Rugby World Cup Results 2015: Tuesday Scores, Latest Pools, Forthcoming Fixtures
The 14 men of Uruguay couldn't help but bend under an onslaught of Fiji pressure on Tuesday evening as the South Americans succumbed to a 47-15 defeat in the Pacific Islanders' last game of the tournament.
Earlier in the day, a courageous comeback saw Romania bag their first win of the competition as Lynn Howells' men returned from a 15-0 deficit to beat Canada 17-15 in Leicester, England.
Read on for a full recap of Tuesday's scores and a look at how the two results affect the pool standings heading into the final stretch of the World Cup's opening round.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Canada | 15-17 | Romania |
| Fiji | 47-15 | Uruguay |
Updated Standings
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 29 | 1 | 13 |
| 2 | Wales | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 47 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | England | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 72 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Fiji | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 84 | 101 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 166 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 112 | 56 | 3 | 11 |
| 2 | Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 60 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 82 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | Samoa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 88 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | United States | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 64 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 127 | 40 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 115 | 51 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Tonga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 83 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Georgia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 107 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Namibia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 93 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Ireland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 26 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 39 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 66 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Romania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 97 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Canada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 58 | 131 | 2 | 2 |
Upcoming Fixtures
| 4:45 p.m. BST/11:45 a.m. ET | South Africa vs. United States |
| 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET | Namibia vs. Georgia |
Fiji 47-15 Uruguay
Uruguay coach Pablo Lemoine will treat Tuesday's 47-15 defeat to Fiji as a bittersweet occasion after watching his side record their first World Cup tries in 12 years, albeit crumbling to a third successive defeat in the Pool of Death.
But a 30-point margin of defeat perhaps didn't do Lemoine's men justice as they mustered not one but two tries in the face of a substantial foe, the first of which ensured a rather damning Fiji statistic lived on, per OptaJonny:
Just as they managed in the first half against Wales last month, Uruguay showed character and grit until a point, but it was in the second half the Fijian Flyers of Nemani Nadolo, Kini Murimurivalu and Leone Nakarawa were able to open their stride.
Those three were among the try-scorers, but Fiji made the most of a substantial pack advantage to record two penalty tries, the first of which came after just two minutes.
But Uruguay stuck with their opponents as Fiji were forced to wait until the last quarter of an hour for the last three of their scores. A breakaway score from scrum-half Agustin Ormaechea in the 57th minute even made it look as though the underdogs could be capable of a result:
Andy McGeady of the Irish Times extrapolated that a turn-up for Uruguay could even make the final fixture against hosts England that much more exciting:
Ormachea's night quickly went from dream to nightmare, though, and in the wake of Tevita Cavubati's 63rd-minute try, he was shown his marching orders for a needless second yellow card, leaving Uruguay under-manned for the end.
Of course John McKee's side ran away with things once the one-man advantage was theirs, exiting the tournament with their reputation intact as one of the most entertaining teams to take in.
Canada 15-17 Romania
Their chances of making it into the quarter-finals may be over, but Romania will be overjoyed at the prospect of potentially salvaging third place in Pool D thanks to a 17-15 win over Canada.
It was far from the most glamorous affair to behold at Leicester's King Power Stadium, but what the game lacked in slickness, it more than made up for in intensity and tightness between two close sides.
It was an agonisingly turgid start from the two teams as Gordon McRorie's penalty was the only thing keeping Canada in the lead after 30 minutes, until Romania full-back Catalin Fercu saw yellow for a dangerous challenge, per ITV Rugby:
Howells' men managed to keep the Maple Leafs at bay until they were restored to full strength, but Canada star DTH van der Merwe showed his class to bag the opening try not long after Fercu's return.
The Daily Telegraph's Brendan Gallagher illustrated just how consistent a scoring asset the Scarlets-bound back has been, with fellow wing Jeff Hassler scoring after the restart to increase Canada's lead:
With a 15-0 advantage, Canada looked as though they might be home and dry, but Romania's Mihai Macovei had other plans and pulled back a crucially timed score with 30 minutes remaining on the back of some superb power play through his pack.
Their cushion was put in serious doubt, however, when flanker Jeff Sinclair saw his match brought to a premature end for collapsing a maul in the 72nd minute, giving Romania's pack a significant edge.
It took the Oaks less than a minute to make their advantage tell as No. 8 Macovei powered over from a set piece, and Florin Vlaicu added the extras to make it a one-point deficit at 15-14.
Vlaicu was essential in thrusting Romania into their first lead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, sinking a 77th-minute penalty to put his team within touching distance of a dignifying win.
The forwards did their bit to grind out territory and keep Canada on the back foot, and Romania saw out a victory that was anything but pretty but by no means any less sweet.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
