In the final game on Saturday, South Africa faced off against minnows Namibia in a Pool B clash at the Toyota stadium. Both sides came into the tie having lost their opening encounters in the tournament but the Springboks were favourites to win nevertheless. These two sides have met only twice before with both victories […]

6 years ago

An absolutely massive upset at Shizuoka Stadium. Both teams came into the match having won their opening games but Ireland being the 2nd ranked team in the world and having won all seven of their prior Test meetings against Japan were strong favourites. This turned out to be the third meeting between these two sides […]

6 years ago

Argentina faced off against Tonga in a low-key Pool C clash in Osaka. Going into the game, both teams had lost their opening matches of the tournament and had a chance to return to winning ways here. These teams had met in the previous World Cup with the South Americans emerging as 45-16 winners. The […]

6 years ago

England returned for their second showdown of the tournament against the United States of America in Kobe. England coach Eddie Jones made 10 changes to his side who beat Tonga four days ago. England have clashed against the USA on five previous occasions including three times in the World Cup and have come out on […]

6 years ago

The opening game of matchday seven saw Italy face off against Canada in a low key clash at the Level5 Stadium. Canada, led by Alana Gattinger who’s only the second woman to occupy the role of team manager at a men’s World Cup opened their tournament today. Italy meanwhile came into the game off a 47-22 victory […]

6 years ago

Matchday six of the Rugby World Cup and we saw the biggest shock yet. Uruguay Vs Fiji in Pool D and the South American underdogs pulled off the shock of the tournament. Uruguay began their World Cup campaign against the islanders who lost their opening clash against the Wallabies last Saturday. The South Americans were […]

6 years ago

It’s July 2018. Manchester United are touring the USA competing in pre-season friendlies. For several weeks, then-manager Jose Mourinho proclaims in several press conferences his views on the team and the board/club – whether it be about Paul Pogba following his World Cup triumph, his absent first-team players, Antonio Valencia’s delayed leave or the board’s […]

6 years ago

A bonus point win for Manu Samoa but they rode their luck at stages. Match-day 5 of the World Cup saw Samoa begin their tournament with a clash against Russia in Pool A. This was the first ever time that these two sides had met but several roughed up Russians will feel this contest a […]

6 years ago

Remember this lad? Well, no hard feelings if you don’t. Take a moment to cast your minds back to January 2015 when a 16-year old Odegaard officially switched to the Spanish capital from Strømsgodset. Real Madrid unveiled their ‘mirakelgutt’ – AKA wonderboy – on Thursday, 22nd of January after fending off fierce interest from the […]

6 years ago

Wales got their World Cup campaign off to a flying start against minnows Georgia in Toyota City in their Pool D opener. Wales had come into the game under a cloud of turbulence with Stephen Jones taking over as head coach after Rob Howley was sent home, but they were quick to get down to […]

6 years ago

In the the third and final Sunday game, England opened their campaign against Tonga in a Pool C clash at the Sapporo Dome. Coming into the game, England had opened each of the last six World Cups with a win and today would prove to be no exception. By stark contrast, Tonga had lost seven […]

6 years ago

Here it was! The World Cup officially began for Irish fans as Ireland took on Scotland in a heavyweight Pool A clash at Yokohama. Victory for either side would’ve set them on a clean path to top the group and possibly avoid an unpleasant clash against the All Blacks in the knockouts. In the hours […]

6 years ago

Conor O’Shea begins his World Cup campaign with Italy on a winning note. Match day three saw two lowly ranked sides face off in a a Pool B clash as Italy faced off against Namibia at the Hanazono Rugby Stadium. That certainly didn’t deter fans from cramming into the stadium as every single ticket sold […]

6 years ago

The final game of ‘Super Saturday’ served up a tantalising heavyweight clash. Going into the game, New Zealand had never lost a pool match at a World Cup and it was they who initiated proceedings with their ceremonial Haka, doing their best to intimidate their fellow Southern Hemisphere opponents. South Africa were the dominant side […]

6 years ago

France and Argentina played out another cracker as the first ‘Super Saturday’ of the World Cup lived up to its’ moniker. Given the quality present in both the French and Argentinean squads, expectations were fairly high. France started this game like a train yet, come half-time, few would have guessed a clutch drop goal would […]

6 years ago

The World Cup is now well and truly underway. Friday’s victory for hosts Japan has set the precedent for other favoured sides to put their best foot forward. In the first fixture of match day two, gutsy Fiji took on two-time world champions Australia at the Sapporo Dome in the first Pool D clash of […]

6 years ago

Kotaro Matsushima shines as the hat-trick hero in the Rugby World Cup opener. In what was the first game for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, hosts Japan coasted to a slightly unconvincing but comfortable 30-10 win over Russia. Being on home turf in front of a roaring crowd, Japan were the obvious favourites to clinch […]

6 years ago