Showing posts with label romania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romania. Show all posts

Saturday, 29 June 2024

Soulless England frustrate as Scotland fail again


🟥 EURO 2024 GROUP STAGE ðŸŸ¥

■ GROUP AWDLFAGDPts
(Q) GERMANY21082+67
(Q) SWITZERLAND
12053+25
HUNGARY
10225-33
SCOTLAND01227-51

14-June
20:00GERMANY5-1SCOTLANDMunich
ITV



Wirtz 10, Musiala 19
Havertz 45+1pen
Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3

Rudiger 87og



15-June14:00HUNGARY1-3SWITZERLANDCologne
ITV


Varga 66


Duah 12, Aebischer 45
Embolo 90+3

19-June17:00GERMANY2-0HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC

Musiala 22, Gundogan 67


19-June20:00SCOTLAND1-1SWITZERLANDCologne
BBC

McTominay 13
Shaqiri 26
23-June20:00SWITZERLAND1-1GERMANYFrankfurt
BBC

Ndoye 29
Fullkrug 90+2
23-June20:00SCOTLAND0-1HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC



Csoboth 90+10

Scotland failed to get out of the group at a major tournament for a record-extending 12th time after a last-gasp defeat to Hungary consigned Steve Clarke's men to yet another bottom-placed finish in Group A. 

Germany, as expected, topped the section - though only after Niclas Fullkrug scored a late goal to equalise against Switzerland - and it was the Germans, of course, who started off this latest Scottish nightmare.

Julian Nagelsmann's Mannschaft were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes and 3-0 up at half time on their way to a 5-1 hammering of the Scots on the opening night of the tournament as Ryan Porteous received a red card for a nasty foul on Ilkay Gundogan.

Scotland consoled themselves that they could not have faced a tougher start against the revved-up hosts - but their failure to get anywhere near Germany at any point during the game was a definite cause for concern.

The Germans even seemed to take pity on their opponents as a late Antonio Rudiger own goal put the Scots on the scoresheet - and own goals, along with timidity from the two British teams, have been notable themes of Euro 2024 so far.

At least Scotland started better in their second match against Switzerland - and their early pressure was rewarded when Scott McTominay smashed a shot from the edge of the box into the net off Fabian Schar.

It could have easily gone down as another own goal - but the original effort was deemed to have been on target so the Manchester United midfielder was credited.

Nevertheless, the Swiss rarely roll over nowadays and the Nati were back level before the break through a cracking strike by Xherdan Shaqiri following a terribly loose back-pass by Scotland right-back Anthony Ralston.

Both teams had chances late on to take the three points as Grant Hanley headed against the post from a McTominay free-kick - but a draw was probably a fair result.

In the meantime, Germany eased their way past Hungary to reach the Last 16 with a game to spare with a straightforward 2-0 win in Stuttgart which left the Magyars without a point.

That was enough for Scotland to feel confident heading into the third group game against the Hungarians of breaching the first phase of a major tournament for the first time in history.

But, despite dominating the ball, Scotland failed to get a single shot on target - and their lack of ambition seemed to stem throughout the competition from the coaching staff.

Head coach Clarke declared beforehand that he would be happy to scrape through with four points - and, while it obviously meant Clarke could not be accused of delusion, it hardly reeked of Braveheart and arguably belied a lack of confidence in the ability of his squad.

Of course, there was the usual dose of bad luck as neither Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini or the video assistant referee (VAR) determined Stuart Armstrong had not been fouled even though the replays suggested otherwise.

Then, as the clock ticked into stoppage time, the Scots' biggest chance fell to centre-back Hanley - before, moments later, a neat passing move on the break from the clearance of a Scotland corner reached its crescendo when Kevin Csoboth struck the ball past goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

In that moment, any remaining Scottish hopes were shattered. However, the fact is that Scotland had just 17 shots in the Euro 2024 finals overall, with no team having had fewer efforts in a group stage since groups were introduced at Euro 1980.

Now, frustratingly for the long-suffering Tartan Army, this was nothing new - in 21 matches in World Cup and European Championship finals since 1986, the Scots have won just three, and the last of those came back in 1996.

Moreover, in that time, Scotland have scored a pitiful 12 goals in total. So much indeed for Scotland the Brave...

■ GROUP BWDLFAGDPts
(Q) SPAIN30050+59
(Q) ITALY
1113304
CROATIA02136-32
ALBANIA01235-21

15-June17:00SPAIN3-0CROATIABerlin
ITV


Morata 29, Fabian Ruiz 32
Carvajal 45+2



15-June20:00ITALY2-1ALBANIADortmund
BBC
Bastoni 11, Barella 16
Bajrami 1
19-June14:00CROATIA2-2ALBANIAHamburg
ITV
Kramaric 74, Gjasula 76og
Laci 11, Gjasula 90+5
20-June20:00SPAIN1-0ITALYGelsenkirchen
ITV
Calafiori 55og


24-June20:00ALBANIA0-1SPAINDusseldorf
BBC


Ferran Torres 13
24-June20:00CROATIA1-1ITALYLeipzig
BBC
Modric 55
Zaccagni 90+8

Spain made light work of Group B as the only team in the competition to take maximum points by progressing with an unbreached defence against Croatia (3-0), Italy (1-0) and Albania (1-0). 

La Roja enjoyed an ideal start to their campaign, leading 3-0 against the Croatians at half time - before following it up with a far narrower success against the Italians in a tight affair settled by an unfortunate own goal off the knee of Riccardo Calafiori.

That was enough to seal top spot for Luis de la Fuente's side with a game to spare - and the head coach indulged in this freedom by making 10 changes to his starting line-up.

Ferran Torres hit an early goal to justify the shaken-up selection - but the Barcelona forward then missed a hatful of chances as Albania noticeably struggled for the first time in the tournament.

Until that point, the Red and Blacks had competed well - and, in fact, Nedim Bajrami now holds the record for the fastest goal in European Championship finals history.

Timed at 23 seconds, Bajrami intercepted a loose throw-in by Federico Dimarco before slamming a shot past the stunned Gianluigi Donnarumma.

However, the Albanians had a major weakness - they gave up a lead then fell behind in double-quick time against Italy and did exactly the same against Croatia.

At least in a chaotic encounter against Hrvatska, Albania were able to pick up only their fourth point in major tournament football as Klaus Gjasula kept his cool for a stoppage-time equaliser.

It was a case of redemption for Gjasula who had inadvertently scored in his own net less than 20 minutes earlier.

Nevertheless, Croatia v Italy always looked like the key tie in this section - and so it proved, although the first half was almost completely devoid of action.

Croatia - aware that a draw would be no good - showed their hand first and, following a series of attacks, the Azzurri eventually cracked as a clear handball by Davide Frattesi resulted in a penalty.

Up stepped 38-year-old Luka Modric - but Donnarumma made a fine save to his left and then made an even better stop from Ante Budimir in the very next attack.

Modric snaffled the rebound, however, to round off a crazy 33 seconds of football - and Croatia remained in control with the lead.

By contrast, Italy had to make-do with fleeting attacks and were not helped by the poverty of their set-plays - although, towards the end of the match, Alessandro Bastoni really should have done better with his header from a corner.

No matter. Winners always find a way - and, while Croatia maintained their remarkable all-time unbeaten record against Italy, Mattia Zaccagni's curling shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time ensured this one would be a draw.

It was virtually the last kick of the game - and a draw really was no good for Croatia.

Modric, standing helplessly on the sidelines having been substituted, cut a dejected figure as the final curtain fell on this special Croatian generation.

Holders Italy, though, march on - and, while Luciano Spalletti's charges have been far from convincing in any of their first three games, they will start their Last 16 tie against Switzerland as favourites.

■ GROUP CWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ENGLAND
12021+15
(Q) DENMARK
0302203
(Q) SLOVENIA
0302203
SERBIA
02112-12

16-June17:00SLOVENIA1-1DENMARK
Stuttgart
ITV
Janza 77
Eriksen 17
16-June20:00SERBIA0-1ENGLANDGelsenkirchen
BBC

Bellingham 13
20-June14:00SLOVENIA1-1SERBIA
Munich
ITV
Karnicnik 69 
Jovic 90+6
20-June17:00DENMARK1-1ENGLANDFrankfurt
BBC
Hjulmand 34
Kane 18
25-June20:00ENGLAND
0-0SLOVENIA
Cologne
ITV




25-June20:00DENMARK0-0SERBIAMunich
ITV





England prevailed at the top of possibly the worst group ever played out at a major tournament with five of the six matches finishing as dull draws. 

In fairness, the Three Lions were the only team actually to win a match in a truly desperate section which featured three 1-1 results, two 0-0 stalemates, and only seven goals overall.

Jude Bellingham gave Gareth Southgate's men an ideal start to the campaign against Serbia, heading in a deflected cross from Bukayo Saka after just 13 minutes.

England quickly fashioned another chance down the right as Kyle Walker sent a teasing ball across the six-yard box - but, until Harry Kane clipped the bar with a late header, a much-vaunted attack showed little in the way of threat.

It was felt perhaps that England were just feeling their way into the competition - and any major criticism of the Three Lions was tempered by the three points on the board.

In the second match against Denmark, England took another relatively early lead as Kane stabbed home from close range following a couple of deflections on Walker's pull-back.

But the Danes are an all-round better team than Serbia and, by half time, were back level after Morten Hjulmand struck a long-range effort.

The results in the other matches - Slovenia v Denmark and Slovenia v Serbia, both 1-1 draws - made it possible for England to win Group C with a match to spare with a second victory.

If that was the ambition, though, the Three Lions showed little sign of fulfilling it, especially after the equaliser.

Remarkably, it was the 14th time in matches at major tournaments held since 2000 that England had taken the lead yet failed to win the match with most of the giveaways down to the adoption of the ultra-cautious approach bizarrely favoured by Southgate.

Ahead of the third match against Slovenia, results in other groups ensured England had qualified for the Last 16 - but the identity of the group winners remained unclear.

The runners-up knew they would face hosts Germany in the first knockout round, though, so there was still theoretically some level of pressure.

In practice, England infuriatingly produced yet more of the same slow, safety first football which has come to epitomise their campaign.

The balance of the team remained poor with Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden looking particularly uncomfortable down the left - although at least the experiment of playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield was thankfully ditched.

Still, though, there was no room in the starting line-up for either Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon despite both players boasting double figures for both goals and assists in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Palmer was eventually introduced in the 71st minute - while Gordon ridiculously kicked his heels until 88 minutes were on the clock.

Gordon, indeed, has spent many more minutes at Euro 2024 responding to questions from the media in interviews and press conferences than he has actually playing football.

Nevertheless, both made a positive impression against the Slovenians with a raking pass by Gordon finding fellow substitute Kobbie Mainoo whose flick to Kane set up Palmer in one of the very few moments of excitement across the 90 minutes.

All that was needed was a stoppage time Denmark winner in Munich to consign England to second place and a meeting with the Germans.

But the fact that it did not come - and the fact that Denmark and Slovenia were able to make it through without winning any of their games - rather summed up Group C quite neatly.

■ GROUP DWDLFAGDPts
(Q) AUSTRIA20154+16
(Q) FRANCE12021+15
(Q) NETHERLANDS1114404
POLAND01235-21

16-June14:00POLAND1-2NETHERLANDSHamburg
BBC
Buksa 16
Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83
17-June20:00AUSTRIA0-1FRANCE
Dusseldorf
ITV


Wober 38og
21-June17:00POLAND1-3AUSTRIABerlin
ITV


Piatek 30


Trauner 9, Baumgartner 66
Arnautovic 78pen

21-June20:00NETHERLANDS0-0FRANCELeipzig
BBC




25-June17:00NETHERLANDS2-3AUSTRIABerlin
BBC


Gakpo 47, Depay 75


Malen 6og, Schmid 59
Sabitzer 80

25-June17:00FRANCE1-1POLANDDortmund
BBC
Mbappe 56pen
Lewandowski 79pen

Austria caused a huge shock in Group D after beating Netherlands to finish ahead of France and the Dutch at the top of the section. 

Coming into the third set of group games, there appeared to be little scope for drama with Netherlands and France already through, and Poland already eliminated.

Meanwhile, the Austrians merely had to get a point or, at worst, ensure their goal difference did not suffer too much damage.

Straightaway, though, Ralf Rangnick's men showed greater ambition than that - picking up where they left off in their fine 3-1 win against Poland by taking an early lead as Donyell Malen slid the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Ronald Koeman's Netherlands hit back immediately after half time as a quick break concluded with Cody Gakpo curling in his second goal of the tournament.

But Austria were not disturbed out of their rhythm by the equaliser - and, just as Kylian Mbappe was putting France in front against Poland in the other game in Dortmund, Romano Schmid restored the Austrian lead in Berlin with a diving header.

The Dutch - who had started the day top on goals scored from France - dropped to third place, but then briefly went back top as Memphis Depay found a second equaliser and, concurrently, Robert Lewandowski was levelling for Poland against the French.

It was all too brief for the Oranje though, as Marcel Sabitzer finished a lovely passing move to send Austria in front for a third time and back to the top of the group with the Dutch demoted back to third again.

France - aware that, by scoring, the Dutch would need two goals to topple them - tried in vain to get a winner, as Poland completed another underwhelming campaign having at least avoided losing all three group games for the first time ever. 


Les Bleus - while never in danger of falling to progress - have also disappointed and head into the knockout stages via an own goal and an Mbappe penalty.

By contrast, an enterprising Austrian outfit found the net six times in their last two matches. 

Now, the impact of the unexpected finishing order in Group D was immediately apparent with France taking on Belgium in the Last 16 and unexpectedly falling into the side of the knockout stage bracket which also features Germany, Spain and Portugal.

Netherlands will face Romania in the Last 16 - while Austria will look to continue their excellent form against Turkey.


■ GROUP EWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ROMANIA
11143+14
(Q) BELGIUM11121+14
(Q) SLOVAKIA
1113304
UKRAINE11124-24

17-June14:00ROMANIA3-0UKRAINEMunich
BBC


Stanciu 29, R Marin 53
Dragus 57



17-June17:00BELGIUM0-1SLOVAKIAFrankfurt
ITV


Schranz 7
21-June14:00SLOVAKIA1-2UKRAINEDusseldorf
BBC
Schranz 17
Shaparenko 54, Yaremchuk 80
22-June20:00BELGIUM2-0ROMANIACologne
ITV
Tielemans 2, De Bruyne 80


26-June17:00SLOVAKIA1-1ROMANIAFrankfurt
BBC
Duda 24
R Marin 37pen
26-June17:00UKRAINE0-0BELGIUMStuttgart
BBC






None of the four teams in Group E could be easily separated as Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine all finished on four points. 

Ultimately though, Ukraine lost out on goal difference following their heavy defeat to Romania in the first round of group games.

The Romanians won their first match at a major tournament since Phil Neville injudiciously brought down Viorel Moldovan and Ionel Ganea dispatched the resultant penalty as goals from Razvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu and Denis Dragus earned a stylish victory.

On the same afternoon, there was something of a shock as Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka kept a clean sheet despite a typically nervy performance.

Better still for the Slovakians, an early goal by Ivan Schranz gave them a wholly unexpected three points, albeit against an unsurprisingly underwhelming Belgium outfit.

Schranz scored again against Ukraine in the second round of group games - but, facing an early elimination, Serhiy Rebrov's men fought their way back through goals by Mykola Shaparenko and Roman Yaremchuk.

Yaremchuk's effort was outstanding as he took the ball down over his shoulder to finish, although he was helped by uncertain goalkeeping from Dubravka.

Meanwhile, Belgium recovered their form with goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne at the start and end of the match enough to bring Romania back down to earth.

Those results left all four teams on three points with one win and one loss - and really should have set up a classic third round of matches.

Instead, the afternoon turned into something of a damp squib with both matches finishing in draws.

Slovakia and Romania traded first half goals through Ondrej Duda and Marin respectively - but thereafter seemed satisfied with the 1-1 score which guaranteed both teams went through.

And so, it was left to Ukraine to try to provide any drama - a win would have sent the Ukrainians through at the expense of the Belgians.

But a breakthrough by the Blue and Yellow never looked too likely - Belgium had the better chances - as yet another promising set of circumstances dissipated into a non-event.

Consequently Romania retained top spot while Belgium's less than serene progress has landed them a tie against tournament favourites France.

■ GROUP FWDLFAGDPts
(Q) PORTUGAL20153+26
(Q) TURKEY2015506
(Q) GEORGIA1114404
CZECH REPUBLIC01235-21

18-June17:00TURKEY3-1GEORGIADortmund
BBC


Muldur 25, Guler 65
Akturkoglu 90+7

Mikautadze 32


18-June20:00PORTUGAL2-1CZECH REPUBLICLeipzig
BBC
Hranac 69og, Conceicao 90+2
Provod 62
22-June14:00GEORGIA1-1CZECH REPUBLICHamburg
BBC
Mikautadze 45+4pen
Schick 59
22-June17:00TURKEY0-3PORTUGALDortmund
ITV


Bernardo Silva 21, Akaydin 28og
Bruno Fernandes 55

26-June20:00GEORGIA2-0PORTUGALGelsenkirchen
ITV


Kvaratskhelia 2
Mikautadze 57pen




26-June20:00CZECH REPUBLIC1-2TURKEYHamburg
ITV
Soucek 66
Calhanoglu 51, Tosun 90+4

Georgia will continue their wondrous adventure at Euro 2024 on their major tournament debut after sealing a landmark win over 2016 winners Portugal in Group F. 

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the Crusaders ahead inside two minutes with a good low finish before, in the second half, Luka Lochoshvili had his tapped ankle tapped by Antonio Silva, and was awarded a penalty.

Metz striker Georges Mikautadze made no mistake from the spot to become the first, and so far only, player to hit three goals in the group stages.

Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was the Georgians' other big star and he protected the lead with an important save from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Overall, though, Georgia must be commended most of all for their team spirit which has been clear from the start of the competition.

Defeat against Turkey in their first game was tough take for Willy Sagnol's men given that they were right in the game at 2-1 down and pushing for an equaliser.

But, having brought Mamardashvili up for a corner deep in stoppage time, a rapid Turkish break concluded with Kerem Akturkoglu rolling the ball into an empty net for 3-1.

It was a great start for Turkey but the Crescent Stars were unable to build on it in their second match against Portugal who moved into a higher gear in an extremely comfortable 3-0 win which could have been at least a couple more.

Of course, Roberto Martinez's men were helped along the way by an embarrassing own goal by Samet Akaydin after he blindly rolled a backpass into his own net having failed to check the position of his goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

The heavy defeat left Turkey vulnerable to being caught by Czech Republic - but another late Turkish goal on the break through former Everton and Crystal Palace striker Cenk Tosun meant it was the Czechs who bowed out early.

Ivan Hasek's Czechs finished with an extremely disappointing record of one point from nine - not that the Czechs could have really done much more to help themselves in that third game.

Reduced to 10 men after referee Istvan Kovacs made a rod for his back by booking Antonin Barak twice for a couple of fairly innocuous early fouls, large portions of the match denigrated into a nonsense.

Indeed, it finished in utter farce as the Romanian man in the middle ended up brandashing a European Championship record of 19 cards.

No doubt the Czechs will console themselves that the referee was a disaster and this may be merely a tough start for a squad with the youngest average in the tournament.

There is no place for them in the Last 16, though - and nor should there be for Kovacs. 

■ THIRD-PLACED TEAMSGroup
WDLFAGDPts
(Q) NETHERLANDS[D]1114404
(Q) GEORGIA[F]1114404
(Q) SLOVAKIA[E]1113304
(Q) SLOVENIA
[C]0302203
HUNGARY[A]10225-33
CROATIA
[B]02136-32

■ GOALSCORERS 81 goals in 36 matches (2.25 goals per game)
3 Georges Mikautadze (Georgia)
2 Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Niclas Fullkrug (Germany), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Razvan Marin (Romania)
1 Florian Wirtz (Germany), Kai Havertz (Germany), Emre Can (Germany), Kwadwo Duah (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Barnabas Varga (Hungary), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Fabian Ruiz (Spain), Dani Carvajal (Spain), Nedim Bajrami (Albania), Alessandro Bastani (Italy), Nicolo Barella (Italy), Adam Buksa (Poland), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Erik Janza (Slovenia), Jude Bellingham (England), Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), Denis Dragus (Romania), Mert Muldur (Turkey), Arda Guler (Turkey), Kerem Akturkoglu (Turkey), Lukas Provod (Czech Republic), Francisco Conceicao (Portugal), Qazim Laci (Albania), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Klaus Gjasula (Albania), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Scott McTominay (Scotland), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Zan Karnicnik (Slovenia), Luka Jovic (Serbia), Harry Kane (England), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Mykola Shaparenko (Ukraine), Roman Yaremchuk (Ukraine), Gernot Trauner (Austria), Krzysztof Piatek (Poland), Christoph Baumgartner (Austria), Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Patrik Schick (Czech Republic), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Youri Tielemans (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Dan Ndoye (Switzerland), Kevin Csoboth (Hungary), Ferran Torres (Spain), Luka Modric (Croatia), Mattia Zaccagni (Italy), Kylian Mbappe (France), Romano Schmid (Austria), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Marcel Sabitzer (Austria), Ondrej Duda (Slovakia), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey), Tomas Soucek (Czech Republic), Cenk Tosun (Turkey)
7 own goals Antonio Rudiger (Germany) for Scotland, Maximilian Wober (Austria) for France, Robin Hranac (Czech Republic) for Portugal, Klaus Gjasula (Albania) for Croatia, Riccardo Calafiori (Italy) for Spain, Samet Akaydin (Turkey) for Portugal, Donyell Malen (Netherlands) for Austria

■ RED CARDS
Ryan Porteous (Scotland)
 v Germany
Antonin Barak (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Tomas Chory (Czech Republic) v Turkey

Saturday, 4 November 2023

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 AWDLFA+/-TFBPPts
(Q)FRANCE40021032+17827218
(Q)NEW ZEALAND30125347+20638315
3ITALY202114181-6715210
4URUGUAY10365164-99915
5NAMIBIA00437255-218300

08-September20:15FRANCE27-13NEW ZEALAND
Saint-Denis

Tries Pernaud, Jaminet
Penalties Ramos (5)
Conversions Ramos 

Tries Telea (2)
Penalties Mo'unga

09-September12:00ITALY52-8NAMIBIA
Saint-Étienne


Tries Cannon, Garbisi, Lamb, Capuozzo, Faiva
Zuliana, Odogwu
Penalties
 Allan
Conversions Allan (7)

Tries Mouton
Penalties
 Swanepoel


14-September20:00FRANCE27-12URUGUAY
Lille

Tries Hastoy, Mauvaka, Bielle-Biarrey
Penalties Jaminet (2)
Conversions Jaminet (3)

Tries Freitas, Amaya
Conversions Etcheverry

15-September20:00NEW ZEALAND71-3NAMIBIA
Toulouse


Tries Roigard (2), McKenzie (2), Fainga'anku
Lienert-Brown, De Groot, Papalii, Havili
Clarke, Ioane
Conversions McKenzie (8)

Penalties Swanepoel



20-September16:45ITALY38-17URUGUAY
Nice

Tries Pani, Lamaro, Ioane, L Cannone, Brex
Penalties P Garbisi
Conversions Allan (5)

Tries Penalty, Freitas
Conversions Etcheverry
Drop goals Etcheverry
21-September20:00FRANCE96-0NAMIBIA
Marseille


Tries Penaud (3), Danty (2), Ollivon (2)
Flament, Dupont, Bielle-Biarrey (2)
Couilloud, Jaminet, penalty
Conversions Ramos (12)


27-September16:45URUGUAY36-26NAMIBIA
Lyon

Tries Amaya (2), Kessler, Arata, Basso
Penalties Berchesi
Conversions Etcheverry (3), Berchesi

Tries Mouton, Greyling
Penalties Swanepoel (4)
Conversions Swanepoel (2)
29-September20:00NEW ZEALAND96-17ITALY
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-October20:00NEW ZEALAND73-0URUGUAY
Lyon



Tries McKenzie (2), Mo'unga, Jordan (2), Roigard
Newell, Fainga'anuku (3), Williams
Conversions Mo'unga (5), McKenzie (2)
B Barrett (2)


06-October20:00FRANCE60-7ITALY
Lyon


Tries Penaud (2), Bielle-Biarrey, Ramos, Jalibert
Mauvaka, Moefana
Penalties Ramos, Jaminet
Conversions Ramos (6), Jaminet

Tries Zuliani
Conversions Allan




POOL BWDLFA+/-TFBPPts
(Q)IRELAND40019046+14427319
(Q)SOUTH AFRICA30115134+11722315
3SCOTLAND20214671+7521210
4TONGA10396177-811315
5ROMANIA00432287-255400

09-September14:30IRELAND82-8ROMANIA
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-September16:45SOUTH AFRICA18-3SCOTLAND
Marseille

Tries Du Toit, Arendse
Penalties Libbok (2)
Conversions De Klerk

Penalties Russell


16-September20:00IRELAND59-16TONGA
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-September14:00SOUTH AFRICA76-0ROMANIA
Bordeaux

Tries Reinach (3), Mapimpi (3), Willemse
Fourie, Williams (2), Le Roux, penalty
Conversions Willemse (5), De Klerk (2)


23-September20:00SOUTH AFRICA8-13IRELAND
Saint-Denis

Tries Kolbe
Penalties Libbok


Tries Hansen
Penalties Sexton, Crowley
Conversions Sexton
24-September16:45SCOTLAND45-17TONGA
Nice

Tries Turner, Van der Merwe, Steyn, Darge
Horne, Kinghorn, Graham
Conversions Russell (5)

Tries Kata, Tameifuna
Penalties Havili
Conversions Havili (2)
30-September20:00SCOTLAND84-0ROMANIA
Lille

Tries Watson, Price, Graham (4), Fagerson
Harris, Smith, Healy, Matthews, Darge
Conversions Healy (11), Horne


01-October20:00SOUTH AFRICA49-18TONGA
Marseille

Tries Reinach, Moodie, Fourie, Kriel
Le Roux, Van Staden, Smith
Conversions Pollard (4), Libbok (3)

Tries Tameifuna, Inisi, Pellegrini
Penalties Havili

07-October20:00IRELAND36-14SCOTLAND
Saint-Denis

Tries Lowe, Keenan (2), Henderson, Sheehan
Ringrose
Conversions Sexton (3)

Tries Ashman, Price
Conversions Russell (2)

08-October16:45TONGA45-24ROMANIA
Lille

Tries Kata (2), Moala, Taumoepeau, Vailanu
Ahki, Taumoefolau
Conversions Havili (5)

Tries Boboc, Surugiu, Simionescu
Penalties Conache
Conversions Conache (3)


POOL CWDLFA+/-TFBPPts
(Q)WALES40014359+8417319
(Q)FIJI2028883+59311
3AUSTRALIA2029091-111311
4PORTUGAL11264103-39806
5GEORGIA01364113-49713


09-September17:00AUSTRALIA35-15GEORGIA
Saint-Denis


Tries Petaia, Nawaqanitawase
Donaldson (2)
Penalties Donaldson (3)
Conversions Donaldson (3)

Tries Ivanishvili, Gigashvili
Penalties Matkava
Conversions Abzhandadze

10-September20:00WALES32-26FIJI
Bordeaux

Tries Adams, North, Rees-Zammit, Dee
Penalties Biggar (2)
Conversions Biggar (3)

Tries Nayacalevu, Tagitagivalu, Tuisova, Doge
Conversions Lomani (2), Tela

16-September16:45WALES28-8PORTUGAL
Nice

Tries Rees-Zammit, Lake, Morgan, Faletau
Conversions Halfpenny (3), Costelow

Tries Martins
Penalties Marques
17-September16:45AUSTRALIA15-22FIJI
Saint-Étienne

Tries Nawaqanitawase, Vunivalu
Penalties Donaldson
Conversions Donaldson

Tries Tuisova
Penalties Kuruvoli (4), Lomani
Conversions Kuruvoli
23-September13:00GEORGIA18-18PORTUGAL
Toulouse


Tries Tabutsadze, Zamtaradze
Penalties Abzhandadze (2)
Conversions Abzhandadze

Tries Storti (2)
Penalties Marques (2)
Conversions Marques
24-September20:00WALES40-6AUSTRALIA
Lyon


Tries Davies, Tompkins, Morgan
Penalties Anscombe (6)
Conversions Biggar, Anscombe
Drop goals Anscombe

Penalties Donaldson (2)



30-September16:45FIJI17-12GEORGIA
Bordeaux

Tries Nayacalevu, Habosi
Penalties Lomani
Conversions Lomani (2)

Penalties Matkava (2), Niniashvili (2)


01-October16:45AUSTRALIA34-14PORTUGAL
Saint-Étienne


Tries Arnold, Porecki, Bell, McReight,
Koroibete
Penalties Donaldson
Conversions Donaldson (3)

Tries Bettencourt, Simoes
Conversions Marques (2)


07-October14:00WALES43-19GEORGIA
Nantes


Tries Francis, L Williams, Rees-Zammit (3)
North
Penalties Costelow
Conversions Costelow (5)

Tries Sharikadze, Karkadze, Niniashvili
Conversions Matkava (3)


08-October20:00FIJI23-24PORTUGAL
Toulouse

Tries Botia, Doge
Penalties Lomani (3)
Conversions Lomani (2)

Tries Storti, Fernandes, Marta
Penalties Marques
Conversions Marques (3)


POOL DWDLFA+/-TFBPPts
(Q)ENGLAND40015039+11117218
(Q)ARGENTINA30112769+5815214
3JAPAN202109107+21219
4SAMOA1039275+171137
5CHILE00427215-188400

09-September20:00ENGLAND27-10ARGENTINA
Marseille

Penalties Ford (6)
Drop goals Ford (3)


Tries Bruni
Penalties Boffelli
Conversions Boffelli
10-September12:00JAPAN45-15CHILE
Toulouse

Tries Fakatava (2), Naikabula, Leitch
Nakamura, Deans
Conversions Matsuda (6)

Tries Fernandez, A Escobar
Conversions Videla

16-September14:00SAMOA43-10CHILE
Bordeaux

Tries Paia'aua, Taumateine, Lee, Malolo (2)
Penalties Leali'ifano (4)
Conversions Leali'ifano (2), Sopoaga

Tries Dittus
Penalties Garafulic
Conversions Videla
17-September20:00ENGLAND34-12JAPAN
Nice

Tries Ludlam, Lawes, Steward, Marchant
Penalties Ford (2)
Conversions Ford (4)

Penalties Matsuda (4)


22-September16:45ARGENTINA19-10SAMOA
Saint-Étienne

Tries Boffelli
Penalties Boffelli (3), Sanchez
Conversions Boffelli

Tries Malolo
Penalties Leali'ifano
Conversions Leuila
23-September16:45ENGLAND71-0CHILE
Lille

Tries Arundell (5), Dan (2), Rodd
Smith (2), Willis
Conversions Farrell (8)


28-September20:00JAPAN28-22SAMOA
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-September14:00ARGENTINA59-5CHILE
Nantes


Tries Sanchez, Gonzalez (2), Creevy, Bogado
Isgro, Ruiz, S Carreras
Penalties Sanchez
Conversions Sanchez (6), S Carreras (2)

Tries Dussaillant



07-September16:45ENGLAND18-17SAMOA
Lille

Tries Chessum, Care
Penalties Farrell (2)
Conversions Farrell

Tries Ah Wong (2)
Penalties Sopoaga
Conversions Sopoaga (2)
08-September12:00JAPAN27-39ARGENTINA
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-October16:00WALES17-29ARGENTINA
Marseille

Tries Biggar, T Williams
Penalties Biggar
Conversions Biggar (2) 

Tries Sclavi, Sanchez
Penalties Boffelli (4), Sanchez
Conversions Boffelli (2)
14-October20:00IRELAND24-28NEW 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-October16:00ENGLAND30-24FIJI
Marseille


Tries Tuilagi, Marchant
Penalties Farrell (5)
Conversions Farrell
Drop goals Farrell

Tries Mata, Ravai, Botitu
Penalties Lomani
Conversions Lomani, Kuruvoli (2)

15-October20:00FRANCE28-29SOUTH 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-October20:00ARGENTINA6-44NEW ZEALAND
Saint-Denis

Penalties Boffelli (2)



Tries Jordan (3), J Barrett, Frizell (2), A Smith
Penalties Mo'unga
Conversions Mo'unga (3)
21-October20:00ENGLAND15-16SOUTH AFRICA
Saint-Denis

Penalties Farrell (4)
Drop goals Farrell


Tries Snyman
Penalties
 Libbok, Pollard (2)
Conversions Pollard

BRONZE FINAL
20-October20:00ARGENTINA23-26ENGLAND
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