5 standout matches of the Rugby World Cup finals in France

By Sports Desk October 27, 2023

Reigning champions South Africa take on fellow three-time winners New Zealand in Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five of the standout matches of a memorable tournament in France.

Wales 32 Fiji 26 – Pool C, September 10

The opening weekend served up a full-bodied thriller in Bordeaux. Watched by the Prince of Wales, Warren Gatland’s side established a 32-14 lead following tries from Josh Adams, George North, Louis-Rees-Zammit and Elliot Dee. Yet ferocious Fiji roared back to leave Wales royally rattled. Late scores from Josua Tuisova and Mesake Doge, added to earlier efforts from Waisea Nayacalevu and Lekima Tagitagivalu, moved the Islanders within striking distance. Semi Radradra had the chance to grab the crowning glory but heartbreakingly knocked on with Wales’ try line at his mercy in the final act of an absorbing contest staged in stamina-sapping heat.

South Africa 8 Ireland 13 – Pool B, September 23

Ireland propelled themselves to the cusp of the quarter-finals with a gripping victory over the 2019 champions on a raucous evening in Paris. Mack Hansen’s try and five points from Johnny Sexton helped settle a titanic tussle between international rugby’s top two teams at a rocking Stade de France. Cheslin Kolbe’s second-half score and a Manie Libbok penalty kept the Springboks in contention. But they ultimately fell short following a nail-biting finale as Jack Crowley’s penalty helped Ireland stretch their winning run to 16 matches to take control of the tournament’s toughest group.

Fiji 23 Portugal 24 – Pool C, October 8

 

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Portugal made history by pulling off a dramatic shock victory. Rodrigo Marta’s try two minutes from time allowed the superb Samuel Marques to kick the winning conversion and secure his country’s first World Cup win at the eighth attempt. Amid passionate Portuguese celebrations, Fiji’s players slumped to the turf at full-time but still scraped through to a quarter-final with England courtesy of a losing bonus point which condemned Australia to a first pool-stage exit. Having already been eliminated, Os Lobos had little to lose in Toulouse. Marta’s late intervention added to efforts from Raffaele Storti and Francisco Fernandes on a landmark afternoon after heavy favourites Fiji appeared to have avoided an upset thanks to tries from Levani Botia and Mesake Doge, plus 13 points from Frank Lomani.

Ireland 24 New Zealand 28 – Quarter-final, October 14

Ireland’s dream was crushed as their quarter-final curse continued with a heartbreaking defeat. Andy Farrell’s class of 2023 were bidding to become the first Irish team to reach the last four. But they trailed for most of an engrossing Paris contest and were unable to mastermind a comeback as the formidable All Blacks overcame yellow cards for Aaron Smith and Codie Taylor to send Ireland captain Johnny Sexton into retirement. Scores from native Kiwis Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park and a penalty try kept Farrell’s men within touching distance for the duration of a tense encounter. However, New Zealand underlined their rugby pedigree, with Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ardie Savea and the prolific Will Jordan crossing to pave the way for progression to a semi-final showdown with Argentina.

France 28 South Africa 29 – Quarter-final, October 15

 

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Hosts France crashed out in agonising fashion following a quarter-final classic for the ages. Just 24 hours after New Zealand’s thrilling victory over Ireland, Stade de France staged an epic encounter which somehow eclipsed it for drama and scintillating rugby. With Les Bleus captain Antoine Dupont returning from a fractured cheekbone, the two sides shared six tries in an opening 26 minutes seemingly played in fast-forward. Hooker Peato Mauvaka crossed between tries from prop Cyril Baille for France, while Springboks trio Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian de Allende and Kolbe were also on the scoresheet. Eben Etzebeth claimed the only try of a tighter second period to suck the life out of the partisan Paris crowd, with Kolbe’s inspired first-half charge down of a Thomas Ramos conversion proving critical.

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    The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions. 

    South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure. 

    Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.

    "One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

    "It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.

    "The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.

    "We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."

    South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.

    Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.

    England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses. 

    "It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.

    "It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."

    The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.

  • Upamecano: Mbappe shown 'lack of gratitude' in latest France omission Upamecano: Mbappe shown 'lack of gratitude' in latest France omission

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    The loss also saw Ireland tumble from atop the world rankings to third as the All Blacks repeated their World Cup quarter-final success from last year, and also marked New Zealand's first win on Irish soil since 2016. 

    Ireland had previously won 25 of their 26 home games under Andy Farrell, which was their longest run on home soil, with their latest defeat before last Friday coming against France in 2021 (13-15). 

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    "People are always very eager to jump on you when you’re down. It’s like in South Africa, nobody gave them a hope after the first Test," said Hansen. 

    “And what happens? They come back and win it. That’s the best thing about this group. The outside noise is outside noise and nobody knows what goes on in here, how hard we work and how resilient we are.

    "People can chat away. The people who know us know, unfortunately, it was one of those weeks [against New Zealand], but we’re ready to bounce back.”

    Ireland's display was littered with errors against the All Blacks, which included 21 handling mistakes, 30 missed tackles and 13 penalties conceded at the Aviva Stadium. 

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    “There weren’t really hard chats, just honest chats,” added Hansen on Monday's debrief. 

    "We came to the conclusion that it wasn’t good enough and also that it just wasn’t us.

    "So this week we’re looking to right a lot of wrongs and no better place to do it then back in the Aviva in front of a home crowd."

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