Rugby World Cup – Pool B: Scotland’s last chance; Ireland under pressure? Pool C: Fiji to formally dump Wallabies? Wales already ready; Group A: Italy’s unlikely shot against Les Bleus; All blacks well placed; Group D: England secured first place; Argentina and Japan compete for QF
By Michael Cantillon
Last updated: 03/10/23 7:17 PM
Scotland, Ireland and France face crucial Rugby World Cup weekends
We look ahead to a crucial week of Rugby World Cup action, with Scotland and Italy getting the final chances, while Ireland, hosts France and Fiji may feel some pressure…
Pool B: Scotland’s last chance; Ireland under pressure?
There is only one place to start ahead of the final weekend of pool matches, and that is the group of death in Pool B, where Scotland, Ireland or South Africa will exit the tournament on Saturday.
The trio all finished in the top five in the world in terms of rankings at the World Cup (Ireland No. 1, South Africa No. 2, Scotland No. 5), but they were awarded a brutal draw.
Having completed their pool fixture with a 49-18 win over Tonga in Marseille last Sunday, the Springboks will have to watch as Ireland and Scotland face off at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday (8pm, kick-off BST).
With South Africa having already beaten Scotland 18-3 on the first weekend, Gregor Townsend’s Scots need to beat Ireland to have any hope of reaching the quarter-finals, but with Ireland beating South Africa 13-8 two weeks ago, Scotland must do that. Beating Ireland and also denying them a losing bonus point.
So there is a good chance that Scotland will leave, but with a win of eight points or more, Scotland will leapfrog Ireland and Andy Farrell’s team will be stranded and leave the World Cup.
There is also one highly unlikely scenario in which Ireland and Scotland can both progress at South Africa’s expense, and that is if the Scots beat Ireland by at least 21 points, gain a try bonus point in the process (at least four tries), and Ireland get In the event of a defeat, you also receive your own try bonus point.
Ireland recorded a stunning victory over South Africa in their last match
A win of any kind for Ireland will see them top Pool B and face a likely quarter-final against New Zealand. The number two in this group will probably face host country France in the quarter-finals…
Pool C: Fiji needs a point to formally dump Wallabies; Wales already through
After excellent performances in the defeat to Wales and the win against Australia, Fiji looked like a side held back by the pressure of expectations against Georgia last week.
The Flying Fijians could easily have lost the Test that day but eventually recovered to win crucially 17-12 in Bordeaux.
Fiji’s failure to pick up a bonus point in victory means there is still work to do heading into the final weekend, despite Australia having already lost twice to Fiji and Wales.
Fiji finally secured a crucial victory over Georgia last weekend, but it was a nerve-wracking display
Fiji take on Portugal in Toulouse on Sunday (kick-off 8pm BST) and need a single point – a win, a try bonus point or a loss bonus point – to guarantee their place in the quarter-finals and Australia’s first ever pool stage. Rugby World Cup.
Portugal have already given Wales and Australia a scare at this World Cup, so Fiji will be hoping to put on a show and gain some confidence ahead of a likely quarter-final meeting with England in a first knockout appearance since 2007 would mean.
Fiji could still overtake Wales and top the group if Warren Gatland’s players – who have already qualified – lose to Georgia in Nantes on Saturday (2pm BST) and Fiji achieve a bonus point success.
Group A: Italy’s unlikely shot against Les Bleus; All blacks well placed
And what about Pool A? Italy was always going to have two chances to progress to the quarter-finals once they won their first two matches against Namibia and Uruguay on bonus points, but the first of these was embarrassingly wiped out last week as the Azzurri suffered a 96-point defeat. 17 defeat to New Zealand.
However, Italy remain just three points behind France in Pool A as Les Bleus failed to beat Uruguay with a bonus point, and the Azzurri face France in Lyon (8pm BST) on Friday (kick-off 8pm BST), knowing that victory will dump the hosts and favorites. from their own World Cup.
Les Bleus will likely be without captain Antoine Dupont for that game and may be a little nervous heading into the match, although they will still be backing themselves heavily to get the win they need to progress.
The All Blacks face Uruguay in Lyon on Thursday (kick-off 8pm BST), where victory guarantees them a place in the quarter-finals.
Group D: England secured first place; Argentina and Japan are battling it out for the final eighth place
Finally, to Pool D, where England are assured of top spot and progression to the quarter-finals ahead of their final pool match against Samoa in Lille on Saturday (4.45pm kick-off BST).
Argentina and Japan are both locked on nine points, five fewer than England, meaning even a defeat for England and a bonus-point win for both will see them finish below Steve Borthwick’s men due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
In the final match of the group, the Pumas face the Brave Blossoms in Nantes on Sunday (12pm kick-off BST) in a winner-takes-all match before the final quarter-final and a likely meeting with Wales.