RWC 2023: Race for the quarterfinals is on for the matchday four

By: |
Stade Vélodrome, home of the South Africa-Tonga game

The [Rugby World Cup] RWC 2023 race for the quarterfinal is on in the fourth round after matches in game week three saw teams that topped their various pools solidify their positions winning all their three matches while the rest fought for the remaining spots.

Race for the quarterfinals of the RWC 2023

Pool A

The RWC 2023 race for the quarterfinals is on in pool A as Italy and New Zealand set to lock horns after match day three saw them tie.

Impressive second-half surge grants Italy a win over Uruguay piling more pressure on the All Blacks

Italy showcased an impressive second half to defeat Uruguay to put more pressure on the All Blacks in Pool A of the RWC 2023. The All Blacks who have won a single match have fallen to third place while Italy replaced them in second place.

The game

Los Teros who had earlier given host France a stern test in a thrilling 27-12 defeat headed to this match in their second meeting with Italy. On the other hand, Italy were in a race to replicate their perfect form in the RWC 2023 where they beat Namibia in their opening match.

Italy’s discipline would be their major setback. Nicollo Cannone was sin binned for an infringement in a ruck.

The South American saw this as an opportunity to exploit their one man advantage. Uruguay went for a line-out and Ardao ploughs over the line but he was held up. Referee Angus Gardner however granted a penalty try and showed another yellow card to Italy’s Fischetti for collapsing the maul.

Los Teros took advantage of their two-man advantage scoringg their second try through winger Nicolas Freitas. Fly half Felipe Etcheverry landed a drop goal taking the scores to 17-7 at the break in favour of Uruguay.

The second half did not start the way Uruguay would have hoped. Los Teros captain Andres Vilaseca was sin binned  in the early minutes.

It was Italy’s time to be with the advantage. Four converted tries in the span of 15 minutes was enough to break the South American’s hearts. Skipper Michele Lamaro, Monty Ioane, Cannone and center Ignacio Brex went over for the Azzurris taking the scores to 35-17. Paolo Garbisi then scored a late minute penalty to take the scores to 38-17 in favour of Italy marking the final score of the game.

Italy now have a huge task ahead of them in the fourth round as they face the three time RWC winner New Zealand next week. This will be a determinant on who proceeds to the quarter final in Pool A.

Damian Penaud stars as France ran in 14 tries against Namibia to record their highest win.

Host France ran in 14 tries against Namibia to win 96-0 their highest in a RWC to hold top spot in pool A. The score breaks their previous record 87-10 against the same Namibia in RWC 2007 when they also hosted the tournament.

However Namibia their record loss in RWC continues as they suffered their 25th straight loss.

The game

France coach Fabien Galthie made 12 changes to the side that faced Uruguay in the previous week. He brought in big names as they had set their eyes to win big and also bag in a bonus point.

Les Bleus dominant display at kick off already proved to be one sided contest in Marseille. France scored a bonus point in just 21 minutes with a total of eight tries being scored in the first half while six in the second half.

Damien Penaud scored a hat trick while Jonathan Danty Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Charles Ollivion all scoring braces. This is while Thibaud Flament, Baptiste Couillod,  and Melvyn Jaminet also went over to add on the tally. France rounded off their scoring after they were awarded a penalty try taking the scores past the 90-point mark.

Antoine Dupont injury

France captain Antonie Dupont whose first half display was impressive was withdrawn early in the second half due to a head injury. This happened after Namibia’s captain Johan Deysel struck him on the head when he was going for a tackle with Deysel yellow card be upgraded to a red due to its severity and Namibia’s try being overruled.

The hosts will be sweating over hi availability in the remaining RWC 2023 matches after it was determined that he may have suffered a fractured cheekbone. France have definitely secured a quarterfinal spot after wining three out of three matches of pool A. They now await Italy a fortnight from the third round of matches where they will face Italy for their final pool game.

Pool A standings

Pool B

The RWC 2023 race for the quarterfinals in pool B has been determined after matchday three which saw Ireland taking the first spot and South Africa have taken the second.

Ireland overcome South Africa 13-8 to top pool B

RWC 2019 winners South Africa and world number one Ireland clashed in RWC 2023 race for for the top of pool B position at the Stade de France on Saturday. Mack Hansen’s try in the first half helped secure the win, which was secured by the boots of Johnny Sexton and Jack Crowley.

Ireland beat reigning champions South Africa 13-8 in an intense Rugby World Cup pool-stage encounter, thanks in large part to Mack Hansen’s try.

Ireland had real line-out issues early on, winning none of their first four, but it eventually stabilized and helped set up the only try of the first half. The Irish continuous attack on the springboks try line was successful following a set piece that drew the springboks defenders and then worked the ball wide for Hansen to score the first try of the game. Johnny Sexton added the conversion and it was 7-3 at the break.

However, the reigning champions responded through Cheslin Kolbe who scored a try off the back of a dominant scrum which itself came right after four replacement forwards. A Sexton penalty restored Ireland’s lead at 10-8 and South Africa squandered several chances to change that, with Faf de Klerk and Manie Libbok both missing penalties

A Jack Crowley penalty secured the win for Ireland, with South Africa repelled from a last-chance line-out seven meters from the Irish line.

Scotland bounce back to winning ways thrashing Tonga 45-16

Scotland bounced back to winning ways beating Tonga 45-16 in a must win match yo keep their quarterfinal qualification dream alive.

Scotland who are in the “Pool of death”still have a match with world number one Ireland who had upset RWC 2019 champions South Africa who had beaten them in the opening match of pool B.Gregor Townsend men were the first on the scoreboard after hooker George Turner pushed over following a maul which Finn Russel converted to take a 7-0 lead.Tonga were able to respond quickly with a William Havili’s penalty and Solomone Kata’s converted try taking the scores to 10-7 lead.

The scotts responded with three tries from Duhan Van Der Merwe, Kyle Steyn and Rory Darge just before half time.Tonga began their second half powerfully with prop Ben Tameifuna going over the Scots defence line with Havili adding the extras.

Tries from replacement scrum-half George Horne, full-back Blair Kinghorn and replacement wing Darcy Graham sealed their first win of Rugby World Cup.

 Pool B standings

Pool C

The RWC 2023 race for the quarterfinals in pool C has seen Wales being the first side to qualify for the last eight leaving Fiji and  Australia battling it out for the remaining spot.

Warren Gatland’s Welsh side brush off Australia to qualify for the quarters of RWC 2023

Warren Gatland’s Welsh side beat Australia’s Wallabies 40-6 to be the first team to qualify for the last eight. Gareth Anscombe 23 points and tries from Gareth Davies, Nick Tompkins and Jac Morgan sealed Wales place in the quarters.

Wales were first on the score board after  Gareth Anscombe kicked in a penalty in 30 second. Gareth Davies utilized captain Jac Morgan’s pass to dot down between the posts.

The Wallabies responded, with Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete to the fore. And when Wales linchpin Dan Biggar was forced off in the 12th minute, with Wales leading just 7-6, the Wallabies looked to be in the hunt. But almost nothing went right for the two-time World Cup winners from then on.

A succession of penalties enabled Gareth Anscombe to pull Wales into a 16-6 half-time lead and another lightning start to the second 40 minutes saw centre Nick Tompkins gather Anscombe’s cute chip to touch down. With Australia bereft of ideas and the penalty count creeping up, Morgan scored off the back of a maul and Anscombe added a further three penalties and a drop goal to secure Wales’ biggest ever victory over Australia.

Penalty kick miss extends Georgia unbeaten run against Portugal

Portugal Nuno Sousa missed last gasp penalty extending Georgia’s unbeaten run against Portugal as the sides settled for a 18- 18 draw in RWC 2023.

The first half saw both teams exchange tries through Georgia’s winger Akaki Tabutsadze and Portugal’s Storti.

Portugal was dealt a blow after prop Francisco was yellow carded just before the break. Georgia took advantage and were able to kick in two penalties ad held on to a 13-5 lead at the half time break.

The Oslobos came back at the second period with more drive. Portugal scrum half Samuel Marques kicked in two penalties and converted Storti’s second try for a 18-13 lead. Portugal were on their way to a historic win but Georgia’s Zamtaradze had other plans touching down to level the scores. Portugal fullback, Nuno Sousa, was given a chance to hand them a win but his penalty kick sailed wide ending the game at 18-18.

Pool C standings

Pool D

The RWC 2023 race for quarterfinals is on in pool D with England having secured a spot leaving Samoa, Japan and Argentina battling for the final spot in what promises to be enthralling matches.

Henry Arundell stars for England as they blow away Chile

Embed from Getty Images

Henry Arundell starred for England as they blew away Chile 71-0. Out of the 11 tries that England scored Henry scored five of them.

The game was at a stalemate for the first 20 minutes but 20 year old debutant Henry Arundell was able to break the deadlock. The winger  scored his first try after returning captain and flyhalf Owen Farrell delivered a pass from a scrum for him to score at the corner. The second try came in three minutes later from a maul and Dan was able to dive in for England’s second.

The two try scorers were at it again after Dan released the ball to Arundell to score his second try at the corner. The red roses scored their bonus point score after Rodd muscled his way through Chile’s defense for a 24-0 lead. England continued their onslaught and Smith added a fifth try for his side taking his side tally to 31-0 at half time.

Hardly had the second half began than Dan replicate his score from a maul extending his side score to 36-0. Arundell showcased a masterclass display scoring a hattrick of tries in a span of 21 minutes. George Ford was able to set up Smith who scored his brace. Willis grabbed England’s 11th  try and final try which Owen Farrell converted for a 71-0 win.

The win sees England qualify for RWC 2023 quarterfinal.

The Los Pumas beat Manu Samoa to record their first match in RWC 2023 keeping quarterfinal hopes alive.

Los Pumas headed into this fixture in need of a win after they had earlier been beaten by England 27-10. Both Los Pumas and Manu Samoa are hoping to qualify for the quarterfinals. The last time these two teams met each other was 18 years ago in Saint Etienne.

Samoa kicked off their match in a wrong way after fullback Duncan Paia’apua was shown a yellow card for taking out an Argentine player on the air. Even though Samoa were a man down, Argentina found it difficult to convert their territorial gain. The pumas however go their foot in the ninth minute after Bofelli scored and converted his own try giving them a 7-0 lead.

Minutes later, Bofelli was at it again kicking in a penalty extending the led to 10-0. However, four minutes later, Manu Samoa were on the score board courtesy of Leali’ifano’s penalty kick reducing the deficit to 10-3. An infringement by Samoa at a scrum saw Argentina being granted a penalty which Bofelli gladly converted to extend the lead to 13-3 to the half time. The second half began with both teams making territorial gain but each of their efforts were shot down by strong defensive lines.

Los Pumas talisman Boffelli added two more penalties both for Tumua Manu and Fritz Lee being caught offside in tandem – before the break, with Leali’ifano replying with one of his own, having missed two simple attempts.

With Argentina turning the screw at the maul, Samoa were clinging on. Boffelli kicked three more points when Saracens’ Theo McFarland was caught offside, with the game slipping away from the Pacific Islanders. Sama Malolo tapped a penalty from five meters out and, after a period of short-range pressure, the replacement hooker rounded off the move to give Samoa hope. Sánchez stepped up, keeping Argentina’s dream alive by scoring a penalty taking the scores to 19-10 to win the game for Argentina. Samoa will now have to defeat England to stand any chance of progression in RWC 2023 quarter-finals.

Pool D standings

The RWC 2023 race for the quarterfinals is on in the RWC 2023 as teams will hope to outscore each other to be able to proceed to the knockout stages of the tournament. Teams have shown their dominance with those topping their pools having won three out of three of their matches. The Rugby World Cup 2023 race for the quarterfinal is on in the forth round sees the likes of France, Ireland, Wales and England qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Upcoming RWC 2023 fixtures

Wednesday, Sep 27, 2023 Uruguay vs Namibia Lyon

Thursday, Sep  28, 2023 Japan vs Samoa  Toulouse

Friday, Sep 29, 2023 New Zealand vs Italy Lyon

Saturday, Sep 30, 2023 Argentina vs Chile Nantes

Saturday, Sep 30, 2023 Fiji vs Georgia Bordeaux

Saturday, Sep 30, 2023 Scotland vs Romania Lille

Sunday, Oct 1,  2023  Australia vs Portugal Saint-Etienne

Sunday, Oct 1, 2023  South Africa vs Tonga Marseille

 

Photo credit: Zakarie Faibis on Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Post Views: 26

Johnny Sexton drives Irish hopes against strong Springboks 7-1 bench strategy
Henry Arundell and Marcus Smith boost Borthwick’s England attacking options