We bring you the top Rugby World Cup News bites for the week of the 14th of October.
The World Cup quarter-finals are now a thing of the past. Darry Worthington looks at all of the fallout from the four knockout games as well as the possible retirement of a superstar in the making.
Photo Copyright Steve Haag Sport – Hollywoodbets
Brave Blossoms Bow Out
The Rugby World Cup quarter-finals concluded this Sunday with the host nation Japan bowing out with a spirited display. While they were unable to deal with South Africa’s physicality during the second-stanza, the host nation gave a great account of themselves during the first half and went into the sheds down by just two points.
The 26-3 defeat is something of a bitter pill to swallow for Japanese rugby fans but they can be proud of their side who toppled both Ireland and Scotland on their way to becoming the first Asian nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals. This feat has not gone unnoticed with many a rugby pundits suggesting the Japanese should now be considered a tier-one nation.
Dr Kenki?
One of the stars of the Japanese campaign, Kenki Fukuoka, may have played his last game in a ‘Brave Blossoms’ jersey with reports surfacing that the flying winger is set to give up the game and attend medical school.
Fukuoka comes from a long line of doctors and is said to be extremely keen on carrying on that lineage.
France, Ireland and Australia Leaving Japan on a Jet Plane?
It was always going to be a disappointing weekend for a number of teams and while the Irish and Australians will be sad to bow out with whimpers against New Zealand and England, the side that will be deep in the gutters at the moment is the French.
Le Bleu had a massive opportunity to book a semi-final berth as they raced to a big first-half lead. A moment of madness from lock Sebastian Vahaamahina, who received a red card for elbowing Aaron Wainright, gifted the advantage to the Welsh who ended up edging the game 20-19 courtesy of a late converted Ross Moriarty try.
Referees in the Spotlight Again
There were once again a few dodgy old calls across all of the games. In fact, there are actually far too many to list. While it’s extremely hard being an official, what fans want is consistency and that is something we have not got during this World Cup. Hopefully, the officiating teams up their games come the semi-finals as this truly special World Cup does not need another major reffing mistake.
Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets
