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2023 Rugby World Cup, Southern Hemisphere teams dominated the first two Quarter-Finals as All Blacks & Los Pumas are through while Ireland & Wales are eliminated

by Sports Benches

Wow!! Couldn’t believe what a Saturday it has been to kickstart the first two Quarter-Final matches of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. The day belongs to two Southern Hemisphere teams who will now be on its way for next weekend’s semi-final match (6am Saturday AM AEDT) against each other – All Blacks (New Zealand) & Los Pumas (Argentina).

Final score: Wales 17-29 Los Pumas & Ireland 24-28 All Blacks

ABs did well to not just get the ball rolling but respond well to Ireland’s fight both in defense and attack, which is brilliant to watch as they’re still alive in the hope of winning a fourth World Cup title. Plus, the Pumas may have only collected just the 1st-half penalty goal, but made a remarkable turnaround by spotting the isolated Welsh attack under pressure before the rewards are there quick smart as the clock ticks down. Credit to Michael Cheika for that tactical masterclass where he could be in a shot for another World Cup final but this time with the Pumas. And for the other two losing Northern Hemisphere sides, Wales fired off well but looked lost as the game goes on to the Pumas & World No.1 Ireland did their best to stay in the fight all along before they just couldn’t get past the ABs under pressure in the end. Wales will now look to stay on the up since Warren Gatland is back for another spell at the top job (Head Coach) while Ireland would want to come back better & win for it next time – having still not yet won a Quarter-Final match in the World Cup knockout stages before.

The tables will now turn to the remaining two Quarter-Final games tomorrow that will set up the 2nd semi-final next Sunday AM AEDT – England v Fiji followed by the Host Nation France v Defending champions Springboks (South Africa). Could we see a 2019 Final rematch between England v Boks? Will the Flying Fijians wow the English with pace en route towards their first ever semi in RWC history? or is it going to be France’s year still in the search of their first World Cup title after entering the tournament as one of the favourites for the Webb Ellis Cup? It all remains to be seen going into the 2nd week of Finals.

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2023 Rugby World Cup Free to Air Programming, Nine will now just show weekly highlights and the Final live following the Wallabies early Pool C exit

by Sports Benches

As the 2023 Rugby World Cups heads into the knockout stage this weekend with four quarter-final matches to kick off, it seems Nine will only air the big Final live now on Sunday 29th October at 5am AEDT since the Wallabies are out of the pool stages for the first time (3rd in Pool C thanks to losses against Fiji & Wales last month).

Other than that, it’s just going to be one-hour weekly highlights show on a Saturday afternoon (2pm tomorrow on the main channel) for the rest of this month. That means, all four quarter-finals, two semi-finals & the bronze medal match will only be shown on Stan Sport – which is Nine’s paid streaming platform where you can watch it without ads. I’m also sure that they will have their own on-air talent for each day of the finals matches as well.

If the Wallabies did make it into the last eight, then we would have at least have two quarter-final games on Nine as well as maybe both semis there and possibly the Bronze Medal match on FTA regardless of their results. But then none of this happened by surprise unfortunately & therefore, Nine will only just air the big Final in order to finish off this tournament.

Then the Rugby season is over for us here as we come back next year with one weekly Saturday night Super Rugby game, as well as selected Shute Shield and Hospital Cup Club Rugby games & the home Wallabies games during the second half of the year live on Nine & 9Gem.

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Fiji through to the last 8 v England despite a one-point loss v Portugal that saw them win their first Rugby World Cup match in France

by Sports Benches

We’ve just wrapped up the pool stage portion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup this morning ahead of the upcoming knockout stages this weekend with a wonderful Fiji v Portugal showdown that has determined both of the team’s final placing status in Pool C. Although Australia may had a week-long off after a difficult campaign, but all they can hope for is for Portugal to win by eight points or more in order to score a miracle QF meeting v England.

The first half saw both sides leave without a TRY as they share the lead pie going into the break 3-3. Portugal went on to snatch the lead later on while responding well to Fiji’s fightback with another 1-2 tries. Although Portugal have won the hearts of World Rugby on what has been their first ever win in RWC history 23-24. 

But despite the close loss & the 2nd half effort, Fiji has finished 2nd in this Pool table by a small points difference of five, even though they ended up at a total of 11 points with 3rd-placed Australia. That means, Fiji will take on England next Monday at 2am AEDT while Australia is out of the Pool stages for the first time in RWC history under Coach Eddie Jones.

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2023 Rugby World Cup, Wallabies finish their difficult Pool C campaign with the win v Portugal as they sit 2nd behind Wales for now

by Sports Benches

The Wallabies has returned to St Etienne for their 4th & final Pool C group stage match v Portugal earlier today where they opened the scoring account first with a three-point penalty goal before they fought back well from their opponent’s brief 1st half lead with three tries ahead of half-time 24-7. Portugal on the hand has made every serious effort all along which is their 2nd time playing in the Rugby World Cup since 2007 also in France, having made a few big scoring attempts to try & get themselves back on track.  Although they eventually found one at last later in the 2nd half, but the refs’ repeated NO TRY decisions saw the Wallabies hold on & extend their winning share via the bonus point 34-14. So Portugal are out now where they will end up 4th with one match left v Fiji next Monday. Speaking of Fiji, all the Wallabies can hope for is for them to lose during their week-long off if their small Quarter-Final chance can be possible v England on the 15th this month.

Nick Frost has made a huge difference in the Wallabies first half display on the Second Row at No.4 just like he has been all along as seen with the Brumbies in Super Rugby level. He’s two metres tall with excellent physical power to not just hold the opponents up through a brick wall but also muscles his way forward when his side has the ball before Nick earned an early rest not long after half-time at 24-7.

There’s another Brumbies player who never stopped working hard also for the Wallabies is Rob Valetini at No.8, having saw off a threatening Portuguese attack whenever possible. He’s got the pace, physical strength, backing up/communication & vision there to help find the Wallabies get past the opposition line with the ball where tries were made there. They too had another great year in Super Rugby where the Brumbies finished Top 4/semis, but here’s hoping they can get some support & create some robust competition in order to win trophies going forward – which is a clear message Rugby Australia must fix ASAP.

And Samuel Marques has been such a huge threat to the Wallabies own half, who has lots of experience playing in France as well for the Portuguese National side at half-back (No.9 shirt). He has great control with the ball while he communicated with his team-mates well in order to strike the best scoring chances possible; Plus, he can be a handy conversion kicker too. Yes, Portugal should’ve scored more than just the two tries if the ref didn’t deny them, but sure they will continue to improve over time – it’s the things we love to see in World Rugby.

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Wales big win v Wallabies sums up their early 2023 Rugby World Cup elimination from Pool C at an all-time low in Lyon

by Sports Benches

It was an alarming and unfortunate day for the Wallabies today where their big loss v Wales at the Lyon Stadium confirmed their elimination from the Rugby World Cup pool stages for the first time in history with one more match remaining v Portugal next Monday AM Australian Daylight time. Yes, the Wallabies may have scored back-to-back penalty goals in reply to Wales’s quick start with their opening TRY. However, not only Wales have stayed ahead with another few three-pointers at the same time (16-6) during the first-half, but they also went on to extend their winning share later on (2nd half) where Wales were absolutely too good (2 x tries + 3 x penalty goals & 1 x drop goal) through the finish line (40-6).

Nick Tompkins has lit up the Welsh attack alight in the No.12 shirt at Inside Centre thanks a quick start to the game followed by by a magnificent 2nd half display v the Wallabies. He just never stopped running as being tested to help out in defense, but his attacking play has been top-notch where the communication was there in order to grasp it out with the ball that led to tries here & there. Next up is reserve No.10 Gareth Anscombe, having made an impressive impact right away after he unexpectedly came on for the injured Dan Biggar earlier in the 1st half. His kicking game has been unbelievable that reflected his attacking creativity through the pitch while his conversions conversions look near perfect including that 2nd half drop goal & he never stopped working without a fight.

They have both been brilliant so far for Wales this RWC with more to come in the Quarter-Final v Samoa or Japan from Pool D sometime next month thanks to Head Coach Warren Gatland who is back from NZ for 2nd spell via the Chiefs Super Rugby side since December 2022.

And lastly, just no words to the Wallabies right now after the worst day ever in their entire existence. There is one person though who did the best possible & everyone should follow his lead in none other than Angus Bell who plays on the front row at loosehead (No.1). He showed lots of physicality with a sound defense including some pace when backing them up while having the ball in attack. It allowed him to catch the Welsh accountable earlier on that led to 2 x penalty goals thanks to his work rate via the towering reach that reflected the importance he has put in as seen both with the Waratahs at Super Rugby level as well as Internationally for a few years now.

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Wales vs. Australia result and analysis as Wallabies complete unbelievable comeback to win game for the ages

by Sports Benches
  • Match: Wales vs Australia
  • Series: Autumn International
  • Venue: Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales
  • Date & Time: Saturday, 26th November 2022 at 3pm local time/Sunday, 27th November 2022 at 2.15 am AEDT

Points Summary

WalesAustralia
Rio Dyer 51′
Jac Morgan 9′, 46′
Taulupe Feletau 21′		TriesLachlan Lonergan 77′
Penalty Try 72′
Mark Nawaqanitawase 57′, 67′
Folau Faingaa 33′
Gareth Anscombe 10′, 22′, 47′, 52′ConversionsNoah Lolesio 68′, 78′
Ben Donaldson 34′
Gareth Anscombe 18′, 27′Penalty GoalsBen Donaldson 3′, 14′
  • Wales & Australia ended their 2022 campaigns by playing one of the games of the year in Cardiff, as the Wallabies came back from a huge 21-point deficit to win 39-34, scoring the winning try with just 100 seconds on the clock.
  • The first-half started off brilliantly for Wales, after Jac Mprgan crashed over to finish off a move sparked by a speedy line break from veteran lock Alun Wyn Jones. Wales kept their good on the pedal and were soon over again, after Taulupe Feletau crased over out wide. The two sides exchanged two penalties over the course of the first-half, and Folau Faingaa’s TRY from the maul gave Australia some parity at the break, trailing the hosts by 20 points to 13.
  • The second half started in an even more rapid-fire style for the hosts, who crossed once more within moments when Morgan grounded at the back of a rolling maul. They shipped it wide for another try, which was finished in the left-hand corner by Rio Dyer. Australia had seen two men sent to the sin-bin by this point, and the Wallabies looked dead and buried with the score at 34-13 in Wales’s favor.
  • The Wallabies, however, came back, and came back firing alright. Winger Mark Nawaqanitawase had been relatively quiet for much of the game, but he burst into life in the second-half, crossing in the corner to give the Wallabies their first points of the second period. He soon scored their second five-pointer, darting from the back of a line-out to race clear and dot down again as the momentum began to shift. A trip from Wales captain Justin Tipuric reduced the home side to 14 men, and with the last 10 minutes approaching, the game only looked to be going one way.

Match Preview

  • In the first half, Wales began to spread their offense with Morgan’s try in the 9th minute. Wales had 20 points at half time. Although Donaldson scored a penalty goal in 3rd minutes. With that Wallabies started to get points. But they only scored 13 points in the 1st half. Wales had 20:13 lead in the 1st half.
  • In the Second half, although Wales showed an aggressive style of play. The Wallabies also showed a skillful style of play and the 2 tries that got the Mark Nawaqanitawase were outstanding. In this way Wallabies went to victory by collecting 39 points with 5 tries.

Winning Wallabies end brutal tour in perfect way

  • Christmas came 29 days early for Australia, as the Wallabies mounted the most heroic of heroic comebacks to turn that game around in the dying moments. Their fifth and final Test of an autumn campaign that has at times looked hapless ended in brilliant fashion, with several of their fringe players coming to the fore. Nawaqanitawase in particular announced himself to the world today, and with the World Cup on the horizon, results like these can certainly buoy Australian rugby going into 2023. 

What’s next for Wales?

  • Wayne Pivac’s Wales have now completed their autumn international schedule for 2022, having picked up a win over Argentina, and defeats vs New Zealand, Georgia and Australia. They are next in action at the 2023 Six Nations, where they start against Ireland in Cardiff on Saturday, February 4.
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GUTSY AUSTRALIA SEE OFF SOLID SCOTLAND

by Admin

Australia kicked off their Autumn internationals against old foes Scotland at Murrayfield stadium in a tight contest that saw them run out 16-15 winners.

Despite Australia having won 21 out of the 33 matches against the men in blue, they’d been the losing side in their last 3 Tests and were looking for a turnaround in fortunes.

FIRST HALF

The Aussies started strongly but were met by a strong Scottish defence that twice prevented a try in the opening 10 minutes by winning a foul. Tate McDermott was causing Scotland havoc with his direct running and offloads at key moments but it was home team that managed to get on the scoreboard first.

Ollie Smith, making his Murrayfield debut, made fantastic use of a blind pass by Blair Kinghorn to fly through a gap in the Aussie defence, darting past one defender before scoring a fantastic try. Kinghorn missed the conversion and the 5 point lead didn’t last long. Australia won a penalty just 3 minutes later and fly-half Bernard Foley made no mistake, cutting the deficit to 3 points.

Australia continued to put pressure on the Scotland defence, but again were met by a wall that refused to back down. As the half-time whistle drew close, a scuffle between the two sides broke out and Australia were handed the opportunity to take the lead. Foley, having scored the first kick with ease, maintained his 100% record in the game by splitting the posts and Australia went into the tunnel, 6-5 ahead.

Half-Time: Scotland 5-6 Australia

The crowd roared when the men from Scotland re-entered the field and they were duly rewarded for their enthusiasm just 3 minutes later.

Scotland’s Centre Mark Bennett put in a big tackle in the middle of the pitch and causing a spill. Kinghorn kicked the ball with his feet to good use, smashing it deep into the Wallaby half and chasing it down before it popped up into his arms for him to dive across the line. Kinghorn then scored the conversion, giving the Scottish a 12-6 lead.

Australia were struggling to keep control of the game as they’d done so well in the first half and small mistakes were starting to show. A penalty inside the Aussies 22 handed Kinghorn another 3 points, and Scotland a 9 point cushion. In the 55th minute Australia were given a man advantage after a dangerous tackle was deemed just a yellow to Lock Glen Young. The men in yellow looked to take advantage of the extra man and they did so fantastically on the hour mark.

Good movement and passing on the left-hand side of the field pushed Scotland back to their 22, then a quick switch of direction to the opposite side helped gave Australia’s captain James Slipper an easy try. Foley scored the conversion to make it a 2 point game. Australia’s fightback continued when they won a penalty on the right-hand side of the posts and Foley stepped up to score the critical 3 points.

With just 10 minutes to go and Australia ahead by a single point, fans of both teams were on the edge of their seats! Both teams were right at each other, ready to capitalise on any mistake the other made, knowing that any further score could possibly end the match.

With 2 minutes left, Australia were penalised for holding onto the ball in a ruck and gave Kinghorn the chance to win it. The wind was blowing hard and the kick was hit too wide to the left of the posts, handing Australia the win.

Full-Time: Scotland 15-16 Australia

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Jordie Barrett’s last minute TRY for the All Blacks has all but ended the Wallabies’ bid to take home the Bledisloe Cup series for the 20th year in Game 1 of 2 at Marvel Stadium

by Admin

By Daniel Cullinane

Twitter: @dcullinane02

Even after the defeat by the Springboks in the last round of the Rugby Championship, the Wallabies would go into this match with quiet confidence. With home advantage against an All Blacks team who have looked shaky in this competition and beyond, they would have felt that they could get on top of their old rivals.

New Zealand would be in a better place after a resounding win against the Pumas, but there is still a sense that they are unsure of themselves. The Wallabies would seek to test the All Blacks alleged fragile state. The Wallabies set the tone for the game by advancing on the All Blacks during the Haka, signalling that they were really up for this one. However, as the game got under way it was the New Zealanders who took the initiative.

After just 3 minutes, All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho powered over the Wallabies try line to open the scoring. Following a successful conversion from fly half Richie Mo’unga the score was 0-7. The men in blacks dominance continued and was rewarded with another 3 points from the boot of Mo’unga. They were building nicely. The Wallabies were yet to turn up.

After 17 minutes, some good work by the Australians from a lineout lead to a kickable penalty. Veteran Aussie fly half, Bernard Foley who was exemplary all evening opened his account with three points. Some slick handling saw Wallaby full back Andrew Kellaway score in the corner. But on closer inspection it was clear that he had been unable to ground the ball.

The Australian team were growing in confidence and starting to impose themselves on the All Blacks. They kicked to the corner after being awarded a penalty at the scrum. There was a short drive from the ensuing lineout and then a pick and go to score by Aussie No8 Rob Valetini. Foley made it 10-10.

With an All Black going to the bin, the momentum was firmly with the Australians. Marika Koroibete charged up the field and smashed into New Zealand wing Caleb Clarke. The Wallaby forwards then dismantled the All Blacks at the resulting scrum. Although the scoreboard didn’t reflect it, Australia were on top. But then, everything changed. The Aussies hit self destruct. A superb and powerful break by Clarke ended with a pile-up near the Australian try line. Indiscipline meant that Tom Wright and Darcy Swain were sent to the bin. The tables turned almost instantly, with the All Blacks being held up over the line. Half time came, the score 10 all.

The men in Black had clearly been told to take advantage of the 13-man Australia, and did so in spectacular fashion. A testing kick in behind and then some rapid passing saw Samisoni Taukei’aho score his second try of the match. Soon the Wallabies were back to a full compliment and picked up another kickable penalty. Foley rarely misses, making the score 13-17.

More indiscipline led to Wallaby scrum half Jake Gordon going to the bin. New Zealand soon took advantage with Richie Mo’unga dissecting the Aussie backline to touch down near the posts. He converted his own try, making the score 13-24 to New Zealand.

Beauden Barrett then reminded everyone what a world-class player he is with a superbly weighted chip over the gold defence that was collected by wing Will Jordan, who raced away to score. The All Blacks were in cruise control. Australia then fired a shot of their own down the other end with Andrew Kellaway running on to a flat pass from Foley to grab a much needed score. Foley converted. Minutes later, Kellaway was at it again. Some long passes stretch the New Zealand defence allowing the full-back to score in the corner. 27-31 to Australia.

New Zealand then extended their lead through a Mo’unga penalty, but Australia weren’t finished yet. A brilliant one-two between Koroibete and Pete Samu saw the back row forward score. Foley then drew the teams level at 34 all. A remarkable comeback by Australia.

When Australia were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, the replacement scrum-half Nic White stepped up and kicked the points for Australia to take them into the lead. As expected, the All Blacks fought back but then gave away a penalty 2 metres from the Aussie try line. Then a moment of controversy saw referee Mathieu Raynal award a scrum to New Zealand for Bernhard Foley allegedly time wasting.

The All Blacks saw their chance. They won the ball, and then moved it wide, allowing Jordie Barrett to score in the corner in the 80th minute. The kick was missed, but it didn’t matter. The men in black had done enough to win the match and retain the Bledisloe cup. Australia will say they were on the wrong end of a refereeing decision, and that cost them the game. Their discipline needs to be fixed before the return fixture. Final score 37-39. Great game.

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A series of lost penalties & ill-discipline has postponed the Wallabies bid to take home the Ella-Mobbs Cup to another week after England’s win last night

by Sports Benches

We are all set for a decider for the Ella-Mobbs trophy now going into the Sydney Cricket Ground next Saturday. England were well ahead with the Billy Vunipola opening TRY alongside a number of three-point penalty conversions into the goalposts. Although, the Wallabies scored two tries in between halves in order to try and stay in this game. However, it’s the messy discipline alongside a couple of missing key players have ultimately let them down. The final score is 17-25 to England as the Wallabies’ will have to wait a bit longer to take the series home, or else it will remain in England’s hands for another year.

It’s not been the night the Wallabies have hoped for in Brisbane. Yes, they got themselves up and running just in between the two halves when Taniela Tupou made a excellent threat with his packed muscle against the English going forward at tighthead (prop). He helped them score two tries on his first game back from injury – including one for himself right before half-time. Sadly, a lot of lost penalties with the ill-discipline cost the Wallabies plenty of points that was slipped away with England’s successive three-point kicks before it’s too late.

And congratulations to England with the win. They got themselves well ahead thanks to the Wallabies poor start with their ill-discipline, as well as their mis-aligned attack where they locked them up defensively. Not only Billy Vunipola was immense with his all-round prowess and execution at 8 but we also saw Owen Farrell’s near-perfect kicks into the goal every time they won penalties closer within the Wallabies danger zone.

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Rugby News, Top 3 players from the 1st Test between Wallabies v England in Perth

by Sports Benches

Samu Kerevi has never looked out of place since he returned to the Wallabies set-up a year ago, even though he currently plies his trade over in Japan for the first few months of the year. His physicality has definitely plowed over the England defense last night – especially in the 2nd half where Kerevi passes, pushes and smashes through so he can call his men to get the job done for him. It’s exactly how the Wallabies took advantage of a tied 1st half spell with England when they rectified their messy passage of play with patience, before these support numbers became more involved going forward made Kerevi’s life easier to execute which led to TRY after TRY, so England can’t catch them with little time remaining.

Next up is Folau Faingaa who made an instant impact off the bench in the 2nd half for Dave Porecki as hooker. He’s destructive as usual at line-out time when Faingaa kept the ball under wraps via the maul before his team-mates him figure out where to go with a bit of space & off he goes to extend the Wallabies winning margin. Speaking of communication, he also kept a great eye as support cover going forward to make sure the Wallabies are on the right track. And can we say that Perth can claim his own now? It’s because he just signed a two-year deal with the Western Force beginning next season. I’m sure a lot of Perth youngsters will look up to him after his amazing spell last night.

And Freddie Steward did well to push as he possibly can for England with very little time remaining at full-back. He’s got youth by his side at age 21 alongside an abundance of pace where he created two late TRY-scoring opportunities off the back of his attacking mindset. We saw him land the TRY assist to Henry Arundell on the far-left short side; A minute later, the ball came to him once again & found another gap where he called Jack Van Poortvilet for his help to finish it off for him that secured another late TRY. Sadly, it was too little, too late when England couldn’t stop the Wallabies in their tracks & fight them back more often like their last minute rebound.

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