Australia 28 Fiji 13
Australia launched their World Cup campaign with a 28-13 victory over Fiji in Pool A at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Wednesday.
Back-row forward David Pocock scored two tries in four minutes for the Wallabies at the venue where Australia won the second of their two World Cup titles back in 1999. But his side will be disappointed to miss out on a bonus point.
Fiji, beaten 35-11 by tournament hosts England in the so-called ‘Pool of Death’ at Twickenham on Friday, pushed hard for a losing bonus point but to no avail.
Scotland 45 Japan 10
Scotland started their World Cup campaign with a 45-10 win over giant-killers Japan at Kingsholm, Gloucester, on Thursday as Japan failed to follow-up their stunning defeat of South Africa with another victory.
All of Scotland’s five tries came in the second half. John Hardie and Mark Bennett helped Scotland, 12-7 up at the break, before Tommy Seymour’s interception score after the hour sealed victory.
Scotland centre Bennett’s second try 11 minutes from time secured the bonus point before fly-half Finn Russell marked his 23rd birthday with a try of his own. Scrum-half Greig Laidlaw kicked 20 points on his Gloucester home ground.
New Zealand v Namibia
Coach Steve Hansen has challenged the All Blacks to raise the bar in their second Rugby World Cup match against Namibia today, despite fielding a second-string side against the lowest-ranked team at the tournament.
New Zealand opened their title defence with a hard-fought 26-16 victory by their first-choice team over Argentina at Wembley and move across London to the Olympic Stadium to face the Africans in Pool C.
“One of the things that we pride ourselves on is trying to improve our performance from the previous one,” Hansen said. “We have a line in the sand as far as the game against Argentina goes. The group going out on Thursday have to change that line to a higher performance level. It does not matter who we are playing.”
Hansen was asked what lessons he has drawn from Japan’s upset of the Springboks last weekend. “We can’t just assume that Namibia will lie down. They will be proud men and will come out and give it everything,” he said.
Argentina
Argentina lock Mariano Galarza was given a nine-week ban on Wednesday after being found guilty of eye gouging during his team’s defeat against New Zealand in their opening Rugby World Cup game on Sunday.
The Independent Citing Commissioner Murray Whyte, of Ireland, found Galarza had been guilty of “contact with the eye or eye area” of All Black Brodie Retallick in the Wembley match.
“The Judicial Officer deemed the act of foul play merited a low-end entry point of 12 weeks,” organisers said in a statement.
An additional week was added as a deterrent against such acts, though Galarza’s suspension was reduced to nine weeks after taking into account mitigating factors including his excellent disciplinary record.
The suspension takes effect immediately and includes the player’s remaining matches at the Rugby World Cup and thereafter converts to weeks with his English club, Gloucester.
Galarza will be free to resume playing on November 26.
South Africa v Samoa
South Africa have spent much of the week working hard on holding the defensive line – and their concentration – as they prepare for the physicality of their next Rugby World Cup opponents Samoa, centre Damian de Allende said on Wednesday.
De Allende, who won the first of his seven caps last year, is one of eight changes to the Springboks side after their shock defeat against Japan and will have a key role in shoring up the midfield for the Pool B game at Villa Park on Saturday.
“We worked heavily on defence (in recent months), but we still make the odd concentration errors. It’s something we have been working hard on this week,” he told reporters.
“You can expect anything from the islanders. They are very physical. We’ve got to man up on Saturday.”
Of his forthcoming World Cup debut, the 23-year-old added: “I’m very excited ... Watching from the stands last week when you feel you can contribute is very hard.”
