Rugby World Cup Results 2015: Thursday Scores, Updated Pools, Upcoming Fixtures
Warren Gatland's Wales have taken a decisive lead in the Rugby World Cup 2015 Pool of Death after they overcame a mighty comeback attempt to beat Fiji 23-13 on Thursday and open a four-point cushion ahead of Australia.
After an injury-ridden campaign, there was yet more concern for Wales, though, as star No. 10 Dan Biggar limped off late to cast even further doubt over the depth of Gatland's squad.
Later on Thursday evening, France dusted off the challenge of a brave Canadian team to extend their 100 percent start to the World Cup with a 41-18 win in Milton Keynes.
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Read on for a breakdown of Thursday's latest scores and recap, complete with updated pool standings and a look to Friday's schedule.
| Wales | 23-13 | Fiji |
| France | 41-18 | Canada |
Pool Standings
| 1 | Wales | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 47 | 1 | 13 |
| 2 | Australia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 16 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 39 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | Fiji | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 37 | 86 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 119 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Scotland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 26 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | South Africa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 78 | 40 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Samoa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 62 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 77 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | United States | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 64 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | New Zealand | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 30 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Tonga | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 38 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Argentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 35 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 64 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Namibia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 93 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 39 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 17 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Italy | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 50 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Canada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 43 | 114 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Romania | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 82 | 0 | 0 |
Upcoming Fixtures
| 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET | New Zealand | Georgia | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
France 41-18 Canada
Canada were somewhat unfortunate not to claim so much as a losing bonus point on Thursday after giving France a serious run for their money en route to a 41-18 victory for Les Bleus.
Philippe Saint-Andre's side would have come to Stadium mk with a maximum five-point haul set firmly in their sights but had to work hard as tries from Wesley Fofana, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani, Pascal Pape and Remy Grosso sealed the win.
It took just three minutes for centre star Fofana to open the scoreline following a superb break from fly-half Frederic Michalak, but another 24 minutes passed before Guirado was able to clinch France's second.
Les Bleus looked to be in cruise control with a 17-0 lead, but it was at this point DTH van der Merwe broke ranks to get the Maple Leafs on the board and make Canadian rugby history, per OptaJonny:
And France were left reeling when some quick initiative from scrum-half Phil Mack led to Phil Carpenter catching Saint-Andre's side unaware, as shown by ITV Rugby:
That would prove to be the extent of Canada's rebellion, though, and France proceeded to keep matters tight within their forwards as Slimani and Pepe grunted over for tries, securing France's bonus point.
Debutant Remy Grosso made the most of Kieran Crowley's tiring defence late on, rubbing salt further in Canada's wound with a fifth team try in the 73rd minute, albeit by virtue of the TMO.
It was appropriate that Canada ended the game in possession, fighting for all their worth to retain some sense of pride, but the scoreline told the tale of their demise.
Pool D favourites Ireland will undoubtedly look at this performance and consider Saint-Andre's side beatable at this point, but it would be folly to think the French won't have more to offer as their tournament advances.
Wales 23-13 Fiji
An understrength Wales lineup was put to the test and just about managed to hold Fiji at bay on Thursday evening, with tries from Gareth Davies and Scott Baldwin helping to secure a 23-13 victory in Cardiff, Wales.
Fly-half Biggar once again featured as a key member for Gatland's side and aided Wales in claiming a 17-6 half-time lead, but the best was to come from Fiji after the field opened up late on.
Scrum-half Davies kept up his 100 per cent scoring record at the World Cup thanks to a display of Fijian profligacy in the sixth minute, before Baldwin bundled over for the hosts' second 10 minutes before the break, per ITV Rugby:
Wales will have rued a list of missed opportunities in the opening 40 minutes as they had the chance to kill off what was proving to be an even more open encounter than many will have predicted.
That motif raged to the fore in the second period, and it took Leicester Tigers centre Vereniki Goneva just eight minutes to touch down after the restart, the visitors showing counter-attack rugby at its finest:
Ben Coles of Planet Rugby even went so far as to nominate the Fiji score an early contender for tournament honours:
And so ensued a 20-minute period where John McKee's men looked as though they could really threaten a weakened Wales squad that, after their 28-25 win over England, looked destined for the final eight.
England fans in particular will have been enjoying Fiji's mesmerising style of offloading rugby, but another penalty kick from Biggar was enough regain a 10-point lead for Wales and just put the match beyond their foes.
Gatland will savour his team's four points, but Wales fans will await the assessment of Biggar with bated breath as the team prepares to take on Australia next Saturday with everything to play for.
England face the Wallabies this Saturday, where a win for Michael Cheika's southern hemisphere giants would all but guarantee Wales' place in the quarter-finals alongside Australia.
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