Ireland meet New Zealand and Wales await Argentina?

First change: 10/08/2023 – 00:31Last change: 10/08/2023 – 00:29

4 minutes

The highly-anticipated final day of the first stage of the Rugby World Cup pits Ireland against Scotland, with the winner securing a place in the quarter-finals.

And Ireland, ranked number one in the world, broke the deadlock in an impressive first half, not allowing for surprises, going into the break 26-0 up by four tries.

James Lowe (2), Hugo Keenan (26, 39), Iain Henderson (32), Don Sheehan (44) and Gary Ringrose (58) scored the Ireland tries, with Johnny Sexton converting three times to score the points. End the party in the suburbs of Paris with the ‘zombie’ beat of The Cranberries, the unofficial anthem of the Irish fans who turned the French capital green.

17 wins in a row

It seems no one can stop this Ireland: after their valuable victory over defending world champions South Africa, on the same stage on September 23 (13-18), they gave a rugby recital this Saturday, scoring six tries before looking weak. The Scottish Cardo XV’s reply is less than 15 minutes away.

Their next hurdle in the quarter-finals will be three-time world champions New Zealand, a team the Irish have never beaten at a World Cup.

Against the All Blacks, Andy Farrell’s men will look to extend their impressive streak of 17 consecutive wins. The meeting will be held next Saturday at the same venue (7:00pm GMT).

A day later, at the same time and at the Stade de France, hosts France face South Africa.

Everything is determined by that part of the table, on the other hand, Wales and England top their groups and await their opponent.

Reece Zammit hat trick

At a Stade La Beaujoire in Nantes, this Saturday the traditional yellow of the local football team’s uniform was swapped for the red of a wave of Welsh fans migrating to the Loire (west) gate town, and the Welsh had had enough. By playing at half-speed to achieve their dual objective: victory and first place in the group.

The tournament’s standout protagonist was young wing Lewis Rees Smith, who scored three tries and is one of Welsh rugby’s rising stars at the age of 22.

The Welsh thought they had the game in control when they led 24-7 early in the second half, but the Georgians responded and trailed by five points (24-19) on the hour, but then Reese Summitt sealed it. game.

If Las Pumas advance to the quarter-finals against Japan on Sunday, their opponents will be Wales, who have clearly improved since the return to the bench of New Zealander Warren Gatland, who has already led the Dragons to fourth place. World Cup.

The bad news for the Welsh is that third-row Doulup Falleta has suffered an injury that will leave him KO for the rest of the match: “He’s out with a broken arm. It’s a big loss for us,” Gatland declared after the game.

Farrell beats Wilkinson

In Saturday’s other game, England beat Samoa 18-17 in the Extremes to finish the group stage undefeated, while the Oceanians, who had a remote chance of reaching the quarter-finals, were eliminated.

XV de la Rosa had to wait until the 74th minute to take back control of the game, with Owen Farrell converting a try to become England’s top scorer over Jonny Wilkinson.

If Fiji do not suffer disaster against Portugal on Sunday, Wales will face England in the quarter-finals next week in Marseille (1:00 pm GMT), a day after facing either Argentina or Japan.

© 2023 AFP