Rugby World Cup 2015

Israel Folau

Israel Folau

David Pocock

David Pocock

Israel Folau and David Pocock are on course to return to Australia’s start line-up for the Rugby World Cup semifinal against Argentina on Sunday, coach Michael Cheika said Monday.

However, 1st choice prop Scott Sio is a doubt and is to undergo a scan on his elbow which forced him to leave the fray early in the thrilling 35 / 34 win over Scotland on Sunday.

Pocock – who in a stroke of genius has been switched from flanker to No 8 by Cheika and was instrumental in the pool game win over humiliated hosts England – missed the quarterfinal because of a calf injury he suffered in the 15 / 6 win over Wales.

Fullback Folau has been struggling with an ankle problem since the 33 / 13 win over the English and the game against Scotland was the 1st Test he had missed since making his debut in 2013.

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Drew Mitchell

Drew Mitchell

Australia’s Drew Mitchell entered the race for the Rugby World Cup try-scoring record with a brace against Scotland in their 35 / 34 quarterfinal victory at Twickenham on Sunday.

Mitchell dotted down twice to bring his tally in World Cups to 14 – a single try shy of current joint leaders, New Zealand great Jonah Lomu and Springbok Bryan Habana.

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New ZealandThe New Zealand All Blacks broke their own Rugby World Cup quarterfinal victory margin with their demolition of France at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

The All Blacks scored 9 tries in their 62 / 13 romp in a one-sided repeat of the 2011 World Cup final.

Their 49-point margin of victory bettered their previous record of 27 points when they accounted for Scotland 30 / 3 at the 1987 tournament.

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A lot has been made about Scotland’s early exit from the Rugby World Cup under a cloud of anger about the way referee Craig Joubert refereed the match… specially that last penalty, which when converted ultimately sunk a very, very brave and deserving Scotland.

We raked the web for an article which takes all the emotion and anger out of the equation and gives probably the best clinical and sensible discussion on the matter.

At the time the game was played, I thought the penalty was justly awarded, whereas many thought it was’nt the case!

Well, let’s first off say, that last penalty and everything around it happened so quickly, that anybody who can now unequivocally say that they saw everything clear as day at the time it happened, is bullshitting everybody. Of course now all of us have had the luxury of hindsight and have had repeated and even more repeated replays of that insident at hand… and still the judgment call is not easy.

But, I digress… let’s have a look at the ARTICLE I dug up… Paul Dobson the Author…

 

Then after that, have a good look at World Rugby’s Statement on the Match official’s performance review (Australia vs Scotland), it is right at the end of the article!

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Steve Hansen

Steve Hansen

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen believes Northern Hemisphere rugby could be on the road to nowhere unless attitudes change.

England are still the only non-Southern Hemisphere nation to have won the Rugby World Cup since the competition was launched in 1987. And with New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Australia at the top of the betting for this year’s competition, the Webb Ellis Cup will stay in the Southern Hemisphere.

Hansen spent 2 years in charge of Wales in the early 90’s and experienced the difficulties that still exist between the owner-led regions and the Welsh Rugby Union. It is the same story in England, and in France too.

On the back of Saturday’s resounding quarterfinal victory over the French, and with England and Wales already out, Hansen seized his moment to speak out.

When asked about the situation in France and the ongoing problems between the Top 14 clubs and the Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR), he said: “It’s difficult if you’re not on the same page and I’m not sure whether in France the 2 organisations are on the same page.

“You need to have the same goals and the same vision. There are a lot of foreign players in the Top 14 and that means there are a lot of French players who are not getting the chance to grow and develop.

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Stephen Betham

Stephen Betham

Samoa coach Stephen Betham has resigned after the Pacific islanders’ disappointing Rugby World Cup performance, chief executive Vincent Fepuleai said Monday.

Samoa Rugby Union’s Fepuleai said more was expected from the team, who exited in the pool stage after losses to Japan, South Africa and Scotland.

He said that a review into the campaign was underway but Betham had already decided to leave after 3-and-a-half years in the job.

“Stephen has called it a day, I guess, and there will be opportunities there and I think we will go through the proper process in recruitment of a new head coach and so forth,” Fepuleai said.

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Pascal Pape

Pascal Pape

Frederic Michalak

Frederic Michalak

France flyhalf Frederic Michalak has ended his international career after Les Bleus’ 13 / 62 defeat by New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.

Michalak left the pitch with a thigh injury after 11 minutes at the Millennium Stadium.

He said: “It’s quite sad to finish like that. I truly thought I’d be able to raise the Cup, and I didn’t imagine that I would finish like that, with an injury, which makes it even worse. Of course I’ll recover from this injury, but I’ll take care of my body and play fewer games per year.”

The Toulon player, 33, won 77 international caps and played in 3 Rugby World Cups, in 2003, 2007 and this year. He is under contract with Toulon until 2016.

France lock Pascal Pape, 35, is also retiring from internationals after 65 tests.

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Stuart Lancaster

Stuart Lancaster

Ian McGeechan, Ben Kay and Rugby Football Union CEO Ian Ritchie have been included on a 5-man panel that will review England’s performance at the Rugby World Cup.

“The panel will review the preparations and performances in the Rugby World Cup, the effectiveness of the coaching, management and support team and consider feedback from all relevant stakeholders,” the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said in a statement on Monday.

England went out at the pool stage for the 1st time after home defeats by Wales and Australia and the panel will look at the future of coach Stuart Lancaster, who has a contract until 2020, and his assistants.

McGeechan, the hugely respected former British and Irish Lions coach and player, has been a vocal supporter of Lancaster during the tournament.

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New ZealandFranceAll Blacks (29) 62 / 13 (13) France (Final Score)

The New Zealand All Blacks and France did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 21:00 SA Time (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT, 21:00 France Time, Sunday 08:00 NZ Time).

This was the live match discussion Article.

The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.

*******************

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Jonny Gray

Jonny Gray

Ross Ford

Ross Ford

Ross Ford and Jonny Gray (Scotland) are free to resume playing with immediate effect after successfully appealing against their 3-week suspension for acts of foul play contrary to Law 10.4(j) (dangerous tackles).

The appeal took place today at the London offices of the official law firm for Rugby World Cup 2015 Clifford Chance and was heard by an Appeal Committee, chaired by the Honourable Justice Lex Mpati (South Africa), sitting with Justice Graeme Mew (Canada) and Robbie Deans (New Zealand).

Having conducted a detailed review of all the evidence, including new submissions from the players and their representatives, along with all available camera angles, the Appeal Committee dismissed the finding that the players had committed an act of foul play as the player had not been dropped or driven and therefore the tackle was not dangerous.

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David Pocock

David Pocock

Israel Folau

Israel Folau

Key players David Pocock and Israel Folau handed Australia a double blow on Friday.

Both failed to prove their fitness and will miss the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal with Scotland on Sunday.

David Pocock, whose conversion to No 8, from openside flank, has been a roaring success, has been struggling with a calf injury suffered during the 15 / 6 Pool A victory over Wales last Saturday.

Fullback Israel Folau struggled through the Wales game with a painful ankle, a knock he had picked up in the 33 / 13 whipping of hosts England a fortnight ago, and the injury sees him miss his 1st Test for the Wallabies since he made his debut in 2013.

Pocock has been replaced by Ben McCalman, with Kurtley Beale coming in at fullback for Folau.

Meanwhile Stephen Moore and Matt Giteau will become the newest Wallabies centurions.

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Greig Laidlaw

Greig Laidlaw

Scotland have made 4 changes to the starting line-up that defeated Samoa in their last Pool B match at the Rugby World Cup.

This is the smallest number of changes Scotland have made in successive Rugby World Cup matches since the 2007 Rugby World Cup, when they made no changes to the team that beat Italy in the pool phase and then faced Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Ross Ford and Jonny Gray will both be unavailable due to bans, with Fraser Brown and Tim Swinson taking their respective places in the starting 15.

Greig Laidlaw will captain the side, as he has done over the course of this tournament, for the 21st time in a Test match for Scotland – joint-2nd most, along with Bryan Redpath. Only David Sole has captained Scotland more (25 times) in Tests.

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Jonathan Sexton

Jonathan Sexton

UPDATE: Ireland flyhalf Jonathan Sexton was supposed to start in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina in Cardiff on Sunday, after recovering from a groin problem, but the groin injury has flared up again and Ian Madigan takes his place in the run-on side, with Paddy Jackson coming onto the bench.

The 30-year-old Sexton, who went off in the 1st half of the 24 / 9 win over France, initially provided a rare bit of good news for the Irish this week when he was included in the side, but the good news did not last.

Iconic captain and lock Paul O’Connell and flank Peter O’Mahony were ruled out of the rest of the tournament with injuries, while Sean O’Brien was handed a 1 week ban for punching French lock Pascal Pape in the stomach.

Iain Henderson, who has had an outstanding tournament, comes into the locks to partner Devin Toner, with Jordi Murphy and Chris Henry filling the flank vacancies left by O’Mahony and O’Brien.

The Irish, who will be captained by No 8 Jamie Heaslip, are bidding to reach the semifinals for the 1st time.

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Daniel Hourcade

Daniel Hourcade

Argentina have reverted to their strongest side for their quarterfinal match against Ireland on Sunday.

Argentina’s starting 15 at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday will contain 496 caps worth of experience, their 2nd most experienced of this tournament after the 54 / 9 win over Georgia in their 2nd Pool C match.

Head coach Daniel Hourcade has made 10 changes from the team that beat Namibia. This is the largest amount of changes made to an Argentina side, except for the 11 made between the Tonga and Namibia matches, since the opening 2 games of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

The whole front row changes, with the replacements from the Namibia game starting against Ireland and the Namibia game starters dropping to the bench. Tomas Lavinini comes in for Matias Alemanno in the locks, with the latter dropping to the bench.

There are also 2 changes in the loose forwards, with Javier Ortega Desio out of the matchday-23 and Facundo Isa dropping to the bench, as Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Leonardo Senatore return.

In the backs, Juan Martin Hernandez reverts to inside centre to allow for the return of Nicolas Sanchez. Scrumhalf Martin Landajo and Matias Moroni retain their places, though Moroni moves to outside centre. Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino drops to the bench.

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Thierry Dusautoir

Thierry Dusautoir

France captain Thierry Dusautoir has rubbished reports there had been a split between coach Philippe Saint-Andre and his players.

“Since the start of the World Cup, the players and staff have been together and they will work together until the end of the World Cup,” Dusautoir insisted.

The 33-year-old skipper said he had “total confidence” in Saint-Andre, a former France captain who will step down after the Rugby World Cup.

French newspaper Le Nouvel Observateur published an article Thursday citing a “source close to the players” who said there had been a players’ uprising against Saint-Andre.

“I don’t know where that’s come from, but you need to ask the person who wrote the article to tell us more,” he said.

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Philippe Saint-Andre

Philippe Saint-Andre

France coach Phillippe Saint-Andre has dropped some last weekends under-performers against Ireland, for their quarterfinal meeting against New Zealand on Saturday.

Saint-Andre has made 3 changes in total to his side. Morgan Parra takes the place of discarded scrumhalf Sebastien Tillous-Borde and Mathieu Bastareaud and Damien Chouly also drops to the bench.

Centre Alexandre Dumoulin takes Bastareaud’s place in the backline while South Africa-born flanker Bernard le Roux is preferred to Chouly in the loose forwards for the crunch match at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Scrumhalf Tillous-Borde misses out on the matchday-23 altogether as South African-born Rory Kockott has been named on the replacement bench as backup scrumhalf.

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Joe Moody

Joe Moody

All Black coach Steve Hansen wasted no time in drafting in recently arriving prop Joe Moody into the side to play France in their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in Cardiff on Saturday.

Moody, a specialist loosehead prop, has had a whirlwind few days. He has been named on the bench for the encounter at the Millennium Stadium just 4 days after arriving in the United Kingdom as a replacement for the injured Tony Woodcock.

Moody will play his 9th Test off the bench, after playing 8 Tests in the black jersey in 2014.

With Moody on the bench, Wyatt Crockett takes over the starting loosehead duties from the injured Tony Woodcock.

Meanwhile, All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw returns to the starting 15 along with lock Brodie Retallick and wing Julian Savea.

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Dan Lydiate

Dan Lydiate

Tyler Morgan

Tyler Morgan

Gethin Jenkins

Gethin Jenkins

Wales star flank, Dan Lydiate, returns to the starting 15 for their massive quarterfinal clash against South Africa’s Springboks at Twickenham Stadium in London on Saturday.

Lydiate’s inclusion in the team is 1 of 3 changes to the team that lost 6 / 15 to Australia’s Wallabies last weekend.

Prop Gethin Jenkins also comes back into the starting line-up to feature in his 18th Rugby World Cup match and he packs down alongside Scott Baldwin and Samson Lee.

Tyler Morgan’s return to the team is the only change in the backline – he partners Jamie Roberts in midfield. Alex Cuthbert will make his 40th Wales appearance in a back 3, alongside George North and fullback Gareth Anscombe.

Luke Charteris and Alun Wyn Jones continue in the locks with the latter making his 100th international appearance (94th for Wales, plus 6 British & Irish Lions appearances).

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JP Pietersen double-tackled in the Scotland game

JP Pietersen double-tackled in the Scotland game

The experienced JP Pietersen is back in the Springboks’s starting line-up for their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Wales at Twickenham Stadium in London on Saturday afternoon.

JP Pietersen, who scored a hat-trick against Samoa in the 2nd pool match, is included in the only change to the starting team that beat the USA by 64 / 0 in the Springboks’ final Pool B match, last Wednesday at the Olympic Stadium.

The 63-capped wing, who has recovered from a knee injury which kept him out of the USA Test, will wear the No 14 jersey and Bryan Habana will revert to the left wing for this encounter. It will be the 42nd time they play together as a wing-combination in the Springboks’ starting team.

Habana currently leads the try-scoring stakes at Rugby World Cup 2015 with 5, while Pietersen is joint 2nd with 4, a position he shares with 5 other players.

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Agustin Creevy

Agustin Creevy

Argentina are on a roll having beaten Australia and South Africa in the past 12 months and captain Agustin Creevy insists the Pumas have “no limits” at the Rugby World Cup.

With Ireland reeling from injuries to key players, Argentina can sense an upset in the quarterfinal at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

“I dream of lifting the cup. I don’t know whether it will come true, but I swear I dream about it,” said the 30-year-old Creevy.

Twelve months ago Argentina beat Australia 21 / 17 at home. It was the last straw in a troubled reign and Wallabies coach Ewan Mackenzie was gone within 2 weeks.

One month before coming to the Rugby World Cup they defeated South Africa for the 1st time – 37 / 25 in Durban – forcing Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer to apologise to the nation. He had to repeat it when they lost to Japan at the Rugby World Cup.

The Pumas world ranking has gone up in a year from 12 to 6, above England and France.

“This team has no limits,” Creevy declared.

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Israel Folau

Israel Folau

David Pocock

David Pocock

Australian Wallaby stars Israel Folau and David Pocock are doubts for the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal with Scotland on Sunday.

However, they are both expected to train on Wednesday, coach Michael Cheika said.

Folau is trying to shake off an ankle problem that forced him off in the 33 / 13 whipping of hosts England and appeared to restrict his freedom of movement in the thrilling 15 / 6 victory over Wales last weekend.

Pocock, a revelation after being switched to No 8 from flank, is still battling a calf muscle injury that saw him leave the Wales game early and at a crucial period when they were down to 13 men.

There was better news regarding centre Matt Giteau, who is set to return to training after missing Tuesday’s session.

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Jonny Sexton in tears after injury

Jonny Sexton in tears after injury

Ireland are holding out hope that injury-hit flyhalf Jonny Sexton will be fit for Sunday’s quarterfinal against Argentina, according to assistant coach Les Kiss.

Sexton limped off after 25 minutes of Ireland’s hard-fought 24 / 9 victory over France last Sunday, a win that saw them undefeated in Pool D and avoiding a last-8 clash against defending champions New Zealand.

“Jonny has a slight adductor strain. There’s been some improvement. Hopefully we’ll see a little bit more on Wednesday and that’ll give us a clearer picture,” said Kiss.

“Each day will give us some more information.”

Kiss insisted head coach Joe Schmidt would not be rushed into a decision about picking Sexton, for whom Ian Madigan came on against the French, putting down his own marker with an astute play-making display.

“We have to be pragmatic about what works and it will probably come down to the last minute when we make the decision,” Kiss said.

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Here’s a quick summary of the Diciplinary Sanctions imposed on cited players of remaining Quarterfinal Countries – Argentina, Ireland and Scotland – following the weekend’s last Pool Stage games in the Rugby World Cup of 2015.

  • Marcelo Bosch of Argentina is suspended for 1 week, for a dangerous tackle
  • Sean O’Brien of Ireland is suspended for 1 week, for striking a player
  • Ross Ford of Scotland is suspended for 3 weeks, for his participation in a dangerous tip takle against Samoa
  • Jonny Gray of Scotland is suspended for 3 weeks, for his participation in a dangerous tip takle against Samoa

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WhistleRugby World Cup organisers have announced that Wayne Barnes, Nigel Owens, Jérôme Garcès and Craig Joubert will referee the Rugby World Cup 2015 quarterfinals this weekend.

England’s Wayne Barnes will take charge of the 1st match on Saturday between South Africa and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, London (Kick-Off 17:00 SA Time, 16:00 UK Time, 15:00 GMT) and will be joined by Assistant Referees George Clancy (Ireland) and JP Doyle (England) with the Television Match Official being Graham Hughes, also of England.

Later the same day, New Zealand take on France at the Millennium Stadium (Kick-Off 21:00 SA & French Time, 20:00 UK Time, 19:00 GMT) in a repeat of the Rugby World Cup 2011 final, with Nigel Owens of Wales refereeing the game at his union’s home ground. On the line will be Jaco Peyper of South Africa and John Lacey of Ireland while the Television Match Official will be South Africa’s Shaun Veldsman.

The 3rd quarterfinal between Ireland and Argentina in Cardiff (Kick-Off 14:00 SA Time, 13:00 UK Time, 12:00 GMT) on Sunday will be refereed by Jérôme Garcès of France with his countryman, Romain Poite, and New Zealand’s Chris Pollock as Assistant Referees. George Ayoub (Australia) will be the Television Match Official.

The final match of the stage will take place at Twickenham on Sunday (Kick-Off 17:00 SA Time, 16:00 UK Time, 15:00 GMT) between Australia and Scotland and will be refereed by Craig Joubert (South Africa). He will be assisted by Glen Jackson (New Zealand) and Pascal Gauzere (France) with Ben Skeen (New Zealand) the Television Match Official.

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Heyneke Meyer

Heyneke Meyer

His body language on match day is so often a dead giveaway, and Heyneke Meyer is the 1st to admit that he “stresses”.

So don’t expect the Springbok coach to be getting the best sleeps of his life in the build-up to Saturday’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Wales at Twickenham (17:00 SA Time).

After all, he is facing arguably the most pivotal, “crossroads” game of his coaching career, when you think about it.

Not even the achievement of making the Bulls the 1st South African franchise to win Super Rugby in its properly pro-era incarnation in 2007 can be considered to rank as high in gravitas as this maiden knockout fixture at a Rugby World Cup for the very recently-turned 48-year-old from the Lowveld.

Unlike predecessor Peter de Villiers in 2009, Meyer has not had the opportunity to steer the Springboks through what might be considered next in line for heavyweight status after Rugby World Cup, a visit to our shores by the British & Irish Lions (next tour only due in 2021).

His tenure since 2012 has not yet brought the fruit of a Rugby Championship success, although he does warrant great credit for overseeing successive sweeps of European end-of-year tours in both 2012 and 2013, at a time of season when South African players are seriously vulnerable to fatigue.

Considering the unexpected degree of turbulence in the Springbok results column during the current season (including that Rugby World Cup-opening Japan shocker), reaching the semifinals of this tournament, all things considered, can probably be deemed as just about a “par” achievement for Meyer in his 1st exposure to a Rugby World Cup.

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Japanese players celebrate after beating the Springboks

Japanese players celebrate after beating the Springboks

Japan’s rugby players received a heroes’ welcome on their return home Tuesday after their stunning Rugby World Cup campaign boosted the popularity of a sport in the country.

Although they failed to make it through the qualifiers, Japan came away with 3 victories – including an astonishing win over South Africa in their opening game.

They became the 1st nation to take 3 group games but still fail to reach the quarterfinals.

After the team flew back to cheers from fans gathered at Haneda airport, coach Eddie Jones hailed the Brave Blossoms as “new sporting heroes”.

“What a fantastic achievement for the team,” he said in a nationally televised press conference at a Tokyo hotel ballroom, a rare treatment for the sport in a country where baseball, sumo wrestling and football reign supreme.

“They have changed Japanese rugby. Everyone talks about hard work. I worked hard. But more importantly they played with courage, not only physical courage but also mental courage,” said the former Australia boss.

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Pennyhill Park Hotel

Pennyhill Park Hotel

The Springboks welcomed the chance to take over England’s posh base at Pennyhill Park this week, saying it would allow them to focus away from all the distractions of the Rugby World Cup.

The base, which is set in the Surrey countryside, feels like a continent away from the hustle and bustle of London, and requires most journalists 2 trains and a 20 minute cab ride to even get to the plush 120 acre estate.

But the base, even though it is in the middle of nowhere, has been set up perfectly for England’s ill-fated campaign, with an indoor pitch, training area and gym as well as a manicured outdoor pitch now at the beck and call of the Springboks for the remainder of the competition.

Ironically while England would have used the base for the entirety of the competition had they stayed in this year’s Rugby World Cup, but the team that was actually allocated the base because of the draw – Michael Cheika’s Australian team – turned it down and opted for the Springbok base last week at the Lensbury in Teddington.

The absolute difference in opulence is apparent when you arrive in Ascot to take the final steps towards the new Springbok base and one is greeted by a McLaren dealership, where prices resemble some of the most expensive houses in South Africa, not to mention the nearby famous Ascot racecourse.

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RBS20A Scots rugby fan spoke of his anger after he was refused the sale of a scarf at the official Rugby World Cup store because he had a Scottish £ 20 note.

Peter Mechan had gone to see the Fiji vs Uruguay match on Tuesday and decided to browse the merchandise store for a souvenir.

He picked out a scarf and tried to pay with a Scottish £ 20 note he’d picked up on a recent visit to Edinburgh, but he said he was left “insulted” and upset when staff said they were not allowed to accept his cash.

Peter, 52, a senior IT project manager who lives in Milton Keynes, later returned to the store to try again and filmed his confrontation with the shop staff.

And after posting the video to Facebook, it was shared more than 4 500 times and scored 156 000 views in just 15 hours.

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Rugby World Cup 2015The Rugby News Service stats team have been doing their sums during the Pool phase of Rugby World Cup 2015 and have come up some intriguing and illuminating figures.

 

8 741 – Days between Japan’s 1st World Cup victory and their 2nd, against South Africa in Pool B on the opening weekend. They waited only 14 days to achieve their 3rd against Samoa.

2 020 – Points scored in the Pool phase at Rugby World Cup 2015, the lowest since the Rugby World Cup’s Pool phase was extended to 40 matches in 2003, an indication of the improving competitiveness of the 20 teams at the Rugby World Cup.

1 013 – Caps in the starting 15 of New Zealand’s team against Argentina, a world record for a test.

231 – Tries scored so far at Rugby World Cup 2015 in England, the fewest since the Rugby World Cup’s Pool phase was extended to 40 matches in 2003.

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Rugby World Cup 2015The agony etched on the face of Ireland’s iconic captain Paul O’Connell said it all. Clutching a hamstring during the 24 / 9 win against France on Sunday, the giant lock’s pain was physical and emotional. The group stages were where his Rugby World Cup 2015 would end.

As bruised and battered players take a deep breath, head for the ice baths and prepare to go again in the quarterfinals, some of their less-fortunate teammates will be forced to watch those matches from the stands, or on television.

The withdrawal of O’Connell on Tuesday, hard on the heels of fellow Ireland players Jared Payne and Peter O’Mahony, means that all 8 teams left in the competition will enter the knockout stages depleted, in some way, by injuries.

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Rugby World Cup 2015Ireland: Paul O’Connell replaced by Mike McCarthy:

Paul O’Connell’s 108-Test career is over after the Ireland captain sustained a severe hamstring injury in the victory over France in Cardiff on Sunday.

The 35-year-old lock will have surgery this week and not play again at Rugby World Cup 2015.

He led Ireland in 28 Tests and was also captain in 3 of his 7 Tests for the British and Irish Lions.

His replacement, Mike McCarthy, will join the squad in Cardiff on Tuesday.

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The Springboks are likely to be at full strength when coach Heyneke Meyer picks his team to face Wales in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal at Twickenham.

The Springboks reunited after going their separate ways for 4 days with their wives and girlfriends, exploring all parts of London – with 1 or 2 even heading across to France for their recess, and it was apparent that the Springboks would be able to select from all 31 in the squad when they make their team announcement on Wednesday.

While there were no new injuries, it seems Bok veterans JP Pietersen and Victor Matfield could also be fit for selection after overcoming their injuries that kept them out of the USA game.

Another player who missed that match, Jannie du Plessis, is also set to be fit for selection when the team is decided upon.

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