By Jonathan Bowen
Ireland collected its second bonus point win in as many weeks against Tonga. It was another tick box game for Ireland where the main aim was to secure the win and collect the bonus point so they remained on top of the group.
They achieved their goal without too much trouble, the only incident of the game coming when Peter O’Mahoney was sent to the bin in the 40th minute for a high tackle.
Johnny Sexton collected another record during the game when, in the 39th minute he scored an easy try that meant he become the record points scorer for Ireland. Massive congratulations to Johnny, he truly deserves his place among the greatest Irish rugby players of all time.
Ireland face South Africa this weekend in the first of what I expect will be three of the toughest games they have ever played at a Rugby World Cup.
Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber seem to be up to their old tricks again by naming a seven and one bench. This was the same decision the pair made against New Zealand in their warmup game at Twickenham where they selected seven forwards and one back to play off the bench.
The weather is expected to be a lot cooler in Paris this weekend, which may play into Irish hands. Just to make things slightly more bizarre, Ireland will be playing in its traditional green home jersey, however South Africa has had to design and make a special one-off jersey for the game as both their home and away jerseys clash with the Irish green jersey according to World Rugby guidelines. I look forward to seeing what the new South African strip looks like!
In the other game in the pool South Africa easily accounted for Romania in a 76-0 drubbing of Romania. The Springboks never got out of first gear for the game and like Ireland remain unbeaten in the group.
South Africa will go into the game against Ireland as slight favorites. This game is a weird one indeed for the pundits as it is more about the result rather than what may happen because of it. The winner of the pool will more than likely play New Zealand in the quarterfinal and the loser will more than likely play France.
The woes of Australian rugby continued over the weekend when they lost to Fiji, 22-15, for the first time since 1954. In a game both teams were desperate to win, Fiji played their hearts out and it was fitting that they take the win.
This Australian side is very much in a rebuilding phase since Eddie Jones was brought in as new coach at the beginning of the year, and it seems that Eddie continues to be the team’s worst enemy by continuing to bait the media in pre- and post-match press conferences. In my humble opinion I believe Eddie needs to stop baiting the media and concentrate more on ensuring the Australian team are at their best for each match!
Wales defeated Portugal by 28-8 and collected the bonus point win in the pool’s other game.
Warren Gatland seems to have the Welsh team brimming with confidence and with their next game against Australia this weekend a win will secure their spot in the quarterfinal. A loss to Australia and out come the calculators and abacuses to work out which team from Australia, Fiji and Wales, will make it through to the quarterfinal.
England collected another bonus point win in their group game against Japan, winning by 34-12. George Ford put in another man of the match performance in a game that didn’t generate many highlights for the English side. The match was slippery one for England, a loss and the pressure would have been immense on the side, but the win sees them tick over the results and all but guarantees their spot in the quarterfinals. Given George Ford’s current form and the way England are tracking now with Owen Farrell and Tom Curry still to come back into the side, they are looking like a dark horse side that cannot be written off just yet!
Samoa kicked off its tournament with a very impressive 43-10 win over Chile. Samoa was clinical in their performance and played some of the best rugby they have played in years. Chile learned a valuable lesson in the game: it showed them how far they still must come to complete with just the tier two nations.
Samoa promises to make life difficult for Argentina, England, and Japan in that pool as they seem intent on qualifying for a knockout spot. Samoa’s next game is against Argentina in what promises to be one of the matches of the round.
France collected a tough 27-12 win against Uruguay, who earned a lot of plaudits for the brilliant performance against France. A game that was supposed to be a tick box win for France proved to be anything but for the French team.
France quite obviously selected a 2nd XV for the game and almost paid the price for it. They didn’t even collect a bonus point from the game which certainly had the press asking some tough questions to the French coach after the game.
New Zealand collected an easy 71-3 win over Namibia in their pool match. New Zealand will be happy to have bounced back so strongly after their loss to France in the opening game.
If you are like me and are a rugby nut who will not want to miss a minute of this year’s Rugby World Cup, ensure you book your spot early at New York City’s premier rugby bar the Pig’n’Whistle on West 36th Street. Call (212) 239-4820 to make a booking.
All Rugby World Cup games will also be shown live on NBC. Check your local guides for kick off times this weekend and if you want to keep up to date with all the latest rugby news, you can find me on Instagram @jb052006 or drop me an email at jonathan.joseph.bowen@gmail.com.