Road to the World Cup: Scotland hold off hosts France as Ireland, South Africa build form

Tue, Aug 8, 2023, 4:02 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson

The Rugby World Cup is fast approaching with the opening game just over a month away.

Nearly every team slated to compete was in action over the weekend as preparations continue to ramp up

Catch every game of the Rugby World Cup LIVE on Stan Sport. Start watching Stan Sport now.

'Road to the World Cup' looks at how the nations are faring in the build-up for September's event.

Samoa 34 def Tonga 9

Samoa have run in four tries as they continued their preparations for the Rugby World Cup with a 34-9 bonus-point win over Tonga in the final round of the Pacific Nations Cup in Apia.

Hooker Sama Malolo scored the opening try from close range in a tight first half in Samoa's capital, and three more after the break took the game away from the Tongans.

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New Zealand 23 def Australia 20

Richie Mo'unga has kicked a 79th minute penalty to claim a 23-20 win over the Wallabies in Dunedin

Tries to Marika Koroibete and Tom Hooper in the opening ten minutes had the Wallabies dreaming of their first win in New Zealand in over 20 years.

They took a 17-3 lead into the break before the All Blacks hit back via debutants Shaun Stevenson and Samipeni Finau.

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Japan 12 def by Fiji 35

A formidable Fijian side have taken down Japan 35-12 to secure a clean sweep at the final game of the Pacific Nations Cup in front of a packed crowd at Tokyo's Prince Chichibu Stadium.

Fiji were dominant throughout Saturday's clash, punishing Japan after the home side were reduced to 14 men early in the first half when flanker Lappies Labuschagne was shown a red for contact to the head of centre Vilimoni Botitu.

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Scotland 25 def France 21

Scotland have mounted a stunning comeback with 14 men to beat a reserve France side 25-21 thanks to a glorious second half in a World Cup warm-up game at Murrayfield.

The hosts, who were 21-3 down at halftime after being blown away by an electric French team and had Zander Fagerson sent off after the break on Saturday, prevailed remarkably with tries by Darcy Graham, Pierre Schoeman and Dave Cherry while captain Finn Russell kicked 10 points.

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Wales 20 def England 9

Second-half tries from scrum-half Gareth Davies and centre George North have earned Wales a 20-9 victory over error-strewn England in their Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture in Cardiff.

The visitors led 9-6 at halftime and might have been further in front but a combination of poor execution in the Wales 22, not helped by 16 handling errors in the game, and some scrambling home defence kept them at bay.

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Romania 17 def by USA 31

The USA have pulled off a confidence boosting 31-17 win over Romania in Bucharest.

The Americans came out with a point to prove after missing qualifying for this year's Rugby World Cup as they scored 31 unanswered points.

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Uruguay 26 def Namibia 18

Uruguay will enter the World Cup full of confidence after defeating Pool A rivals Namibia 26-18.

The win was built off a strong start in Montevideo as they scored two quick tries to Santiago Civetta and Carlos Deus.

Namibia hit back before the break through Divan Rossouw before taking the lead through Wian Conradie at the start of the second half.

However, the hosts controlled the contest from here, starting with an instant response to centre Felipe Arcos Perez before a further try sealed the win.

Ireland 33 def Italy 17

Caelan Doris shone for the Six Nations champions with two tries in a 33-17 victory in Dublin on Saturday in which Dave Kilcoyne, Stuart McCloskey and replacement Cian Healy were also on the scoresheet.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell has played down the severity of injuries suffered by Jack Conan, Jimmy O'Brien and Craig Casey during his team's "clunky" Rugby World Cup warm-up win over Italy

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Argentina 13 def by South Africa 24

Tries by wings Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie have helped a much-changed South Africa to a 24-13 victory over Argentina in their Rugby World Cup warm-up clash in Buenos Aires, ruining a major milestone for home hooker Agustin Creevy.

The Springboks made 13 changes for the game with several players given a chance to impress before coach Jacques Nienaber names his 33-player World Cup squad on Tuesday, but they trailed 10-3 after an ill-disciplined first half.

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Chile 13 def by Argentina XV 40

Argentina XV have come out and thumped rivals Chile 40-13.

Chile opened the scoring via a pair of penalties but this woke Argentina into life.

Facundo Bosch and Joaquin Oviedo scored late before the break for a 21-13 lead.

This continued into the second half as the Argentinian 'XV' side kept the Chileans scoreless in the final 40.

Bosch crossed for his second try before Sevens star Rodrigo Isgro sealed the win with a try in the 60th minute

This week's fixtures (all times AEST)

August 10

Tonga v Canada, Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'Alofa (10:00 AM)

August 13

Georgia v Romania, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi (1:00 AM)

England v Wales, Twickenham, London (2:30 AM) - LIVE on Stan Sport

France v Scotland, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Etienne (5:05 AM) - LIVE on Stan Sport

Portugal v USA, Esatdio Do Algarve, Algarve (6:00 AM)

Chile v Namibia, Estadio German Becker, Valparaíso (7:00 AM)

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