Rugby World Cup Results 2015: Saturday Scores, Updated Group Tables and Fixtures

After host nation England kicked off the Rugby World Cup 2015 with a thrilling victory over Fiji on Friday, the tournament moved into full swing on Saturday as Japan produced one of the greatest upsets in the tournament's history against South Africa.

Read on for a round-up of the day’s results, plus updated group tables and upcoming fixtures.

Nation	vs.	Nation	Score
Tonga	vs.	Georgia	10-17
Ireland	vs.	Canada	50-7
South Africa	vs.	Japan	32-34
France	vs.	Italy	32-10

South Africa 32-34 Japan

Japan produced an incredible display when they faced off against South Africa at the Amex Stadium in Brighton, sealing a remarkable victory in the last play of the match.

The Japanese took an early lead when Ayumu Goromaru made a promising run as Japan burst forward and were awarded a penalty, which the full-back duly converted.

South Africa edged their way in front through a Francois Louw try 10 minutes later, but a reply from Michael Leitch rewarded the Japanese for their bold forays forward. The Springboks responded immediately as Bismarck du Plessis went over in a powerful rolling maul, but Patrick Lambie missed the conversion and the teams went into half-time at 12-10 to the Springboks.

An early Goromaru penalty had his side ahead after the break, but once again South Africa hit back straight away as Luke de Jager squeezed through their line, per ITV Rugby:

Three more Goromaru kicks and one for Lambie ensured the scores were level entering the final quarter of the match. Former England player Brian Moore was full of praise for the dogged Japanese:

Adriaan Strauss soon powered through and went over in similar fashion to De Jager, but Goromaru was again key for his side, this time earning a deserved try for himself.

A Handre Pollard penalty gave South Africa a narrow lead for the final time, but there was plenty of drama left.

Japan were denied a try after the 80-minute mark, and incredibly, they opted to take a scrum rather than what would have been a virtually unmissable penalty and a draw. A series of unbelievably tense scrums followed, until the Japanese finally wrestled the ball to Karne Hesketh to produce one of the most memorable finishes in World Cup history:

The Japanese were resilient and magnificent throughout, and if they can replicate their stunning performance against Scotland, Samoa and the USA, they have an excellent chance of progressing.

As for the Springboks, they can still progress to the quarter-finals, with their path made easier by their bonus point, but they'll need to pick themselves up after repeatedly throwing away their lead.

France 32-10 Italy

France ran out comfortable winners over Italy at Twickenham.

No tries were scored in a fairly poor first half from both sides. Frederic Michalak scored four penalties in the opening 40 minutes as France racked up a healthy lead, while Tommaso Allan kicked his side's only reply.

Particularly notable was Scott Spedding's penalty from inside his own half, per ITV Rugby:

Another penalty for Michalak made it 18-3 immediately after the restart, and France had their first try shortly after. Guilhem Guirado powered through the Italian defence and was stopped on the base of the line, but after the ball was recycled Michalak found Rabah Slimani with a delightful chip:

Italy almost hit back immediately as Edoardo Gori went over, but was denied a try as he fumbled the ball at the crucial moment. The Italians were rewarded for their positive response though as Giovanbattista Venditti snuck round the outside of Thierry Dusautoir to touch down.

Les Bleus—incidentally, wearing their red change kit—made sure of the victory 11 minutes from time through veteran Nicolas Mas as he wrestled his way to the base of the post.

The French should have few problems in overcoming Romania and Canada in Pool D, but fellow group rivals Ireland are unlikely to be too worried by their performance.

Italy should also beat the minnows in the group, but in all likelihood will finish third and miss out on a quarter-final spot. 

Ireland 50-7 Canada

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Ireland put Canada to the sword in their opening World Cup match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Despite the expected victory for the Irish, it was a competitive affair between the two nations, but the result was never in doubt because of the obvious gulf in class.

Ireland opened the scoring with a penalty after 14 minutes and immediately followed it up with a try from Sean O'Brien. Iain Henderson went over seven minutes later to give his side a comfortable lead, with Canada unable to penetrate. 

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Man of the Match Jonathan Sexton grabbed Ireland's third try just three minutes after Henderson, killing the game as a spectacle. 

A further try from Dave Kearney made it 29-0 at the break, giving the Irish a comfortable second half to look forward to.

Sean Cronin crashed over the line to further put distance between the teams, with Rob Kearney and Jared Payne also scoring. Daniel van der Merwe grabbed a consolation for the Canadians, but it was too little, too late. 

Tonga 10-17 Georgia

BERTRAND LANGLOIS/Getty Images

Georgia served up the first shock result of Rugby World Cup 2015, as they put Tonga to the sword at Kingsholm thanks to a fantastic defensive performance.

The Tongans opened the scoring courtesy of a Kurt Morath penalty 10 minutes in, and everything was going with the script until Georgia skipper Mamuka Gorgodze crossed the line. Merab Kvirikashvili converted to give the underdogs a shock 10-3 lead, which they held until the interval.

After that, it was a case of keeping the Tongans out—which is no mean feat.

Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

However, Georgia did exactly that as Giorgi Tkhilaishvili dotted down to make it 17-3 with just 20 minutes remaining.

Tonga had the majority of the ball, and they did manage to get a score on the board through Fetu’u Vainikolo to reduce arrears, but it wasn’t enough as Georgia held on for a famous victory.

The win may not have been the most glamorous in the world of rugby, but it’ll go down as Georgia’s best-ever Rugby World Cup moment.

Can the minnows go on and do the unthinkable and qualify? It’s a long shot, but they’re currently sitting pretty at the top of Pool C and will be full of confidence heading into their remaining games.

Tables

Pos.	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Bonus	Points
1	England	1	1	0	0	35	11	1	5
2	Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Uruguay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Wales	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Fiji	1	0	0	1	11	35	0	0

Pos.	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Bonus	Points
1	Japan	1	1	0	0	34	32	0	4
2	South Africa	1	0	0	1	32	34	2	2
3	Scotland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Samoa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Pos.	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Bonus	Points
1	Georgia	1	1	0	0	17	10	0	4
2	Tonga	1	0	0	1	10	17	1	1
3	Argentina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Namibia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	New Zealand	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Pos.	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Bonus	Points
1	Ireland	1	1	0	0	50	7	1	5
2	France	1	1	0	0	32	10	0	4
3	Romania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Italy	1	0	0	1	10	32	0	0
5	Canada	1	0	0	1	7	50	0	0

Fixtures

Time	Matchup
12 p.m. BST	Samoa vs. U.S.
2:30 p.m. BST	Wales vs. Uruguay
4:45 p.m. BST	New Zealand vs. Argentina