were actually pretty underwhelming for the most part. 

An error-strewn handling performance handed 14-man England victory on the opening weekend of the Pool stages - and a second defeat to the same opponents in the Bronze Final meant Los Pumas finished with the distinctly average record of won four, lost three. 

Indeed, the South Americans only really impressed in their quarter final against Wales on what was a simply astonishing weekend of rugby union.

Indirectly engineered by a premature, lop-sided draw which ended up pitching the top five teams in the world in Pools A and B, all four of the resultant last eight matches were fascinating contests and all of them went to the wire. 

Wales had breezed through Pool C with four wins out of four but fell to Argentina after failing to take full advantage of a strong first half. 

Meanwhile, Pool C runners-up Fiji also departed the tournament being narrowly edged out by England, merely seven weeks after having beaten the same opponents in a famous warm-up win at Twickenham. 

However, the biggest two quarter final casualties were world number one-ranked Ireland and hosts France.

Ireland extended their winning run to 17 consecutive matches in the Pool stages and had the prospect of a first ever semi final place in their sights. 

But the Irish never held the lead against New Zealand at any point - and a failure to score from a closing attack of 37 phases meant the men in green had added a remarkable eighth notch to their depressing post of exits in last eight. 

France - statistically the most successful Rugby World Cup team without a win in the Final - started their home tournament in style by beating New Zealand on the opening night. 

However, in the quarter finals, Les Bleus soon ran into the South African juggernaut, narrowly losing a breathless encounter at the national stadium in Saint-Denis. 

Both sides scored three tries before half time - but it was the second half effort of Eben Etzebeth which ultimately proved decisive. 

Earlier, the big story from the Pool stages was undoubtedly the early exit of Australia for the first time at a Rugby World Cup. 

Defeat to Fiji was the costly blow - but it was arguably the 40-6 battering by Wales which left coach Eddie Jones and Rugby Australia with no hiding place. 

For sure, this is a reckoning which has been coming for the Wallabies - the sport of rugby union has been in decline Down Under for some time now. 

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to suggest the next four years are utterly vital to secure its future in Australia - the British & Irish Lions Tour in 2025 is followed two years later by a home World Cup.

Elsewhere, the other big disappointments are used to being mentioned together as Italy went down to minnow-like thrashings against New Zealand and France while Georgia hardly boosted their own argument of Six Nations inclusion by finishing bottom of their section. 

Scotland also went out at the Pool stage - for the third time in four editions - although, at least this time, the Thistles had the excuse of having been drawn against world number one and the defending champions. 

But in neither match did the Scottish threaten to turn over their superior opponents, being kept from the try line by South Africa then just about recovering face after finding themselves 36-0 down to Ireland. 

Overall, only Namibia, Romania and perhaps Tonga, looked completely out of their depth, suffering the sort of thrashings which governing body World Rugby will want to leave behind one day. 

Meanwhile, the decline of Japan following the unprecedented heights reached at their home World Cup in 2019 was confirmed by an early exit - but it is not maybe quite as severe as previously thought. 

The Cherry Blossoms were pretty competitive for most of Pool D, as were Samoa in the same section - but the latter made critical errors in all three of the matches against their higher-ranked opponents.

Nevertheless, beyond Fiji, there were a few other nations who left the tournament with their reputations notably enhanced. 

Chief among them were Portugal who beat the Flying Fijians for their first ever World Cup win to add to the thrilling draw which they had earned against the disappointing Georgians. 

Consequently, at the close of the tournament, governing body World Rugby ratified a decision to extend the number of teams at the World Cup in 2027 to 24.

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023

FULL RESULTS AND STATISTICS

	POOL A	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	TF	BP	Pts
(Q)	FRANCE	4	0	0	210	32	+178	27	2	18
(Q)	NEW ZEALAND	3	0	1	253	47	+206	38	3	15
3	ITALY	2	0	2	114	181	-67	15	2	10
4	URUGUAY	1	0	3	65	164	-99	9	1	5
5	NAMIBIA	0	0	4	37	255	-218	3	0	0

08-September	20:15	FRANCE	27-13	NEW ZEALAND
Saint-Denis		Tries Pernaud, Jaminet Penalties Ramos (5) Conversions Ramos		Tries Telea (2) Penalties Mo'unga
09-September	12:00	ITALY	52-8	NAMIBIA
Saint-Étienne		Tries Cannon, Garbisi, Lamb, Capuozzo, Faiva Zuliana, Odogwu Penalties Allan Conversions Allan (7)		Tries Mouton Penalties Swanepoel
14-September	20:00	FRANCE	27-12	URUGUAY
Lille		Tries Hastoy, Mauvaka, Bielle-Biarrey Penalties Jaminet (2) Conversions Jaminet (3)		Tries Freitas, Amaya Conversions Etcheverry
15-September	20:00	NEW ZEALAND	71-3	NAMIBIA
Toulouse		Tries Roigard (2), McKenzie (2), Fainga'anku Lienert-Brown, De Groot, Papalii, Havili Clarke, Ioane Conversions McKenzie (8)		Penalties Swanepoel
20-September	16:45	ITALY	38-17	URUGUAY
Nice		Tries Pani, Lamaro, Ioane, L Cannone, Brex Penalties P Garbisi Conversions Allan (5)		Tries Penalty, Freitas Conversions Etcheverry Drop goals Etcheverry
21-September	20:00	FRANCE	96-0	NAMIBIA
Marseille		Tries Penaud (3), Danty (2), Ollivon (2) Flament, Dupont, Bielle-Biarrey (2) Couilloud, Jaminet, penalty Conversions Ramos (12)
27-September	16:45	URUGUAY	36-26	NAMIBIA
Lyon		Tries Amaya (2), Kessler, Arata, Basso Penalties Berchesi Conversions Etcheverry (3), Berchesi		Tries Mouton, Greyling Penalties Swanepoel (4) Conversions Swanepoel (2)
29-September	20:00	NEW ZEALAND	96-17	ITALY
Lyon		Tries Jordan (2), Smith (3), Telea, Savea Rettalick, Papalii, Coles (2), McKenzie Lienert-Brown Conversions Mo'unga (9), McKenzie (4)		Tries Capuozzo, M Ioane Penalties Allan Conversions Allan, P Garbisi
05-October	20:00	NEW ZEALAND	73-0	URUGUAY
Lyon		Tries McKenzie (2), Mo'unga, Jordan (2), Roigard Newell, Fainga'anuku (3), Williams Conversions Mo'unga (5), McKenzie (2) B Barrett (2)
06-October	20:00	FRANCE	60-7	ITALY
Lyon		Tries Penaud (2), Bielle-Biarrey, Ramos, Jalibert Mauvaka, Moefana Penalties Ramos, Jaminet Conversions Ramos (6), Jaminet		Tries Zuliani Conversions Allan

	POOL B	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	TF	BP	Pts
(Q)	IRELAND	4	0	0	190	46	+144	27	3	19
(Q)	SOUTH AFRICA	3	0	1	151	34	+117	22	3	15
3	SCOTLAND	2	0	2	146	71	+75	21	2	10
4	TONGA	1	0	3	96	177	-81	13	1	5
5	ROMANIA	0	0	4	32	287	-255	4	0	0

09-September	14:30	IRELAND	82-8	ROMANIA
Bordeaux		Tries Gibson-Park, Keenan, Beirne (2), Aki (2) Sexton (2), Herring, O'Mahony (2), McCarthy Conversions Sexton (7), Crowley (4)		Tries Rupanu Penalties Rupanu
10-September	16:45	SOUTH AFRICA	18-3	SCOTLAND
Marseille		Tries Du Toit, Arendse Penalties Libbok (2) Conversions De Klerk		Penalties Russell
16-September	20:00	IRELAND	59-16	TONGA
Nantes		Tries Beirne, Doris, Hansen, Sexton, Lowe Aki (2), Herring Penalties Sexton Conversions Sexton (4), Byrne (4)		Tries V Fifita Penalties Havili (3) Conversions Havili
17-September	14:00	SOUTH AFRICA	76-0	ROMANIA
Bordeaux		Tries Reinach (3), Mapimpi (3), Willemse Fourie, Williams (2), Le Roux, penalty Conversions Willemse (5), De Klerk (2)
23-September	20:00	SOUTH AFRICA	8-13	IRELAND
Saint-Denis		Tries Kolbe Penalties Libbok		Tries Hansen Penalties Sexton, Crowley Conversions Sexton
24-September	16:45	SCOTLAND	45-17	TONGA
Nice		Tries Turner, Van der Merwe, Steyn, Darge Horne, Kinghorn, Graham Conversions Russell (5)		Tries Kata, Tameifuna Penalties Havili Conversions Havili (2)
30-September	20:00	SCOTLAND	84-0	ROMANIA
Lille		Tries Watson, Price, Graham (4), Fagerson Harris, Smith, Healy, Matthews, Darge Conversions Healy (11), Horne
01-October	20:00	SOUTH AFRICA	49-18	TONGA
Marseille		Tries Reinach, Moodie, Fourie, Kriel Le Roux, Van Staden, Smith Conversions Pollard (4), Libbok (3)		Tries Tameifuna, Inisi, Pellegrini Penalties Havili
07-October	20:00	IRELAND	36-14	SCOTLAND
Saint-Denis		Tries Lowe, Keenan (2), Henderson, Sheehan Ringrose Conversions Sexton (3)		Tries Ashman, Price Conversions Russell (2)
08-October	16:45	TONGA	45-24	ROMANIA
Lille		Tries Kata (2), Moala, Taumoepeau, Vailanu Ahki, Taumoefolau Conversions Havili (5)		Tries Boboc, Surugiu, Simionescu Penalties Conache Conversions Conache (3)

	POOL C	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	TF	BP	Pts
(Q)	WALES	4	0	0	143	59	+84	17	3	19
(Q)	FIJI	2	0	2	88	83	+5	9	3	11
3	AUSTRALIA	2	0	2	90	91	-1	11	3	11
4	PORTUGAL	1	1	2	64	103	-39	8	0	6
5	GEORGIA	0	1	3	64	113	-49	7	1	3

09-September	17:00	AUSTRALIA	35-15	GEORGIA
Saint-Denis		Tries Petaia, Nawaqanitawase Donaldson (2) Penalties Donaldson (3) Conversions Donaldson (3)		Tries Ivanishvili, Gigashvili Penalties Matkava Conversions Abzhandadze
10-September	20:00	WALES	32-26	FIJI
Bordeaux		Tries Adams, North, Rees-Zammit, Dee Penalties Biggar (2) Conversions Biggar (3)		Tries Nayacalevu, Tagitagivalu, Tuisova, Doge Conversions Lomani (2), Tela
16-September	16:45	WALES	28-8	PORTUGAL
Nice		Tries Rees-Zammit, Lake, Morgan, Faletau Conversions Halfpenny (3), Costelow		Tries Martins Penalties Marques
17-September	16:45	AUSTRALIA	15-22	FIJI
Saint-Étienne		Tries Nawaqanitawase, Vunivalu Penalties Donaldson Conversions Donaldson		Tries Tuisova Penalties Kuruvoli (4), Lomani Conversions Kuruvoli
23-September	13:00	GEORGIA	18-18	PORTUGAL
Toulouse		Tries Tabutsadze, Zamtaradze Penalties Abzhandadze (2) Conversions Abzhandadze		Tries Storti (2) Penalties Marques (2) Conversions Marques
24-September	20:00	WALES	40-6	AUSTRALIA
Lyon		Tries Davies, Tompkins, Morgan Penalties Anscombe (6) Conversions Biggar, Anscombe Drop goals Anscombe		Penalties Donaldson (2)
30-September	16:45	FIJI	17-12	GEORGIA
Bordeaux		Tries Nayacalevu, Habosi Penalties Lomani Conversions Lomani (2)		Penalties Matkava (2), Niniashvili (2)
01-October	16:45	AUSTRALIA	34-14	PORTUGAL
Saint-Étienne		Tries Arnold, Porecki, Bell, McReight, Koroibete Penalties Donaldson Conversions Donaldson (3)		Tries Bettencourt, Simoes Conversions Marques (2)
07-October	14:00	WALES	43-19	GEORGIA
Nantes		Tries Francis, L Williams, Rees-Zammit (3) North Penalties Costelow Conversions Costelow (5)		Tries Sharikadze, Karkadze, Niniashvili Conversions Matkava (3)
08-October	20:00	FIJI	23-24	PORTUGAL
Toulouse		Tries Botia, Doge Penalties Lomani (3) Conversions Lomani (2)		Tries Storti, Fernandes, Marta Penalties Marques Conversions Marques (3)

	POOL D	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	TF	BP	Pts
(Q)	ENGLAND	4	0	0	150	39	+111	17	2	18
(Q)	ARGENTINA	3	0	1	127	69	+58	15	2	14
3	JAPAN	2	0	2	109	107	+2	12	1	9
4	SAMOA	1	0	3	92	75	+17	11	3	7
5	CHILE	0	0	4	27	215	-188	4	0	0

09-September	20:00	ENGLAND	27-10	ARGENTINA
Marseille		Penalties Ford (6) Drop goals Ford (3)		Tries Bruni Penalties Boffelli Conversions Boffelli
10-September	12:00	JAPAN	45-15	CHILE
Toulouse		Tries Fakatava (2), Naikabula, Leitch Nakamura, Deans Conversions Matsuda (6)		Tries Fernandez, A Escobar Conversions Videla
16-September	14:00	SAMOA	43-10	CHILE
Bordeaux		Tries Paia'aua, Taumateine, Lee, Malolo (2) Penalties Leali'ifano (4) Conversions Leali'ifano (2), Sopoaga		Tries Dittus Penalties Garafulic Conversions Videla
17-September	20:00	ENGLAND	34-12	JAPAN
Nice		Tries Ludlam, Lawes, Steward, Marchant Penalties Ford (2) Conversions Ford (4)		Penalties Matsuda (4)
22-September	16:45	ARGENTINA	19-10	SAMOA
Saint-Étienne		Tries Boffelli Penalties Boffelli (3), Sanchez Conversions Boffelli		Tries Malolo Penalties Leali'ifano Conversions Leuila
23-September	16:45	ENGLAND	71-0	CHILE
Lille		Tries Arundell (5), Dan (2), Rodd Smith (2), Willis Conversions Farrell (8)
28-September	20:00	JAPAN	28-22	SAMOA
Toulouse		Tries Labuschagne, Leitch, Himeno Penalties Matsuda (3) Conversions Matsuda (2)		Tries S Lam, Paia'aua, Leali'ifano Penalties Leuila Conversions Leali'ifano (2)
30-September	14:00	ARGENTINA	59-5	CHILE
Nantes		Tries Sanchez, Gonzalez (2), Creevy, Bogado Isgro, Ruiz, S Carreras Penalties Sanchez Conversions Sanchez (6), S Carreras (2)		Tries Dussaillant
07-September	16:45	ENGLAND	18-17	SAMOA
Lille		Tries Chessum, Care Penalties Farrell (2) Conversions Farrell		Tries Ah Wong (2) Penalties Sopoaga Conversions Sopoaga (2)
08-September	12:00	JAPAN	27-39	ARGENTINA
Nantes		Tries Fakatava, Saito, Naikabula Penalties Matsuda Conversions Matsuda (3) Drop goals Matsuda		Tries Chocobares, M Carreras, Boffelli Penalties Boffelli, Sanchez Conversions Boffelli (3), Sanchez

QUARTER FINALS

14-October	16:00	WALES	17-29	ARGENTINA
Marseille		Tries Biggar, T Williams Penalties Biggar Conversions Biggar (2)		Tries Sclavi, Sanchez Penalties Boffelli (4), Sanchez Conversions Boffelli (2)
14-October	20:00	IRELAND	24-28	NEW ZEALAND
Saint-Denis		Tries Aki, Gibson-Park, penalty Penalties Sexton Conversions Sexton (2)		Tries Fainga'anuku, Savea, Jordan Penalties Mo'unga, J Barrett (2) Conversions Mo'unga, J Barrett
15-October	16:00	ENGLAND	30-24	FIJI
Marseille		Tries Tuilagi, Marchant Penalties Farrell (5) Conversions Farrell Drop goals Farrell		Tries Mata, Ravai, Botitu Penalties Lomani Conversions Lomani, Kuruvoli (2)
15-October	20:00	FRANCE	28-29	SOUTH AFRICA
Saint-Denis		Tries Baille (2), Mauvaka Penalties Ramos (3) Conversions Ramos (2)		Tries Arendse, De Allende, Kolbe, Etzebeth Penalties Pollard Conversions Libbok (2), Pollard

SEMI FINALS

20-October	20:00	ARGENTINA	6-44	NEW ZEALAND
Saint-Denis		Penalties Boffelli (2)		Tries Jordan (3), J Barrett, Frizell (2), A Smith Penalties Mo'unga Conversions Mo'unga (3)
21-October	20:00	ENGLAND	15-16	SOUTH AFRICA
Saint-Denis		Penalties Farrell (4) Drop goals Farrell		Tries Snyman Penalties Libbok, Pollard (2) Conversions Pollard

BRONZE FINAL

20-October	20:00	ARGENTINA	23-26	ENGLAND
Saint-Denis		Tries Cubelli, S Carreras Penalties Boffelli (2), Sanchez Conversions Boffelli (2)		Tries Earl, Dan Penalties Farrell (4) Conversions Farrell (2)

TOP POINTS SCORERS
75 Owen Farrell (England)

74 Thomas Ramos (France)

67 Emiliano Boffelli (Argentina)

58 Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

56 Richie Mo'unga (New Zealand)

53 Damian McKenzie (New Zealand)

46 Rikiya Matsuda (Japan)

45 Ben Donaldson (Australia)

41 George Ford (England)

40 Will Jordan (New Zealand)

TRY SCORERS
8 Will Jordan (New Zealand)
6 Damian Penaud (France)

5 Henry Arundell (England), Damian McKenzie (New Zealand), Darcy Graham (Scotland), Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales), Leicester Fainga'anuku (New Zealand), Bundee Aki (Ireland)
4 Louis Bielle-Biarrey (France), Aaron Smith (New Zealand), Cobus Reinach (South Africa)

3 Matteo Carreras (Argentina), Theo Dan (England), Peato Mauvaka (France), Tadhg Beirne (Ireland), Hugo Keenan (Ireland), Johnny Sexton (Ireland), Amato Fakatava (Japan), Cam Roigard (New Zealand), Ardie Savea (New Zealand), Mark Telea (New Zealand), Sama Mololo (Samoa), Solomone Kata (Tonga), Makazole Mapimpi (South Africa), Baltazar Amaya (Uruguay)

2 Emiliano Boffelli (Argentina), Santiago Carreras (Argentina), Juan Martin Gonzalez (Argentina), Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina), Ben Donaldson (Australia), Mark Nawaqanitawase (Australia), Joe Marchant (England), Marcus Smith (England), Waisea Nayacalevu (Fiji), Josua Tuisova (Fii), Cyril Baille (France), Jonathan Danty (France), Melvyn Jaminet (France), Yoram Moefana (France), Charles Ollivon (France), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Mack Hansen (Ireland), Rob Herring (Ireland), James Lowe (Ireland), Peter O'Mahony (Ireland), Ange Capuozzo (Italy), Lorenzo Cannone (Italy), Manuel Zuliani (Italy), Monty Ioane (Italy), Michael Leitch (Japan), Jone Naikabula (Japan), Gerswin Mouton (Namibia), Dane Coles (New Zealand), Anton Lienert-Brown (New Zealand), Dalton Papalii (New Zealand), Shannon Frizell (New Zealand), Raffaele Storti (Portugal), Rory Darge (Scotland), Ali Price (Scotland), Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa), Deon Fourie (South Africa), Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa), Willie le Roux (South Africa), Grant Williams (South Africa), Nigel Ah Wong (Samoa), Duncan Paia'aua (Samoa), Ben Tameifuna (Tonga), Nicolas Freitas (Uruguay),  Jac Morgan (Wales), George North (Wales)

1 The following players have all scored one try

• Argentina Martin Bogado, Rodrigo Bruni, Santiago Chocobares, Agustin Creevy, Tomas Cubelli, Rodrigo Isgro, Ignacio Ruiz, Joel Sclavi
• Australia Richie Arnold, Angus Bell, Marika Koroibete, Fraser McReight, Jordan Petaia, Dave Porecki, Suliasi Vunivalu
• Chile Matias Dittus, Tomas Dussaillant, Alfonso Escobar, Rodrigo Fernandez
• England Danny Care, Ollie Chessum, Ben Earl, Courtney Lawes, Lewis Ludlam, Bevan Rood, Freddie Steward, Manu Tuilagi, Jack Willis
• Fiji Vimimoni Botitu, Mesake Doge, Vinaya Habosi, Viliame Mata, Peni Ravai, Lekima Tagitagivalu
• France Baptiste Couilloud, Antoine Dupont, Thibaud Flament, Antoine Hastoy, Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos
• Georgia Beka Gigashvili, Luka Ivanishvili, Davit Niniashvili, Akaki Tabutsadze, Tengizi Zamtaradze
• Ireland Caelan Doris, Iain Henderson, Joe McCarthy, Garry Ringrose, Dan Sheehan
• Italy Juan Ignacio Brex, Hame Faiva, Paolo Garbisi, Michele Lamaro, Dino Lamb, Paolo Odogwu, Lorenzo Pani
• Japan Warner Dearns, Kazuki Himeno, Lappies Labuschagne, Ryoto Nakamura, Naoto Saito
• Namibia J C Greyling
• New Zealand Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Ethan de Groot, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Richie Mo'unga, Fletcher Newell, Brodie Retallick, Tamaiti Williams
• Portugal Pedro Bettencourt, Nicolas Martins, Rafael Simoes
• Romania Cristi Boboc, Gabriel Rupanu, Marius Simionescu, Florin Surugiu
• Samoa Seilala Lam, Christian Leal'ifano, Fritz Lee, Jonathan Taumateine
• Scotland Ewan Ashman, Matt Fagerson, Chris Harris, Ben Healy, George Horne, Blair Kinghorn, Johnny Matthews, Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn, George Turner, Duhan van der Merwe, Hamish Watson
• South Africa Damian de Allende, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jesse Kriel, Canan Moodie, Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden, Damian Willemse
• Tonga Pita Ahki, Vaea Fifita, Fine Inisi, George Moala, Patrick Pellegrini, Kyren Taumoefolau, Afusipa Taumoepeau, Sione Vailanu
• Uruguay Santiago Arata, Bautista Basso, German Kessler
• Wales Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies, Elliot Dee, Taulupe Faletau, Tomas Francis, Dewi Lake, Nick Tompkins, Liam Williams, Tomos Williams
• There have also been 4 penalty tries awarded against Italy (v Uruguay), against Namibia (v France), against Romania (v South Africa), and against New Zealand (v Ireland)

DISCIPLINE

• Red cards

Tom Curry (England) v Argentina

Johan Deysel (Namibia) v France

Desiderius Sethie (Namibia) v Uruguay

Ethan de Groot (New Zealand) v Namibia

Vincent Pinto (Portugal) v Wales

Ben Lam (Samoa) v Japan

Vaea Fifita (Tonga) v Scotland
Sam Cane (New Zealand) v South Africa

• Yellow cards (by team)

5 Chile, Fiji, New Zealand

4 Namibia, Samoa, 

3 Romania, South Africa, Wales

2 Argentina, Australia, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Uruguay

1 France, Georgia, Ireland

0 England, Scotland, Tonga