Rugby World Cup Schedule 2015: Latest Standings, Top Points-Scorers and Fixtures
Argentina's Nicolas Sanchez leads the way for the most points scored at the Rugby World Cup 2016, as the Pumas look prepared to take their place in the next round.
South Africa's Handre Pollard is close behind his fellow fly-half—just five points adrift—and with his country's superior chance of progressing to the final, he is favoured to leapfrog the South American.
The pool stage is nearly over, with the hosts England out of the competition. Here are the latest standings in each group, with the top points-scorer totals, and upcoming fixtures:
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| 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 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176 | 56 | 4 | 16 |
| 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 | USA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 128 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 127 | 40 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 115 | 51 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Georgia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 123 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | Tonga | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 83 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Namibia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 110 | 1 | 1 |
| 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 |
| 1 | Nicolas Sanchez | Argentina | 51 |
| 2 | Handre Pollard | South Africa | 46 |
| 3 | Ayumu Goromaru | Japan | 45 |
| 4 | Bernard Foley | Australia | 41 |
| 5 | Dan Biggar | Wales | 36 |
| 6 | Owen Farrell | England | 35 |
| 7 | Greig Laidlaw | Scotland | 34 |
| 8 | Frederic Michalak | France | 33 |
| 9 | Nemani Nadolo | Fiji | 33 |
| 10 | Theuns Kotze | Namibia | 31 |
| Friday, Oct. 9 | 8 p.m. | New Zealand v Tonga |
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | 2:30 p.m | Samoa v Scotland |
| 4:45 p.m. | Australia v Wales | |
| 8 p.m. | England v Uruguay | |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | 12 p.m. | Argentina v Namibia |
| 2:30 p.m. | Italy v Romania | |
| 4:45 p.m. | France v Ireland | |
| 8 p.m. | USA v Japan |
Sanchez Kicks Argentina To Success
The big points always come from the boots of rugby union's fly-halves and full-backs, and Argentina are no different to any other nation, with Nicolas Sanchez's kicking the difference for the Pumas thus far.
The South American nation have relied heavily on the player to get them through the rigours of Pool C, with Sanchez scoring 51 of their 115.
He has scored nine penalties, eight conversions and a solitary drop goal to his name during the competition, as well as a try, which takes his average to 17 points-per-game, according to the Rugby World Cup website.
Sanchez has also been one of the driving forces on the pitch, carrying 104 metres with the ball in hand, keeping Argentina going forward.
The player was the star of the show as his side grabbed a bonus-point win against a difficult Tonga side, with football legend Diego Maradona watching on in the crowd, per Sam Long of the Evening Standard.
Tonga could not deal with Sanchez and the Pumas' play, capitulating 45-16 at Leicester.
BBC Sport's Iain Carter highlighted the fly-half's immense contribution during the battle with Tonga:
The Argentinians should qualify for the knockout phase with ease in their final game, with the hurdle of Namibia not expected to test Sanchez and his team-mates.
Pollard Leads South Africa Revival
South Africa's loss to Japan wrote World Cup history earlier in the pool stage, with the former champions humbled by one of the minnows of the tournament.
But the Springboks have recovered in strong fashion, with fly-half Handre Pollard giving his side plenty of extra points from his kicking game.
As Bryan Habana made World Cup history—becoming the joint all-time try scorer—Pollard's boot has supplemented the team to steady the ship.
Pollard's 11.5 points per game has helped bury the embarrassment of the Japan defeat, and South Africa comfortably made the knockouts.
The shock of the Japanese loss has seen the Springboks burst back into life, proving a bad defeat can be the best tonic in the early phase of a tournament. Pollard and his team-mates look focused and hungry as the latter stages commence, with Habana set to take the undisputed try record for himself.
The top points-scorer chart looks set to be dominated by fly-halves deep into the competition, with Pollard hoping to add to his 46 points as South Africa eye the quarter-finals and beyond.
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