Rugby World Cup 2015
Jannie du Plessis
Damian de Allende
Jesse Kriel
Victor Matfield
Fourie du Preez
With the Rugby World Cup match against Samoa being called “brutal” by Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts, Jean de Villiers is heading home and out of the Rugby World Cup with a fractured jaw, while a long list of injuries will be assessed on Monday by the team doctor as the team start to prepare for their showdown with Scotland.
Prop Jannie du Plessis (knee), midfielders Damian de Allende (knee) and Jesse Kriel (laceration to the eye), lock Victor Matfield and scrumhalf Fourie du Preez all are on the injury list.
Depending on how they heal overnight, they should all hopefully be declared fit for the Scottish game.
Jean de Villier in action against Samoa on Saturday 26 September 2015.
South Africa’s convincing win against Samoa on Saturday evening, to put their Rugby World Cup path back on track after the shock loss to Japan the week before has come at a considerable cost, with the news that Captain Jean de Villiers has broken the other side of his jaw and will therefore head home back to South Africa and out of the tournament.
As a result of the injury, Jean de Villiers has subsequently announced his retirement from Test rugby.
The silver lining for Jean is the fact that the last time he was injured against Samoa in the Rugby World Cup of 2007, South Africa went on to win the prized title.
Jean de Villiers’ tournament ending injury:
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has been ruled out of the remainder of the Rugby World Cup after suffering a fracture to his jaw.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer described this latest injury to De Villiers as a massive setback.
Jan Serfontein has been called up and will join the squad in Newcastle on Monday. An announcement on the captaincy for the match against Scotland will be made on Wednesday.
Ireland (18) 44 / 10 (3) Romania (Final Score)
Ireland and Romania did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Wembley Stadium, London, England at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, 18:45 EEST).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Scotland (6) 39 / 16 (13) USA Eagles (Final Score)
Scotland and the United States Eagles did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Elland Road, Leeds, England at 15:30 SA Time (14:30 BST, 13:30 GMT, 09:30 USA EDT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Wallabies (31) 65 / 3 (3) Uruguay (Final Score)
The Australian Wallabies and Uruguay did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Villa Park, Birmingham, England at 13:00 SA Time (12:00 BST, 11:00 GMT, 21:00 AEST, 08:00 Uruguay Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
England (16) 25 / 28 (9) Wales (Final Score)
England and Wales did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Twickenham Stadium, London, England at 21:00 SA Time (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Springboks (17) 46 / 6 (6) Samoa (Final Score)
The South African Springboks and Samoa did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Villa Park, Birmingham, England at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, Sunday 05:45 Samoan Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Italy (13) 23 / 18 (10) Canada (Final Score)
Italy and Canada did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Elland Road, Leeds, England at 15:30 SA Time (15:30 Italy Time, 14:30 BST, 13:30 GMT, 07:30 Canada Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Head Coach Vern Cotter has sought continuity in the rotated Scotland squad named for this Sunday’s Rugby World Cup Round 2 Test against the USA Eagles at Elland Road, Leeds (27 September, kick-off 15:30 SA Time, 14:30 BST, 13:30 GMT).
The entire bench from Wednesday’s win over Japan (45 / 10) has been promoted into the starting line-up meaning that despite making 10 changes to the starting 15 there are just 4 new faces in the 23-man squad: Tim Visser and Alasdair Strokosch who start at wing and back-row respectively and replacements Tim Swinson (lock) and Duncan Weir (flyhalf).
Cotter said: “We said from the start that we’d need the whole group of 31 players for this campaign. We’ve known this schedule for a long time and have tried to keep continuity in selection, while also introducing fresh legs to what will be another very physical challenge this Sunday.”
Los Pumas (14) 54 / 9 (9) Georgia (Final Score)
The Argentinian Pumas and Georgia did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester, England at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, 19:45 Georgian Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Mariano Galarza
Rugby World Cup disciplinary chiefs on Wednesday banned Argentina’s Mariano Galarza for 9 weeks, excluding him from the rest of the tournament, after an incident with New Zealand’s Brodie Retallick.
Galarza was found guilty of making “contact with the eye or eye area” of Retallick during the Pumas 26 / 16 defeat by the world champion All Blacks at Wembley on Sunday.
The giant Argentine, 28, denied the charge. He did not get the maximum sentence because of his good disciplinary record up to now.
Namibia (6) 14 / 58 (34) All Blacks (Final Score)
Namibia and the New Zealand All Blacks did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Olympic Park, London, England at 21:00 SA Time (21:00 NAM Time, 20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT, Friday 06:00 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Wales have received an official warning from World Rugby for a breach of Rugby World Cup regulations during training.
Back-up players who did not make the final 31-man squads are not allowed to take part in practice sessions.
But a group of players not in Wales’ squad did participate during training at Sunbury on Wednesday.
“While World Rugby is satisfied that no deliberate breach was intended, an official warning has been issued to the Wales Rugby Union,” the sport’s governing body said.
“All participating teams have been informed that additional players from the extended squad, including potential injury replacements, may not be included in any training sessions.”
While there was little prospect of a points deduction for the infraction, with a fine likely to have been the sternest punishment, the incident will have been an unwelcome distraction as Warren Gatland prepares his side to face England on Saturday.
England head coach Stuart Lancaster says he has not panicked by replacing flyhalf George Ford with Owen Farrell for Saturday’s game with Wales.
Ford, 22, started last week’s 35 / 11 World Cup Pool A win over Fiji, but Farrell impressed off the bench.
Sam Burgess has been selected at inside centre after Jonathan Joseph was ruled out with a chest injury.
“I don’t think putting an in-form and confident Owen Farrell into the team is a risk,” said Lancaster.
Billy Vunipola comes in at No 8 for Ben Morgan, who has a knee injury, while James Haskell and Alex Goode step up to the bench for the 1st time.
Wallabies (18) 28 / 13 (3) Fiji (Final Score)
The Australian Wallabies and Fiji did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, Thursday 01:45 AEST, Thursday 03:45 Fiji Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Scotland (12) 45 / 10 (7) Japan (Final Score)
Scotland and Japan did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester, England at 15:30 SA Time (14:30 BST, 13:30 GMT, 22:30 Japan Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Rugby World Cup debuts galore as Scotland’s tournament finally gets underway. After the group opened with a Double B (that’s a Bucking Belter) in Brighton will we have a Grand Guignolin Gloucester?
Only 4 players remain from Scotland’s last Rugby World Cup match, a 16 / 12 defeat to England in Auckland in 2011, with Ross Ford the only player in the same position for both games.
Japan bring 6 players into their starting line-up as they try to back up their stunning victory over former champions, South Africa. The Japanese bench features a 6 forwards to 2 backs split, which suggests they expect Scotland to try and overpower them up front and reinforcements will be required.
Richie McCaw
All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw pleaded guilty to a “dumb” moment which saw him sin-binned as his side struggled to beat Argentina in their Rugby World Cup opener.
McCaw, the most capped player in Test rugby, got a Yellow Card for tripping Argentina’s Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe half an hour into the game.
The Pumas took advantage of his 10 minutes of exile and later of the Yellow Card of Conrad Smith to stamp their authority on the Pool C game.
“It was dumb,” McCaw said of the incident.
“It was a reflex thing. It wasn’t the right thing to do and we suffered because of it and put the team under pressure, which you can’t afford to do,” the much respected captain said after.
The sentiment was shared by New Zealand coach Steve Hansen who said: “The 2 Yellow Cards today were pretty dumb.
Agustine Creevy
Good but not good enough was how Argentina captain Agustin Creevy rated his side’s performance in holding the All Blacks until the end of their Rugby World Cup match Sunday.
Argentina led 16 / 12, and an upset was on the cards, until an Aaron Smith try sparked the All Blacks into action and they came from behind to win the Pool C match 26 / 16.
“It was very hard,” Creevy said of the loss in front of 81 000 people at Wembley.
“The 1st-half was excellent, but the 2nd-half the pace was very fast, we made some mistakes and we were not able to recover from them.
“The All Blacks are the best in the world and they know how to score points.”
Creevy could not fault his side’s attitude and said they recognised they were closing on the world’s best teams.
David Pocock
Michael Hooper
World class loose forwards David Pocock and Michael Hooper have both been named in the Australian Wallabies run-on side to face Fiji in Cardiff on Wednesday.
The star quality of the Wallabies’ openside flankers Hooper and Pocock is undeniable and has forced coach Michael Cheika’s hand in starting them both against Fiji.
Australia will roll out the brilliant backrow, including blindside flank Scott Fardy, with Pocock filling the No 8 jersey.
It is just the 2nd time the pair will have started a match together, following a successful outing in a 27 / 19 win over the All Blacks in Sydney in August, but Cheika admits the combination cannot be held back any longer.
Cory Allen
Wales centre Cory Allen, who scored 3 of his country’s 8 tries in their Rugby World Cup opener against Uruguay, was ruled out of the rest of the tournament by a hamstring tear on Monday.
The Welsh, already rocked by injuries to key backs Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Webb in their final warm-up match, had 6 players added to their casualty list during Sunday’s 54 / 9 victory in Cardiff.
Allen pulled up with the injury in the 2nd half and after having scans was replaced in the squad by Tyler Morgan, who joins Scott Williams and Jamie Roberts to restore the number of specialist centres in the squad to 3.
British and Irish Lions centre Jonathan Davies was ruled out of the tournament by a knee injury.
Wales next face England in a Twickenham clash on Saturday, which could go a long way to deciding which teams progress from Pool A, which also includes Australia and Fiji.
Yoann Huget
French coach Philippe Saint-Andre confirmed on Sunday that wing Yoann Huget is out for the rest of the Rugby World Cup after injuring his knee.
A tearful Huget was forced off during France’s 32 / 10 victory over Italy in their opening Rugby World Cup match on Saturday.
His place was taken by Castres wing Remy Grosso.
He has injured the ligaments in his right knee, Saint-Andre said in an interview.
Josh Strauss
Josh Strauss is set to make his debut for Scotland on Wednesday as he has been named as a replacement for the Rugby World Cup match against Japan in Gloucester. Fellow South African WP Nel has been named in the starting line up for this match.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Maitland.
All Blacks (12) 26 / 16 (13) Los Pumas (Final Score)
The New Zealand All Blacks and Argentinian Pumas did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Wembley Stadium, London, England at 17:45 SA Time (16:45 BST, 15:45 GMT, 12:45 ARG Time, Monday 01:45 NZ Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & M-Net on TV in SA.
*******************
Wales (28) 54 / 9 (9) Uruguay (Final Score)
Wales and Uruguay did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff at 15:30 SA Time (14:30 BST, 13:30 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Samoa (14) 25 / 16 (8) USA Eagles (Final Score)
Samoa and the USA Eagles did battle in the 2015 Rugby World Cup at
Brighton Community Centre, Brighton, England at 13:00 SA Time (12:00 BST, 11:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
*******************
Day 2 of Rugby World Cup 2015 is here. The opening ceremony is done and dusted and England have won the very 1st game of the tournament, with what could turn out to be a handy bonus point.
Crowds from Brighton to Gloucester will be gearing up to go to the games today with 4 matches in total to be played. The local broadcaster of the World Cup advertised that there would be 11 hours of coverage across their channels today.
The big game of the day for Springbok supporters takes place late this afternoon just outside Brighton as they face Japan in a stadium that for the World Cup is known as Brighton Community Stadium. It is normally a football ground, the home of Brighton and Hove Albion a Championship team who are top of that table at the moment.
The 1st match of the day, between Georgia and Tonga, kicks off at 15:30 SA Time (12:30 BST) and the last tonight at 20:00 BST (21:00 SA Time) when France and Italy meet.
Sione Vaiomo’unga
Tonga captain Nili Latu has expressed his gratitude to the Romanian team ahead of the RWC 2015 for their help in aiding his friend and former teammate Sione Vaiomo’unga, who is suffering from life-threatening kidney failure.
The former Tonga flanker was the only player in the 2011 RWC squad to play in the Tongan domestic divisions at the time before going on to join Tonga’s European tour a year later.
Now residing in Romania, 26-year-old Vaiomo’unga cannot receive dialysis treatment in Europe, Australia or New Zealand because he is a Tongan national and won’t find the care he needs in his homeland either.
To help the best they can during his plight, the Tonga and Romania unions dedicated their final World Cup warm-up fixture in Bucharest on 5 September to raising money for his treatment.
Following the fixture, the two nations pulled together more than 10,000 euros for Vaiomo’unga and his family.
Georgia will field the youngest player in Rugby World Cup history when scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze starts Saturday’s match against Tonga.
Lobzhanidze will be 18 years and 340 days old on Saturday, breaking the previous record set by the USA’s Thretton Palamo at RWC 2007 by 33 days. Lobzhanidze will also be the first 18-year-old to play a RWC match and the first player born in the professional era to play in the competition.
There are two changes from Georgia’s last match, a 13-10 defeat by Japan on 5 September, with Giorgi Tkhilaishvili replacing Shalva Sutiashvili at blindside flanker and right wing Tamaz Mchedlidze replacing Muraz Giorgodze. Both of the players dropping out of the starting 15 are on the replacements bench.
Only three players remain from the first 15 of Georgia’s last RWC match, a 25-7 defeat by Argentina four years ago. Back-row forwards Viktor Kolelishvili and captain Mamuka Gorgodze both played four years ago as did outside-centre Davit Kacharava.
There will be a Six Nations re-match as France and Italy do battle at Twickenham in the fifth match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup on Saturday night. The teams are in Pool D, alongside Ireland, Canada and Romania, and the match kicks off at 20:00 UK Time (21:00 SA Time).
Italy, who have made four changes since their last test, will set a new World Cup record for the most experienced front row as their starting trio boast a total of 227 test caps. The current record was set in 2011 when a front row with 215 caps between them took the field for the Springboks against Namibia.
Martin Castogiavanni will become Italy’s most capped player as he makes his 114th appearance for his country. He will reach this landmark as Sergio Parisse misses out due to injury. Leonarodo Ghiraldini will captain Italy for the 10th time in the absence of Parisse.
France’s coach Phillipe Saint-Andre has named a team that contains two South African born players – starting Fullback Scott Spedding and Loose forward Bernard le Roux who is on the bench. Rory Kockott misses out on selection for this match altogether. France will be captained by Thierry Dussatoir.
Japan have rung the changes and announced the eldest side in their Test history for their opening RWC 2015 match against South Africa on Saturday.
Head coach Eddie Jones makes five changes from the side that beat Georgia 13-10 in Gloucester on 5 September 2015, the side’s last Test match.
Akihito Yamada replaces Yoshikazu Fujita on the wing and Hendrik Tui moves from the wing to number eight. Fly-half Harumichi Tatekawa drops to the bench in place of Kosei Ono, and Kensuke Hatakeyama replaces Hiroshi Yamashita, who is named as a replacement. Tui’s move to number eight means there is no place for Koliniashi Holani, who is in the squad but not named in the match-day 23.
Only seven players in the 23 were in the match-day 22 for Japan’s last RWC match, the 23-23 draw against Canada on 27 September 2011.
The starting 15 for Saturday has an average age of 29 years and 310 days, eclipsing the side who played in the 13-10 win over Georgia on 5 September 2015, whose average was 29 years and 299 days.
Fiji coach John McKee has named his team to play England in the Rugby World Cup opening match at Twickeham Stadium, London on Friday.
Fiji have been able to include Crusaders winger Nemani Nadolo who missed the Pacific Nations Cup which Fiji were crowned champions.
McKee’s backline will be controlled by former Waratah and Super Rugby winner Ben Volavola.
“I am very pleased to be able to announce a very strong line-up for the opening match of RWC2015,” said McKee. “We have come through a very good preparation phase and are ready to move into the competition.
“All our players are fit and available for selection,” McKee added.
Jean de Villiers
South Africa’s head coach Heyneke Meyer has named a strong team to play Japan in their Rugby World Cup opening match in Brighton with Jean de Villiers as captain.
The Springboks starting team boasts a combined total of 880 Test caps and eclipses the previous most experienced South African side at 836 caps which played in the last Rugby World Cup match against Australia at the quarter final stage.
Meyer has opted to start with Patrick Lambie with Handre Pollard on the replacements bench. One surprise ommission from the line up is Damien de Allende who has made way for De Villiers but also possibly fallen out of favour as he is not named on the replacements bench.
In all the team has six changes from the side that beat Argentina in Buenos Aires a month ago. De Villiers’ inclusion at inside centre is the only change to the backline, while Francois Louw returns at the side of the scrum.
The tight five has been reshuffled, with Lood de Jager and Jannie du Plessis both back from injury, while Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira will start yet again.
On the bench, Coenie Oosthuizen, Fourie du Preez and JP Pietersen return from injury, while Adriaan Strauss, Trevor Nyakane and Siya Kolisi have also been included amongst the substitutes.
If you’re travelling around the UK this year, you’re likely to meet lots of overly-enthusiastic people watching the 2015 Rugby World Cup. These encounters may lead to a lot of awkward interrogation about your own interest in the sport. We are here to help you navigate this assault course of sporting banter with our in-depth bluffer’s guide to the game.
Before we start, it’s important to realise there are in fact two main types of rugby: rugby union and rugby league. Although these sound like synonyms and poorly differentiated, it turns out people who like rugby have noticed some minor differences. The Rugby World Cup is based on rugby union though, so we won’t bother explaining here why rugby league requires rollerblades and an intricate knowledge of microwave ovens.
Anyway, let’s get on with it.
Josh Strauss
WP Nel
You would think after years of repeated and soul-destroying failure in the Six Nations, those with an affection for the Scotland team would be looking at the upcoming Rugby World Cup with some trepidation.
Some do fear that a 2nd successive group stage exit is a distinct possibility but others will tell you that this tournament represents an opportunity for an emerging squad to spring some shocks on the rugby elite.
Scotland begin their campaign against Japan at Kingsholm on 23 September before facing the USA and 2-time champions South Africa ahead of the final – and potentially decisive – pool match against Samoa.
3 Former Scotland internationals were asked to assess how Scotland will fare in the World Cup.
- Chris Paterson ( CP ) is Scotland’s record cap holder and played in 4 World Cups from 1999 through to 2007.
- Peter Wright ( PW ) won 21 caps for Scotland, played at the 1995 World Cup and was selected for the 1993 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
- John Beattie ( JB ) appeared 25 times for Scotland, was part of the 1984 Grand Slam winning squad and toured twice with the British & Irish Lions.