2023 Rugby World Cup pool stage results and match reports: Round four

Rugby World Cup results

Thursday September 28

• Japan 28-22 Samoa

Friday September 29

• New Zealand 96-17 Italy

Saturday September 30

• Argentina 59-5 Chile
• Fiji 17-12 Georgia
• Scotland 84-0 Romania

Sunday October 1

• Australia 34-14 Portugal
• South Africa 49-18 Tonga

South Africa go top

Defending champions South Africa saw off Tonga 49-18 to pick up a bonus-point win in Marseille which moved them top of Rugby World Cup Pool B.

Ireland could have been sure of a quarter-final place before their final pool match against Scotland had the Springboks failed to beat Tonga, who had lost both previous games.

Andy Farrell’s men, though, can guarantee top spot if they avoid defeat by Scotland, whose own qualification hopes are slim.

Australia keep slim hopes alive

Australia kept their faint Rugby World Cup quarter-final hopes alive after beating Portugal 34-14.

Portugal struck first but the Wallabies took advantage of Pedro Bettencourt’s sin-bin with three tries to put them ahead before Fraser McReight secured the much-needed bonus point.

Australia’s last eight hopes now depend on how Fiji fare against Portugal next weekend.

Scotland run riot against Romania

Darcy Graham climbed from sixth to joint-second on Scotland’s all-time try-scorer list with four touchdowns in a resounding 84-0 victory over Romania which sets up a mouth-watering World Cup shootout with Ireland next weekend.

The Scots ran in six tries in each half in Lille to inflict another demoralising defeat on their opponents, who were similarly outclassed by both Ireland and South Africa in their first two matches in Pool B.

Graham, who started the evening on 20 international tries, wreaked the most damage on the eastern European minnows as his first-half hat-trick and another after the break took him ahead of both Duhan van der Merwe and Chris Paterson and up to 24.

The prolific Edinburgh wing is now level with Tony Stanger and Ian Smith, and just three shy of record-holder and fellow Hawick native Stuart Hogg, who recently ended his career on 27.

The Scots were so confident of getting the result they required at Stade Pierre Mauroy that they made 13 changes from the side that started against Tonga the previous Sunday, preserving most of their A-listers for the Ireland match in Paris which they must win with a bonus point or by denying their opponents one in order to reach the quarter-finals.

There was no danger of the decision to field so many fringe men back-firing from the moment Hamish Watson got the Scots off and running with the first try of the match in the eighth minute.

The experienced Edinburgh flanker – who has lost the number seven jersey to the burgeoning Rory Darge this year – marked his return to the starting line-up by bounding over on the right after Cam Redpath offloaded into his path as he was thwarted on his own charge towards the line.

Ali Price – like Watson, another 2021 British and Irish Lions squad member who has become a peripheral player for the national team this year – got the second in the 17th minute after being played in by Graham.

It was Graham’s turn to get on the scoresheet just four minutes later when he touched down following a brilliant individual run, bringing him level with his Edinburgh team-mate Van der Merwe, one of those given the night off.

Romania – already bang up against it – completely imploded in the closing 10 minutes of the first half when they had three players sin-binned and conceded a further three tries.

Hooker Robert Irimescu was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Ben Healy and just a couple of minutes later they were reduced to 13, when back-rower Florian Rosu was yellow-carded for collapsing a maul.

Scotland took full advantage as Graham scored his second of the evening to move ahead of Van der Merwe and level with Paterson.

Matt Fagerson bulldozed his way over for the fifth, but only after Ollie Smith had been the victim of a nasty high tackle in the build-up from Marius Simionescu, who became the third Romanian to be sin-binned before the break.

There was still time before the interval for Graham to complete his hat-trick as the Edinburgh wing moved ahead of Paterson and into fourth place on his own. All six first-half tries were converted by Healy as the Scots went in 42-0 to the good at half-time.

The scores kept coming after the break, with Chris Harris, Smith, Healy, Johnny Matthews – shortly after coming on for his debut – and Darge all touching down.

Graham then raced over for his fourth of the night as the Scots ran up their second-highest win at a World Cup, finishing just five points shy of the 89-0 victory they enjoyed against Ivory Coast in 1995.

Italy offer no resistance

New Zealand lit the touchpaper on their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 14-try hammering of Italy.

Defeat by France had left the All Blacks at risk of missing out on the quarter-finals but there appears no chance of that after a 96-17 romp in Lyon.

Aaron Smith scored a hat-trick of tries in the first half while lock Sam Whitelock came off the bench in the second half to overtake Richie McCaw as the most-capped All Black in Test history with his 149th appearance.

Sanchez stars for Argentina

Nicolas Sanchez marked his 100th Test appearance by contributing 20 points as Argentina stayed on course for the World Cup quarter-finals with a 59-5 win over Chile in Nantes.

Fly-half Sanchez went over for a superb early solo try in the corner and kicked 15 further points to help lift Argentina up to third in Pool D after registering a 40th straight win over their South American neighbours.

The Pumas scored eight converted tries and now face a showdown with Japan on October 8 in their bid to finish second in the group behind England.

Fiji toil against Georgia

Fiji fought back to beat Georgia 17-12 in Bordeaux and move closer to a World Cup quarter-final place.

But Fiji’s failure to claim a bonus point keeps Australia’s slim hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.

The South Sea Islanders will claim a quarter-final spot – probably against England – by beating Portugal next weekend.

England qualify for last eight

England qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Cup after Japan saw off 14-man Samoa 28-22 in Toulouse to keep alive their own hopes of progressing to the knockout stage.

The Brave Blossoms go on to face Argentina in the final round of Pool D matches – and only one of them will join Steve Borthwick’s side, who are confirmed as group winners ahead of their clash with Samoa due to their superior head-to-head record, in the knockout phase.