By winning against Australia, Wales became the first team to mathematically secure a place among the top eight teams. The Irish had their best match of the tournament so far, beating defending champions South Africa and doing a huge job in the group stage. The English had easy work against Chile and for now they are surely heading for the playoffs. The Italians struggled against Uruguay, but in the end they won with a bonus point. The French were confident against Namibia. The first tied result of the tournament was also recorded, where the Portuguese and Georgians were fairly equal. Argentinians are not doing well, but they were better than Samoa. We have passed the half of the group competition, and so far the World Cup has fully justified all the expectations we had.
The French are convincing, but they continue without Dupont
The French had a lot of bad luck in the match against Namibia, because according to many, the best player in the world, Antoine Dupont, suffered a broken jaw and will most likely be out of the field at least until the eventual ½ final match. Of course, the record-breaking 96-0 win was overshadowed by Dupont’s injury. In this way, the French were left without starting playmakers. The question arises as to why the starters were forced into a match where victory was out of the question. Perhaps Uruguay contributed to that distinction, as the French failed to win a bonus point against the South Americans in the last round. The responsibility is now on the duo of Bordeaux, Jaliber and Lucu, to make the French team win until the very end of the championship.
The Italians are convincing after the shock in the first half
For the Uruguayans, the match against Italy was the match of the tournament. The match they were preparing for. They proved that at halftime when they shocked all rugby fans. The Uruguayans led with an incredible 17-7. The Italians played very unconvincingly in the first part of the match. However, in the second part of the match, they added to the fifth gear and won that part with 31-0. The Uruguayans did not have the strength to deal with the highly organized Italians, who showed that they could very well cope with the pressure of results. The Uruguayans were excellent, they gave their all and they left their hearts on the field. True rugby romanticism.
Group A standings:
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | П(W) | И(L) | Н(D) | ПФ(PF) | ПА(PA) | ПД(PD) | БП(BP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Француска | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 210 | 32 | 178 | 8 | 18 |
| 2 |  Нови Зеланд | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 253 | 47 | 206 | 3 | 15 |
| 3 |  Италија | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 114 | 181 | -67 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 |  Уругвај | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 164 | -99 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 |  Намибија | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 255 | -218 | 0 | 0 |
Next fixures:
Uruguay – Namibia, Wednesday 27th of september, kickoff at 17:45h.
New Zealand – Italy, Friday 29th of september, kickoff 21h.
France is bye.
The best match in the World Cup so far went to Ireland
Everyone can absolutely agree that the best match we have seen so far was between the two best ranked teams in the world. We saw total rugby, incredible defenses and tactical outwits. It was quite uncertain throughout the match. At halftime the score was 7-3 for the Irish. The South Africans had their chances but Manie Libbok was inaccurate from penalties. We were left without too much “bomb squad” performance, but we were also left without too much sharpness of the Irish attack. Injured Malcolm Marx was lacking, primarily in defense and in passing. We can also say that these matches were just perfect for Pollard, who joined the Springboks a few days ago. Something tells us that we will have the opportunity to see him very soon. The Irish have a match against the Scots left, which will put an end to the placement in the group, when we will know who will be placed in the ¼ finals and from which position.
Scots confident against Tonga
At the beginning of the match, it seemed that the Scots would have a hard time dealing with the Tongans, but in the second part of the match, the islanders had no solution for the opponent’s speed in the line. Physical strength played a role in the first twenty minutes of the match, but Duhan van de Merwe in the 26th minute of the match started Tonga and exposed weaknesses in the game. By the end of the first half, Finn Russell and the team were efficient and reached 24-10. In the second part of the match, George Horn entered the game and completely demolished the defense of Tonga, which had no solutions for the fast pace of the game. In the end it was a somewhat surprising 45-17, but we must say deserved. The playful Scots remain to provide the absolute maximum until the end of the tournament when they will look for a victory and a place in the ¼ finals in the match against Ireland.
Group B standings:
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | П(W) | И(L) | Н(D) | ПФ(PF) | ПА(PA) | ПД(PD) | БП(BP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ирска | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 190 | 46 | 144 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 |  Јужна Африка | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 151 | 34 | 117 | 3 | 15 |
| 3 |  Шкотска | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 146 | 71 | 75 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 |  Тонга | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 96 | 177 | -81 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 |  Румунија | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 287 | -255 | 0 | 0 |
Next fixures:
Scotland – Romania, Saturday 30th of september, kickoff 21h.
South Africa v Tonga, Sundar 1st of october, kickoff 21h.
Ireland bye.
The Portuguese and Georgians shared the booty
We expected much more from the Georgians before the tournament itself. However, no matter what the expectations and hopes are, you have to prove everything on the field. Although they were the favorites, the Georgians still have to settle for a draw. Georgia led 13-5 at halftime, and almost no one expected a total turnaround in the second half. The Portuguese were excellent and turned the score to 18-13, which they held almost until the end of the match. Still, in 78th minute Tengiz Zamtaradze scores an try for 18-18. Luka Matkava did not use the conversion shot to create a new turn. At the end of the match itself, Portugal had a penalty just outside the 22 meters, but it went wide from the right side. However, the left-footed Guedes missed the first victory in the history of Portugal.
Wales ramms Australia
The match was to be or not to be for Eddie Jones’ men. In the announcement of the World Cup, we said that Australia is preparing for the next tournament, which can be seen from the young squad. However, it seems that something is not quite right, because the Aussies were very pale. Wales played perhaps their best game in two years. They looked like a real machine, a real competitive team. Captain Jac Morgan shone, who played as a captain, and was real both in attack and defense. Even Biggar’s injury didn’t help the poor Australians. Wales looked very focused, played quite smartly, maybe they should have risked a bit more and made the bonus point, but a convincing 40-6 win over their big rivals will count. Wales is the first team to secure a place among the top 8 in the tournament. Australia looks set to be eliminated in the group for the first time. But let’s wait until the end of the competition to see what will happen.
Group C standings:
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | П(W) | И(L) | Н(D) | ПФ(PF) | ПА(PA) | ПД(PD) | БП(BP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Велс | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 143 | 59 | 84 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 |  Фиџи | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 88 | 83 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 |  Аустралија | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 91 | -1 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 |  Португалија | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 64 | 103 | -39 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 |  Грузија | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 64 | 113 | -49 | 1 | 3 |
Next fixures:
Fiji – Georgia, Saturday 30th of september, kickoff at 17:45h.
Australia – Portugal, Sunday 1st of october, kickoff at 17:45h.
Wales bye.
England secured big win against Chile
In the first 20 minutes of the match, the score was a rather surprising 0-0. The Chileans could not have guessed that even in their wildest dreams. However, in rugby it is very difficult to come up with such a surprise. Then young Henry Arundel entered the scene and ended up scoring a total of 5 tries. At halftime the score was 31-0, while at the very end it was a convincing 71-0. Rugby once again showed that the quality of all national teams is on the rise. In the past, the results at the World Cups were quite high, now it is difficult for any team to lose by more than 100 points. Chile showed that they belong at the World Cup, they held on heroically and can be proud of their performances.
Pale Argentina still better than Samoa
We didn’t expect this kind of Argentina. However, the Pumas did not allow themselves to surprise us in a negative way until the end, even though they defeated Samoa, which was not exactly the best. In a very difficult game to watch, we didn’t have the opportunity to see too many nice moves, nor too much quality rugby. The lethargic Argentinians made sure that the entire match was uncertain. In the end, the score was 19-10 for the South Americans. Unfortunately for rugby, we have to say that it would have been undeserved if Samoa had won. For now, the worst rugby is being played in Group D.
Group D standings:
| Поз (Pos) | Екипа (Team) | У(GP) | П(W) | И(L) | Н(D) | ПФ(PF) | ПА(PA) | ПД(PD) | БП(BP) | Б(Pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Енглеска | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 39 | 111 | 2 | 18 |
| 2 |  Аргентина | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 69 | 58 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 |  Јапан | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 109 | 107 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 4 |  Самоа | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 92 | 75 | 17 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 |  Чиле | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 215 | -188 | 0 | 0 |
Next fixures:
Japan – Samoa, Thursday 28th of september, kickoff at 17:45h.
Argentina – Chile, Saturday 30th od september, kickoff at 15:00h.
England bye.
