The ninth Rugby World Cup got off to a wonderful start across the weekend with Tokyo, Yokohama, Sapporo and Hanazono all hosting matches. 1 Related Tournament hosts Japan got their campaign off to the perfect start with a bonus-point win in the opening match, before England bookended the weekend with an unconvincing 34-3 victory over

Wales produced a tale of two halves as an electric start secured a deserved 43-14 bonus-point victory over Georgia in their Rugby World Cup Pool D clash on Monday, before they wilted in the energy-sapping humidity at the City of Toyota Stadium. The Welsh were rampant as tries from Jonathan Davies, Justin Tipuric, Josh Adams

Fans will now be able to bring food into World Cup stadiums in Japan after the organizing committee admitted that the service at some venues was “not befitting” that of a showpiece event. There were lengthy queues for both food and beverages at stadiums during the opening weekend with some vendors completely running out of

Doubt has been cast over Israel Folau making a sensational rugby league return with Tonga after Peter Beattie revealed the international governing body hasn’t discussed the controversial star’s comeback. The Tongan National Rugby League (TNRL) dropped a bombshell on Monday, claiming Folau and his brother John would feature in their end of year Tests against

Scotland’s poor start to the Rugby World Cup received another blow Monday when it was confirmed that injured loose-forward Hamish Watson would play no further part in the tournament, with Edinburgh back-row Magnus Bradbury called up as a replacement. Watson injured his knee in Sunday’s disappointing 27-3 Pool A loss to Ireland in Yokohama and

Thomas du Toit will travel from France to replace Trevor Nyakane in South Africa’s Rugby World Cup squad after the latter tore his right calf in Saturday’s opening 23-13 loss to New Zealand in Yokohama. Nyakane, who recently made the switch from loose-head to tight-head prop, lasted just 21 minutes as a replacement in the

Fiji were never going to be easy-beats but the nature of their physical challenge certainly caught the Wallabies off-guard in their Rugby World Cup Pool D opener in Sapporo. And the Australians very nearly had their pants pulled down as a result. The Wallabies needed a calmer, more clinical approach after halftime and with the

YOHOHAMA, Japan — A tremendous first-half built on forward dominance, set-piece authority and the box-kicking of veteran scrum-half Conor Murray gave Ireland the perfect start to their Rugby World Cup campaign, despite coach Joe Schmidt deeming it not worthy of comparison with the All Blacks and Springboks’ efforts the previous night. There was just a

SAPPORO, Japan — England got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a scrappy start with a 35-3 Pool C victory over Tonga, against whom Manu Tuilagi scored two tries while skipper Owen Farrell added 15 points with the boot. Four years on from their first-round exit on home soil, England were keen to put

Wallabies winger Reece Hodge faces an uncertain future at the Rugby World Cup after being cited for a dangerous tackle during their opening win over Fiji in Sapporo. More than 24 hours after the incident, citing commissioner John Montgomery of Scotland ruled Hodge had a case to answer following the tackle on flanker Peceli Yato

New Zealand’s Steve Hansen has welcomed World Rugby’s slight modification to timing regulations for Head Injury Assessments (HIAs), following confusion over the evaluation of flanker Sam Cane in Saturday’s victory over South Africa. Cane went for an HIA at halftime in Yokohama, and passed it, but he did not return to the field with his

Italy scored three tries within the space of 10 minutes either side of halftime to give themselves some breathing room against a stubborn Namibia before recording a 47-22 win in their Pool B opener at the Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka on Sunday. The Italians had dominated much of the play in the first half

Top ranked Ireland put aside their stuttering 2019 form with a clinical 27-3 victory over their main Pool A rivals Scotland to open their World Cup campaign in convincing style in Yokohama on Sunday. Forwards James Ryan, Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong all crossed in the first 25 minutes and winger Andrew Conway secured the

YOKOHAMA, Japan — YOKOHAMA — It was the standout moment from a gripping Test match, a tackle All Blacks coach Steve Hansen later described as a “match-winner”. But Richie Mo’unga’s sensational scrambling effort still took nothing away from what was an electric performance from Springboks winger Cheslin Kolbe, after the diminutive South African lit up

TOKYO — Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is set to consider a number of changes to the team that beat Fiji in Australia’s Rugby World Cup opener on Sunday but he may be forced into one straight out of the gate for next Sunday’s clash with Wales. While the Wallabies reported a clean bill of health

YOKOHAMA, Japan — How do you explain that? How do you honestly describe the game of rugby that was played at International Stadium Yokohama on Saturday? And where would you start? Is it Richie Mo’unga’s perfect cross-kicks, the audacity of Beauden Barrett, the tireless efforts of Ardie Savea or the head-spinning footwork of pocket-rocket Cheslin

Argentina head coach Mario Ledesma could not disguise his rage at some refereeing decisions during their defeat against France in their Rugby World Cup opener Saturday. The Pumas coach was starting hooker when Argentina stunned hosts France in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup and thought Australian referee Angus Gardner had denied his

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Four minutes of first-half brilliance led an otherwise unconvincing New Zealand to a 23-13 victory over South Africa in a clash between two World Cup favourites on Saturday that never quite lived up to its billing. Having wrestled the Rugby Championship from their rivals last month, South Africa pinned a scrappy New