2011 Rugby World Cup: Weekly Review
10 matches were played between the all the participating nations of the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) from 19th to 25th of September. Although there were a few close games played, no real upset was witnessed during the past week. Here
is a recap of the matches and their highlights:
The First match of the week was played between Italy and Russia, which Italy won with a margin of 36 points. The bonus point victory was Italy’s maiden win in the tournament. The squad has played two pool matches and have an outside chance to qualify for
the second round, provided that they manage to win both of their remaining pool games against Ireland and USA.
On Wednesday, September 21 the Pacific Nations Cup rivals, Japan and Tonga, locked horns. Tongans ended up winning by a margin of 13 points and took revenge for their loss in the Pacific Nations cup as the bonus point victory was Tonga’s first win of the
2011 RWC. Both teams have a game each remaining in the tournament and none has a real chance of qualifying to the knockout stages of the global tournament.
In a Pool D encounter, defending champions Springboks continued to build momentum to their title defence as they thrashed their neighbours with an 87 points margin defeat. Springboks defeated Namibia 87 – 0 to book their place in the knock out stages of
the tournament.
On Friday, September 23, the 2011 Tri Nations champions, Wallabies, returned to their winning ways as they registered their second bonus point victory of the RWC tournament against the United States of the America. Earlier, Wallabies lost to the Ireland,
to deliver a major upset of the tournament. Wallabies will play their last pool match against Russia and are all set to qualify for the quarter-finals as the runner-ups of Pool C.
On Saturday, September 24, two matches were played, which includes the contest between the All Blacks and France. All Blacks were seeking payback for their 2007 RWC quarter-final exit, as they delivered a 20-point defeat to the Les Bleus. All Blacks and
Les Bleus will qualify for the next round of the 2011 RWC as the toppers and runner-ups of Pool A.
In the second match, England defeated Romania 67 – 3 as they too secure their quarter-finals place in the 2011 RWC.
On Sunday, September 25 three matches were played, in which Samoa defeated Fiji 27 – 7, Ireland defeated Russia 62 – 12 and Argentina beat Scotland by a margin of a point. Given the proximity of the contest and the impact of the result of the match on the
pool and the tournament, the Argentina and Scotland encounter proved to be the biggest match of the weekend. Argentina entered the match knowing that the defeat will end their 2011 RWC hopes.
The win has placed Argentina in second position in the Pool B, and left Scotland needing to defeat England in their last pool match.
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