Rugby World Cup Results 2015: Saturday Scores, Tables, Upcoming Fixture Schedule
Injury-hit Wales stunned England in a dramatic late win at Twickenham at the Rugby World Cup 2015 on Saturday to leave the hosts in a precarious position in Pool A.
South Africa bounced back from their shock defeat to Japan thanks to Jon-Paul Pietersen's hat-trick against Samoa. Earlier, Italy narrowly overcame a spirited Canada side to register their first win.
Here are all the results from Saturday:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Italy | 23-18 | Canada |
| South Africa | 46-6 | Samoa |
| England | 25-28 | Wales |
England 25-28 Wales
England's crunch showdown with Wales was largely contested by some outstanding kicking from fly-half Owen Farrell and outside-half Dan Biggar.
The pair exchanged some early penalties with Wales twice leading by three points, before Farrell scuffed a drop-goal between the posts from 40 metres out to make it 6-6.
Another penalty for Farrell put the hosts ahead for the first time in the match 24 minutes in, and England extended their lead through a try from Jonny May after Ben Youngs reacted well to recycle the ball with an excellent pass, per ITV Rugby:
Another Biggar penalty reduced the arrears and the teams went in at 16-9 after a hard-fought opening 40 minutes.
The second half began much as the first as Farrell alternated two penalties from Biggar. ITV Rugby highlighted the incredible kicking punctuating in the match:
Biggar hit another to close within four points of England, before Wales' staggering injury curse reared its ugly head once again—the Guardian's Dan Lucas reports that Scott Williams, Liam Williams and Hallam Amos were all taken off in quick succession in the final quarter.
Things looked to be heading England's way when Farrell restored a seven-point gap, but the visitors showed remarkable resilience and levelled the scores through a Gareth Davies try between the posts, before edging ahead thanks to a seventh penalty from Biggar late on.
England can still finish in the top two, but their clash with Australia now takes on even more significance as defeat in that match would almost certainly ensure they miss out on a quarter-final place.
Wale will be buoyed by their rallying win, but with three more injuries adding to their lengthy list of players on the treatment table, their misfortune will surely soon take its toll unless they can get their players fit again sooner rather than later.
South Africa 46-6 Samoa
An ill-disciplined first-half display from Samoa gifted the Springboks a fairly comfortable 17-6 lead at the break. Handre Pollard's penalty in the second minute following a ruck set the tone for the half as South Africa went 3-0 up.
Two kicks from Michael Stanley put Samoa ahead as they replied well, but the fly-half then handed the Springboks the lead as his poor pass was intercepted by Jon-Paul Pietersen to run home the only try of the opening period, per ITV Rugby:
Pollard missed the resulting conversion, but he scored three more penalties as Samoa gave away careless fouls.
Pietersen had his second try of the match just two minutes after the restart as Adriaan Strauss and Willie le Roux helped work the ball to him in the corner. Schalk Burger added a third shortly before the hour-mark when he barrelled his way over the line:
Schalk Brits ensured his side would collect all five points with the Springboks' fourth, taking full advantage of a brilliantly executed maul to sneak over.
Pietersen earned his hat-trick late on with another in the corner before Bryan Habana's try at the death completed the rout.
South Africa now top Pool B as expected and will likely remain there, though they'll need to work on their kicking as they made just two conversions from six—admittedly often from out wide.
Samoa are still in with a chance of reaching the quarter-finals behind the Springboks, but a hard-fought, three-way fight with Scotland and Japan is now on the cards.
Italy 23-18 Canada
An action-packed opening period saw Canada take a 10-0 lead before the Italians clawed their way back into contention.
Nathan Hirayama opened the scoring for the impressive Canadians with a penalty after 14 minutes, and just one minute later, they scored a try of outstanding quality through Daniel van der Merwe, who exchanged passes with Ciaran Hearn in a phenomenal run, per ITV Rugby:
The Azzurri hit back immediately, Michele Rizzo going over after an excellent run from Edoardo Gori, and two Tommaso Allan penalties ensured Italy had a 13-10 lead at the break.
Canada once again had their noses in front just four minutes after the restart. Full-back Matt Evans scored the try thanks to a brilliant run down the left flank, but Italy replied through Gonzalo Garcia after captain Leonardo Ghiraldini drove towards the line for their 50th World Cup try.
Another Hirayama penalty inside the final 10 minutes made the scores uncomfortably close for Italy, but Allan kicked a last-gasp penalty as the Azzurri held on for the crucial points.
Italy have given themselves a shot at the quarter-finals with the win, but they realistically still face the unenviable task of needing to beat Ireland to get there.
Meanwhile, Canada performed very well, but it's unlikely they'll be able to grab third place and automatic qualification for the next World Cup as they still need to overcome France.
Pool Standings
| 1 | Wales | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 34 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 39 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Fiji | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 63 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 54 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | South Africa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 78 | 40 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | Scotland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Samoa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 62 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 77 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | New Zealand | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 30 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Argentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 35 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 64 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Namibia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 58 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 21 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 50 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 73 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Romania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 38 | 0 | 0 |
Upcoming Fixtures
| 27 September | Noon | Australia | Uruguay | Villa Park, Birmingham |
| 27 September | 2:30 p.m. | Scotland | USA | Elland Road, Leeds |
| 27 September | 4:45 p.m. | Ireland | Romania | Wembley Stadium, London |
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
