France captain Antoine Dupont has been cleared to return to action following surgery on his facial fracture.

Scrum-half Dupont became a doubt for the remainder of his country’s home Rugby World Cup after suffering the injury during a 96-0 win over Namibia on September 21.

The French Rugby Federation announced the 26-year-old was back with Fabien Galthie’s squad at their base in Aix-en-Provence.

Les Bleus play Italy in their final Pool A match on Friday, with a likely quarter-final to come on the weekend of October 14-15.

“Antoine has been given the go-ahead to resume physical activity taking it step by step,” read a statement from the French federation.

“This activity will take place under the supervision of the French national team’s medical staff.”

Dupont was taken off in the 46th minute against Namibia after opposition captain Johan Deysel made a head-on-head tackle and was sent off.

Deysel was subsequently banned for five matches.

France’s health manager Bruno Boussagol said on Thursday he was “convinced” Toulouse player Dupont would not be available for Les Bleus’ upcoming match with Italy.

Bordeaux’s Maxime Lucu is expected to deputise in Lyon.

France assistant coach William Servat told a press conference on Tuesday he had “no doubts” Dupont would be available for the quarter-finals.

Galthie’s side, who have already beaten New Zealand, Uruguay and Namibia, are likely to face South Africa, Ireland or Scotland in the last eight of the tournament.

Prop Dave Kilcoyne believes Ireland’s players are “frothing at the mouth” to face Scotland and insists there is no sense of self-satisfaction following a euphoric win over South Africa.

Andy Farrell’s men underlined their status as Test rugby’s top-ranked nation by defeating the reigning champions 13-8 last weekend in Paris.

But progression to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals is not yet assured moving towards next Saturday’s return to Stade de France for a pivotal showdown with the Scots.

Munster loosehead Kilcoyne believes a memorable evening against the Springboks was “parked” during some well-earned time off as attention quickly shifted to the team’s final Pool B fixture.

“Lads went away and spent a bit of downtime and were itching to get back in, bouncing, and it’s all eyes on Scotland now,” he said.

“That game is parked, we’ve a couple of massive learnings from it and we definitely won’t be falling in love with ourselves.

“Paulie (forwards coach Paul O’Connell) had a few tips for us in areas we were deficient in and we were out there (in training) making sure we had them right for Scotland.

 

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“In a competition like this you’ve got to keep learning with every game and you’ve got to keep getting better.

“Next week poses a massive challenge to us again so we’ve got to prepare as best we can for that.

“Everyone’s frothing at the mouth to be involved.”

Kilcoyne is enjoying his second World Cup, having overcome the scare of suffering a hamstring tear during last month’s training camp in Portugal.

The 34-year-old remained in the French capital with other members of the squad to enjoy a couple of days off after the South Africa match before travelling back to camp in Tours ahead of schedule.

Kilcoyne feels the current Ireland setup is the best he has been involved in and praised the impact of head coach Andy Farrell.

“I’m loving it over here, you read people writing about the incredible environment Faz (Farrell) has created for the players,” said Kilcoyne.

“And I don’t say it for the sake of saying it, but I think his emotional intelligence is through the roof.

 

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“You look at that South Africa game, such a big occasion physically and mentally fatiguing and to have the foresight to give the lads two days’ break, he probably knew how mentally and physically fatiguing that game was going to be for the whole country.

“I’m not going to be saying about other coaching environments but this is definitely the best Ireland environment I’ve ever been involved in since I’ve been playing, 100 per cent.

“When there’s great camaraderie in the squad, you love being around it.”

New Zealand captain Ardie Savea expressed his pride after the All Blacks demolished Italy at the Rugby World Cup.

An opening defeat by France that put their quarter-final hopes in jeopardy was forgotten as they ran in 14 tries in Lyon, eventually winning 96-17.

Savea told ITV1: “Not just myself but all the boys that played tonight, to put that effort in, I’m very proud.

“We’ve got talent across the board. We hadn’t really clicked but tonight we played some free rugby and that’s how I want my boys to play. We put a lot into this week and we got the rewards tonight.”

Centre Jordie Barrett added: “It’s massively satisfying. We didn’t start the tournament the way we wanted to but we put a few things in place and a step in the right direction tonight.”

He is not getting carried away about the All Blacks’ chances in the tournament as a whole, though, saying: “We’re one day at a time. I know it sounds cliche but we nailed our preparation for this game.

“We’ve got Uruguay in front of us in six days’ time so we’re not going to treat our preparation any differently and anything further than that is a bonus.”

Italy now face the prospect of having to beat France to have any chance of reaching the last eight, and fly-half Tommaso Allan felt his side contributed heavily to their downfall.

“When you give so many penalties away against New Zealand and they keep playing in your half, they’re going to keep scoring,” he said. “We lost all our scrums, lost all our line-outs really, so it’s just tough to start from that.

“We talked at half-time about trying to get some confidence for next week. We know it’s going to be as tough as this if not tougher. We’ve just got to stick together now. Start from scratch, don’t even think about this game, throw it in the bin.”

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.

Italy would have dumped New Zealand out of the competition with a win but that never looked remotely on the cards from the moment in the sixth minute when Beauden Barrett launched a perfect cross-field kick for Will Jordan, who performed a leaping touchdown in the corner.

Tommaso Allan got Italy on the board early with a penalty but the rest of the first half was a horror show as Smith crossed three times, Ardie Savea twice and Mark Telea once, with the line-out proving particularly profitable.

Richie Mo’unga converted all seven first-half tries and nine in total, missing only his 10th attempt before being substituted.

Trailing 49-3 at half-time, Italy came out strongly for the second half and scored their first try in the 48th minute, Ange Capuozzo showing his speed in the corner.

But the All Blacks went straight down the other end and crossed again, Brodie Retallick applying the finish touch after Scott Barrett had charged down an attempted clearance.

Cam Roigard was denied a try after he was deemed to have made a double movement but moments later Dalton Papali’i notched the All Blacks’ ninth score.

They were approaching a century as Dane Coles twice, Damian McKenzie, Jordan and Anton Lienert-Brown all scythed through the Italian defence.

The final word went to Italy through Montanna Ioane’s try but this was emphatically the All Blacks’ night.

Ben Earl may be taking his debut World Cup by storm but Maro Itoje insists his England team-mate raised eyebrows when he first arrived at Saracens.

Earl has emerged as one of England’s top performers during their canter into the quarter-finals with a group game to spare and he is competing with Billy Vunipola to start at number eight against Samoa on Saturday week.

The dynamic back row was repeatedly overlooked by Eddie Jones despite being crowned Premiership Player of the season in 2022 and even under Steve Borthwick his 2023 Six Nations was cut short, with instructions to work on aspects of his game.

It was not until the World Cup warm-up fixture against Wales at Twickenham last month that he was finally picked in the starting XV – three-and-a-half years after making his Test debut off the bench.

Now his reputation is soaring through his potent carrying, impact in attack and spirited on-field celebrations – a far cry from the 18-year-old Itoje first encountered in 2016.

“When Ben came to Saracens I thought ‘who the hell is this guy?’ He probably didn’t give the best first impression!” Itoje said.

“He was a young guy from Tonbridge and he had this floppy, public school hair. He was very sure of himself!

“He’s always been a nice guy, but you just thought ‘who the hell’s this guy?’ But he’s been great and he’s worked at his game.

“He hasn’t had a linear path. He’s had bumps, peaks and troughs along the way and he’s grown and grown and grown into the player that he is today.

“Some of the stuff he’s doing for England now we’ve been seeing for a while at Saracens. And he’s only 25, so he’s only going to get better.

“He’s got great physical attributes but he’s also very attentive, he wants to learn and he wants to improve.

“Through his journey you’ve seen the toughness and the ruggedness to his spirit that he’s kept on persevering.

“No doubt he would have been a bit gutted because he would have thought he was playing really well and was deserving of a place, but for whatever reason he wasn’t getting a look-in.

“But he’s stayed consistent with his performances and he’s always had a great mindset and attitude.

“If you’re consistent over a period of time, even when the proverbial tunnel looks dark, there is light there and he’s shown that. We’re only just beginning to see the fruits of his labour.”

Jonathan Thomas says that Wales have hit “reset” after four days off as they set about trying to make a memorable Rugby World Cup campaign into something unforgettable.

Wales’ World Cup squad returned to the training pitch on Thursday with a public session watched by more than 1,000 people at Stade de Porchefontaine in Versailles.

Players and coaches were given time off to spend with their families after last weekend’s record 40-6 win against Australia that secured quarter-final status for the fourth successive World Cup campaign.

But minds have now switched to next weekend’s final Pool C appointment with Georgia – then a quarter-final against Argentina or Japan.

“Professional sport can be relentless,” Wales assistant coach Thomas said.

“Winning that Australia game was a huge moment for us in terms of qualifying, and having those days off was good to have that feel-good factor heading into time off.

“Professional sport is about being humble and hitting reset. For me, confidence comes from preparation and the work you do in the week.

“You can’t look back and say we are confident because of that victory. Confidence comes from preparation and the hard work.

“We need to hit reset, as the boys have done today. We’ve got a tough game next week, and we will be completely focused on that.

“The amazing thing I’ve seen with this squad is you have that edge in training, but as soon as they walk off the training field, there’s laughing, joking and they are taking the mick out of each other for what has just happened in the session.

“Getting that balance of a competitive edge and having really close relationships off the field is very difficult to strike.

“That is one of the real highlights of this campaign, going back 14 weeks since we came in for mini-camps. That chemistry is really powerful, and the balance between the edge and the family side of things.”

Thomas, meanwhile, has no doubt that an ability to strike the right balance comes from the top with the example set by head coach Warren Gatland.

“I played under Gats, and I take my hat off to him,” he added.

“He is probably one of the best I have come across in terms of being able to drive the players hard. He is very open and honest with them, with a no-nonsense attitude. The expectations are really clear.

“But he has also got this nurturing, kind side to him which is all about family and if players need to go home or need help.

“It’s quite a remarkable thing to have both abilities in your character. It all starts with him, and everything flows downstream.

“It flows through the coaching staff and the players, and eventually you end up with quite a content playing group. One, because they are fit and they’ve worked hard, but they are also happy because their families are happy.”

Local schoolchildren turned out in their hundreds to watch the Wales squad put through their paces, with players signing autographs and posing for pictures afterwards.

“Our whole experience in Versailles has been awesome,” Thomas said.

“Obviously, it’s a beautiful place, first and foremost, but we are here to train and train hard. The facilities have been great.

“The people have been incredible, really, and none more so than today. We really appreciate it. It has made a massive difference to us, how welcome we’ve been made to feel since being here.”

Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw accepts he may have to remain patient for opportunities at his third Rugby World Cup due to the “flying” form of positional rivals Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose.

The experienced 30-year-old has been a Test regular for a decade but his game time in France has so far been restricted to two cameos.

Leinster player Henshaw, who has 67 international caps, admits the peripheral role feels unfamiliar and is fighting to regain a starting spot.

He believes strength in depth is vital to his country’s aspirations in the tournament and praised the “outstanding” displays of Aki, who has already registered four tries, and Ringrose.

“He’s been brilliant, his body’s in great shape,” Henshaw said of the in-form Aki.

“He’s flying fit and he’s had a great pre-season, as has Garry. The lads are flying it, their performances have been consistent and rock solid and Bundee’s been flying in terms of getting tries on the board.

“He’s been letting us know that he’s near the top of the try scorers list, which we’ve been having a laugh about.

“They’ve been outstanding and for me it’s just whenever I get a chance to come in to make sure I put my best foot forward.”

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Henshaw was a late withdrawal from Ireland’s bench for the opening win against Romania as a precaution.

He then bolstered his side as a replacement in the subsequent success over Tonga before twice coming on against South Africa, initially in the first half while Ringrose underwent a head injury assessment.

“You start the week with the mindset of being as competitive as you can and making sure when we know the team that they’re prepared the best they can be,” Henshaw said of team selection.

“That’s definitely a role of the guys who are not in that starting 15, making sure we prepare the lads.

“But then on the flip side, whenever you get your chance, it’s being ready.

“Coming off the bench definitely isn’t something I’ve been used to for a while but it’s about making sure you give it your all when you get on and you positively impact the game.”

Ireland have been relatively injury free during the current campaign.

Head coach Andy Farrell is in the unusual position of having his three leading midfield options available, in addition to Stuart McCloskey and versatile backs Keith Earls and Jimmy O’Brien.

Two-time British and Irish Lion Henshaw acknowledges that has not often been the case in recent times.

“It’s a good point, there’s always in the past – Six Nations, Novembers – been one of us in or out due to injury or whatever,” he said.

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“Hopefully we can keep us all fit.

“But the quality we have, we’ve great strength in depth in those positions, even the likes of Earlsy being able to come in at 13 and Jimmy.

“The depth we have here is key for playing in a World Cup because anything can happen.”

Ireland lead Pool B thanks to their 100 per cent record but are still sweating on a quarter-final place ahead of next weekend’s crunch Paris showdown with rivals Scotland.

“Every time we play Scotland we know they’re going to come for us,” said Henshaw.

“Now we can see what it means to them and what they want to chase and what we want to chase in terms of getting those four wins.

“They’re going to come and have a go like they always do through (fly-half) Finn Russell and getting the ball to the width.

“They’ll have a plan and we’ll need to make sure we’re rock solid and we attack it.”

Javan Sebastian admitted to being “a bit overwhelmed” about the prospect of making his first start for Scotland at a World Cup after bouncing back from a “dark” spell working as a butcher when he feared his professional rugby career was over.

After failing to earn a contract in 2016, the Wales-born prop had to drop into the semi-pro ranks and got a job as a butcher in Carmarthen to make ends meet.

At that point, resigned to the likelihood that it was not to be for him at the top end of the game, Sebastian could never have envisaged he go on to represent Scotland – the nation of his father’s birth – at a World Cup in France.

“I was a bit overwhelmed when Gregor told me I was going to be starting tight-head,” said Sebastian, reflecting on the fact that – after six appearances for Scotland as a substitute – he will make his first start in Saturday’s World Cup Pool B match against Romania in Lille.

“I was quite surprised to even be selected in the World Cup squad. It’s a massive achievement to be selected in any squad, so to get a starting place is pretty surreal.”

After struggling to break through at Scarlets and then having an unfulfilling loan stint at Glasgow, Sebastian dropped out of the professional game aged 22 to become a butcher while playing part-time for Carmarthen Quins.

“That was a dark time,” he recalled, speaking from the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille on the eve of his World Cup bow. “It was after I left Glasgow, having been there for a year. I went back home (to Wales) to have my first-born.

“I took a year out of rugby and didn’t really end up having a job so I applied to be a butcher and play semi-pro.

“I worked in the butcher’s for about two months. I couldn’t hack it any longer than that. It was dark, not a nice place.

“I thought my professional rugby career was pretty much over, so I took a year out to reflect and get back to normal life.

“It made me open my eyes to what I could potentially do. Being a butcher or any other normal job is quite tough. I’m not saying that being a rugby player isn’t tough, but the real world is scary.

“I discovered normal life wasn’t for me, so I thought I would try to play rugby again.”

Sebastian was cajoled in that regard by his coaches at Carmarthen who felt he was too good to be playing at such a lowly level and helped him earn a second chance with Scarlets in 2017. He became a prominent figure at the Parc y Scarlets until joining Edinburgh this summer on a two-year deal.

“Playing semi-pro in Wales was pretty dark,” he said. “You go to places like Neath, Cross Keys away, when it’s raining and it’s seven o’clock at night and the pitches are deep in mud. It’s not a nice place to play.

“The coaches at the time were Craig Evans and Richard Kelly. They really pushed me on to try and go for more than what I was doing at that time. Richard was also a coach at Scarlets, so he really pushed me to get back in.”

Sebastian – effectively Scotland’s third-choice tighthead – feels his move to Edinburgh can help him progress further.

“It’s just another step on the journey where I want to project on to the next level,” he said.

“Edinburgh have a strong pack, so trying to play some expansive rugby within that pack will benefit me.”

Scotland srum coach Pieter de Villiers was full of praise for the way Sebastian has forced his way into contention for his first international start in a match Scotland must win with a bonus point to keep alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-final.

“It is a well-deserved start,” he said. “He’s had a great preparation period and is very well respected within the group.

“In terms of the set-piece, I think he’s one of the best scrummaging tightheads out there. You can ask any front-row player, they’ll always back Javan to pack down in a scrum.

“Playing at Edinburgh next season, it’ll be good for him to develop alongside his international team-mates. It’ll be good to have him closer to home and to see him grow.”

Scotland play their third match of the World Cup against Pool B minnows Romania in Lille on Saturday night.

Here, the PA news agency assesses some of the key talking points ahead of a must-win fixture for Gregor Townsend’s side.

Scots need big win ahead of Ireland

Nothing less than a comprehensive victory will do for Scotland as they bid to stay on course for qualification for the quarter-finals ahead of what is shaping up to be a critical showdown with Ireland in Paris next Saturday. The Scots need to win with four tries this weekend to get the bonus point they require, which is something they should do with little trouble given that they touched down seven times against Tonga last weekend, while Ireland and South Africa put 82 and 76 points respectively on the Romanians. In addition to getting the bonus point, a swashbuckling attacking performance and a heavy scoreline would be desirable to ensure a degree of buoyancy is maintained ahead of the Ireland match.

Big guns preserved

Head coach Gregor Townsend clearly has a big eye on next weekend given his team selection, with 13 changes to the XV that started last Sunday’s win over Tonga. Darcy Graham and Grant Gilchrist – who captains the side in the absence of the injured Jamie Ritchie – are the only two players in the line-up who started the opening game against South Africa, when arguably the first-choice XV was sent out. Big-hitters like Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Sione Tuipulotu, Zander Fagerson and Jack Dempsey have been left out of the 23, while regular starters Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones and Rory Darge will provide a reassuring presence on the bench.

Opportunities for fringe men

The starting quartet of Hamish Watson, Luke Crosbie, Javan Sebastian and Ben Healy are getting their first action of this World Cup after being idle for the first two games, while six others – Ali Price, Cam Redpath, Ollie Smith, Jamie Bhatti, Ewan Ashman and Sam Skinner – have been handed their first start of the tournament. With Scotland boasting a relatively established starting XV these days, this is an opportunity for several players on the periphery of the squad to showcase their abilities and try to push themselves further up the pecking order, possibly even playing their way into contention for the Ireland game.

The Vern Cotter factor

A familiar face will be attempting to put a spanner in the works for Scotland this weekend. Vern Cotter, the head coach who led the Scots to within a whisker of the World Cup semi-finals in 2015, is working as a consultant for the Romanian team at the current tournament. The 61-year-old New Zealander is sure to have plenty of insight on the Scots, having had three years in charge before being succeeded by Townsend in 2017. “I have been overseeing their preparation since this year’s Rugby Europe Championship and I will be involved as an advisor for the RWC, hoping the Oaks will evolve, play some good games and exceed everyone’s expectations,” said Cotter last month.

Scotland get first taste of northern France

After spending the past month sizzling in the heat of the south of France at their base in Nice and in Marseille – where they played their opener against South Africa – the Scots have encountered grey skies and a much cooler temperature since flying to the other end of France for this weekend’s match in Lille. The players have relished the change of scenery and a reprieve from the heat that ensures they will kick off on Saturday night in conditions far more like what they are accustomed to at home in Scotland.

Maro Itoje has emerged from a difficult period of his career confident that he can reach new levels of performance as England progress deeper into the World Cup.

Itoje revealed during this year’s Six Nations that he had been suffering from an underlying health issue – the details of which are undisclosed – that had impacted his conditioning.

It explained the below-par displays being delivered by one of England’s world-class operators as, although he held his own on the field, he was not the dominant force that had taken the game by storm.

But having benefited from the fitness work completed during squad’s World Cup training camp, there was evidence in his starts against Argentina and Japan that the 28-year-old second row is on the rise once more.

“I don’t think one is ever fully happy, no-one is every fully content with anything, but it’s definitely better being able to express myself physically,” Itoje said.

“During that period where it was a little bit more difficult to do that, it was a little bit more challenging.

“I had issues going on in the background which affected my ability to exercise and perform.

“And once we were able to get all those things aligned, I was able to naturally have a response from the training that I was doing.

“Having a beneficial response from the rigorous activity has allowed me to perform and play better.

“There’s no top player across any sport – whether that’s rugby, football, basketball, whatever – who has a plain sailing career, or a career that goes exactly how they wanted it.

“You can speak of any of the greats and they will probably say ‘I wish I didn’t do that’, or ‘I wish I’d done that differently’.

“I guess that whole period for me was my version of that, where I had something structurally wrong and I didn’t know it was structurally wrong until I was quite deep into it.

“To be able to persevere through that period and finally get a fix for that was great. But I personally still feel there’s a lot more to go and a lot more that I can contribute in a positive manner for this team and in this tournament.”

England have reached the quarter-finals as Pool D winners with a match to spare after Japan toppled Samoa on Thursday night.

 

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It continues encouraging progress through the World Cup that began with victory over Argentina despite all but three minutes of the match being played with 14 men because of Tom Curry’s red card.

Itoje excelled amid England’s act of defiance against their closest group rivals, who were routed 27-10 in Marseille, but the two-time Lions tourist insists there is more to come.

“It’s funny because people after the game thought I’d played well. I thought I played alright, I don’t think I played as well as what people were telling me,” he said.

“And that’s probably because I know where I can be if I’m properly firing on all cylinders.

“The games have been a step in the right direction for me but I’m not satisfied with that, I think there’s another level for me to get to.

“So hopefully Samoa and by God’s grace the rest of the tournament will be an opportunity for me to express that.”

Luke Crosbie revealed his pride at bucking the trend to emerge from a public school background and represent Scotland at a Rugby World Cup – but the flanker’s friends will ensure he never lets his success go to his head.

The 26-year-old Edinburgh back-rower grew up in the West Lothian town of West Calder, which is far from a traditional rugby heartland.

Crosbie’s love for the game, which he first got into while at primary school, has taken him to a level whereby – after winning five caps for his country – he is preparing to make his first appearance at a World Cup after being selected to start Saturday’s must-win match against Romania in Lille on Saturday.

 

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“Looking at my journey to get here, it’s obviously special for me and my family that I’ve come right through,” he said.

 

“At school, I don’t think there was anyone who played rugby, we didn’t have a rugby team or anything like that.

“To reflect on that and be sitting here at a World Cup is special for me and obviously my family have seen me go through all the stages. I’m just really excited and proud to be here.”

Crosbie knows it is more difficult to make it in professional rugby in Scotland if not educated at a private school. His relatively humble beginnings in the sport, and those close to him, ensure he will always keep his feet on the ground.

“If you want something you have to go for it,” he said, reflecting on his rise. “At school this is what I wanted to do. But not everybody knew you could do this as a job.

“When I went back to school, they said, ‘what do you do for work, though, what’s your job?’ Which is fine, I quite like that.

“None of my friends know much about rugby at all so when I chat to them they don’t know what is going on.

 

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“It could be the biggest game for Edinburgh or Scotland and they’ll be asking for a night out! And I’m like ‘you’re not following it at all, are you?’ Which is great. But it’s special for me and I’m just proud to be here.”

Crosbie was unavailable for the opening match against South Africa after suffering a rib injury in the build-up. Nonetheless, he has enjoyed his World Cup experience so far and is looking forward to his first outing on Saturday.

“Picking up an injury wasn’t great, but I’m totally fine now and I’m looking forward to the opportunity this weekend,” he said.

“I’m feeling really confident, the performances I have put in at Edinburgh throughout the season have been great. To get in the World Cup squad was great for me and my family.

“The support I get from my family is the same wherever I play. I could be playing a game for Currie at Malleny Park and they would be there.

“I played an Under-20 game in France for Scotland and my dad and uncle drove all the way down to watch my play. It doesn’t matter who I’m playing for, they’re always there supporting me.”

Kicking coach Dave Alred and fitness specialist Paul Stridgeon were found to have illegally switched balls during England’s 67-3 triumph over Romania on this day in 2011.

The pair were duly suspended by the Rugby Football Union from the Rugby World Cup Pool B match against Scotland.

The substitution of balls happened when fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was taking conversions. Stridgeon was involved in the delivery of a chosen ball for the kicks, while Alred was on the touchline, suspected of planning the activity.

Law 9.8.1 states the kicker must convert tries with same ball that was touched down, unless the referee agrees it is defective.

The pair failed to notify referee Romain Poite that they switched the balls and after an internal RFU review, the pair were banned from entering Eden Park for England’s 16-12 victory over Scotland.

An RFU statement read: “Those team management members took it upon themselves to substitute balls during the match in contravention of both the laws of the game and the spirit of the game.

“The RFU fully accepts that the action of those team management members was incorrect and detrimental to the image of the tournament, the game and to English rugby.

“The RFU has therefore decided to reprimand those team management members, to warn them as to their future conduct and to suspend them from participation in England’s next game, the match between England and Scotland.

“This suspension means that they will not be able to be in the stadium for that match in any capacity.”

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.

Japan, who reached the last eight for the first time four years ago as hosts, opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Pieter Labuschagne stretched over in the corner and Rikiya Matsuda converted.

A penalty from D’Angelo Leuila got Samoa, without captain Chris Vui through a late change, on the board, but Matsuda’s kick soon restored Japan’s advantage.

Michael Leitch added another try in the corner before Samoa’s Jonathan Taumateine was sent to the sin bin after a shoulder barge in the build-up.

Japan hooker Shota Horie was then shown a yellow card for making head-on-head contact as he stood up in a challenge with Seilala Lam, which went to the TMO for a bunker review but was not upgraded.

Samoa – whose final pool match with England is in Lille on October 7 – made the most of their man advantage, Lam touching down following a driving maul to go into the break trailing 17-8.

Samoa soon found themselves a man down when Ben Lam was sent to the sin bin after the TMO spotted a high tackle into the side of Labuschagne’s head.

Japan extended their lead as Kazuki Himeno was driven over in the corner, but the usually reliable Matsuda failed to convert.

Things then got worse for Samoa when Lam’s card was upgraded to a red before Matsuda again found his range to push Japan further in front at 25-8.

Kotaro Matsushima sprinted clear for what Japan thought was a bonus-point try, but it was ruled out for the slightest of knock-ons from Dylan Riley in the build-up.

Samoa, though, kept themselves in touch as Duncan Paia’aua went over in the corner, which Leuila converted from a tight angle only for fly-half Matsuda to push Japan clear again with another long-range penalty.

The 14 men battled on and pulled the deficit back again when Christian Leali’ifano dived over and then converted his own try, but Japan held out to set up a potential winner-takes-all showdown with Argentina in Nantes.

England’s defence may have turned a corner since arriving at the World Cup but Kevin Sinfield is still refusing to smile.

Steve Borthwick’s team are expected to win Pool D at a canter, in part thanks to a defence that has leaked just one try in three matches.

Even that solitary touch down was conceded late in the opener against Argentina when England played all but three minutes with 14 men following Tom Curry’s red card for a dangerous tackle.

It is a far cry from Borthwick’s first nine Tests in charge when the line was breached 30 times.

Sinfield, who oversees the defence, is satisfied with the progress made, but with greater challenges lying ahead in the World Cup, he wants more from his players.

“I’m never happy, I’m never happy. Across the board we’ve made some improvements and taken some steps forward, but there’s plenty to come from this team,” Sinfield said.

“My job is to be never happy and to keep pushing for more, but I see a group who want to get better and we are starting to see some pride in our defence. The zero against Chile was important for us and our mentality.

“I’m more pleased than I was, but I don’t want the players to do it for me, I want them to do it for each other and the people back home.

“The way they’ve gone about their business in the last three games in particular says a lot about the group.”

England’s next assignment is against Samoa and after a torrid warm-up campaign that produced three defeats in four Tests, Sinfield insists there is no appetite to halt their victorious run.

“We are here to win. We tasted enough disappointment and enough poor performances throughout August,” the Leeds Rhinos rugby league great said.

“We have tasted that and so we want to put our best foot forward against Samoa. We owe it to each other, to people back home and the supporters who have come here and been fantastic so far.

“We owe it to everyone involved that we throw everything at Samoa and we give it our best shot. We are very respectful of them, they are a great rugby nation and a fantastic country.

“There have been some very good games between the two nations in the past and we are looking forward to next Saturday.”

Gregor Townsend has called on his Scotland stand-ins to seize their chance to impress against Romania on Saturday and play their way into contention for involvement in what is shaping up to be a box-office showdown with Ireland.

The head coach has made 13 changes to his starting XV for the must-win match against the Pool B minnows in Lille this weekend, preserving several big guns including Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Jack Dempsey, Zander Fagerson and Sione Tuipulotu for a Paris meeting with the Irish that is likely to decide whether the Scots progress to the quarter-finals.

Javan Sebastian – with six caps as a substitute – will make his first start for Scotland, and the recently-recruited Edinburgh prop will be joined in the XV by his new club-mates Luke Crosbie, Hamish Watson and Ben Healy, who are also getting their first game time of this World Cup.

Lock Grant Gilchrist will captain the side in the absence of Jamie Ritchie, who is still on track to return against Ireland as he progresses through his return-to-play protocols after suffering a head knock against Tonga last weekend.

Townsend said that this weekend’s match is “absolutely” an opportunity for players to secure a spot in the 23 for the Ireland match.

“It’s hard when you’re training to show what you can do at the World Cup,” he said. “We put a lot on what players have done for us in the past and players have been training well, so we know they are in really good physical shape.

“But the best way to influence selection is to play well. The performance against Tonga was an improvement on South Africa and we’re looking to get better than we were against Tonga. This group have the opportunity to do that now.

“Saturday will be hugely influential. We’ve gone with a similar team now for four or five games. There have been one or two changes here or there, but within that the core of that group have played since the France home game (in early August).

“But the other players have an opportunity and they know this is the final opportunity they will get before we play Ireland.

“The decisions before South Africa, before Tonga, and going back to before the France home and away games, were tight already in a few positions, so if players play well it will be a much longer selection meeting on Monday night, I’m sure.”

Townsend feels Wales-born prop Sebastian, 29, has earned his first start after making a big impact on the squad since his debut two years ago.

“I think he’s probably been our most improved player throughout our summer camp,” said the head coach. “He’s worked really hard to get himself in a position where he can contribute physically outside of the scrum and he’s shown that in training.

“He’s actually won ‘trainer of the week’, or ‘mav (maverick) of the week’ as we call it. That’s something that’s voted for by the players and they’ve been really impressed by what he’s done in training.

“I felt the way he played against France in Saint-Etienne (as a replacement in August), both in the tight and the loose, showed that he was a player that’s got skills and can move well. He’s a very good rugby player. But the most important thing is his fitness. He’s the fittest he’s ever been.”

Romania have been annihilated in their first two pool games, losing 76-0 to Ireland and 82-8 against South Africa. Townsend is unfazed by the expectation on his side from outside the camp to deliver a similarly emphatic win.

“There’s always pressure or expectation when you play for Scotland,” he said. “You know you’re going to have to play your best rugby, that’s what that jersey demands of you.

“It will be a different game to what most of these players are used to. It’s not a Six Nations game and there will be a different way of defending.

“Sometimes we will have a lot of ball, and sometimes we will make mistakes because it’s the first time this team has gone out together, so the important thing is focusing on each moment and us playing as a team, and doing the work off the ball. Get that bit right and our game should flow much more on the back of that.”

Townsend revealed he has had discussions with World Rugby since his strong condemnation of the decision not to show a red card to Tonga’s Afusipa Taumoepeau for a dangerous high tackle on Ritchie last Sunday, a fortnight after he had been similarly critical of the decision not to send off South Africa’s Jesse Kriel for head-on-head contact with Dempsey.

“Yes, and I’m happy with the feedback process,” he said. “Obviously, I was very frustrated and disappointed with the actions at the time, and it wasn’t the only time I’ve experienced that in this World Cup, but you’ve got to move on from it.

“We’ve spoken to the officials of World Rugby around it and those are private discussions.”

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