S
SEARCH
M
SM
/esi/1339/6_A_4_373860_0/index.html?art_id=373860&ESI

Day 16 at the Rugby World Cup: Springboks look to keep their campaign alive

:Headline: Day 16 at the Rugby World Cup: Springboks look to keep their campaign alive: ID:373860: from db_amp
After losing to New Zealand, South Africa need to beat Italy in Pool B.
PA | 4mo

South Africa face a must-win clash with Italy at the Rugby World Cup on Friday.

The Springboks will look to keep their campaign going, which Ireland managed on Thursday with a bonus-point win over Russia, while Fiji also got back to winning ways against Georgia.

Here, the PA news agency looks forward to day 16 of the Rugby World Cup.

Kolisi relishing knockout clash

Siya Kolisi can't wait for the Springboks' clash with Italy (Brian Lawless/PA)

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi is relishing his side's clash against Pool B leaders Italy in Shizuoka.

The Springboks lost their opening match to New Zealand and despite hitting back by scoring nine tries against Namibia, they know anything less than a win over the Italians would end their World Cup dream.

Kolisi said: "We've got a really important game, and every game from now is a play-off game because, if we slip up, we are out of the competition.

"Italy are a good side who have beaten us in the past. In a way, we are fortunate that we have to play a knockout game earlier than normal."

Parisse wants Italy to give their all

Sergio Parisse knows what is at stake for his Italy side (Adam Davy/PA)

Sergio Parisse admits Italy have been thinking about this game for four years, with a maiden quarter-final spot secured if they win.

The Italians are unbeaten on top of Pool B, five points ahead of the Springboks, but they have won just once in 14 meetings against the two-time champions.

Parisse has urged his team-mates to give their all, saying: "We've thought about this for four years and now we are days away from it, so we are aware it is an important match for us.

"Each match has its own history and we'll see what happens on Friday.

"We don't have the pressure on us. They are the ones who will be feeling the pressure. We have 10 points and we've won the matches we need to. We have to sweat and give our all. We can't finish with any regrets."

Schmidt wary of Samoans

Joe Schmidt fears the conditions could work against Ireland (Adam Davy/PA)

Typhoons, stifling heat and even rumbling earthquakes have made the World Cup memorable from a meteorological point of view – and the conditions have got Ireland coach Joe Schmidt concerned.

Schmidt watched his side labour to a bonus-point victory over Russia on Thursday with a performance that suggested they might not have it all their own way in their next crucial clash against Samoa.

Schmidt said: "I liked the way we controlled the game in very tough conditions – we were maybe a bit loose with the ball at times in those greasy conditions and high humidity.

"We knew there were 65 handling errors in the two games previously and we maybe tried to make 65 ourselves.

"I've spent a fair bit of time in Samoa myself and I know how humid it is there, so they're going to be a little bit more acclimatised to them."

Flying Fijians back to their best

Fiji finally got the chance to show off their flair as they shrugged off defeats to Australia and Uruguay in a 45-10 cruise against Georgia.

John McKee's men might have been languishing at the foot of Pool D but their second half display both won friends and boosted hopes of a third-place finish which would guarantee them qualification for the 2023 World Cup.

Fiji's blazing second half wing-play in particular delighted McKee, who said: "[It was] a real arm-wrestle for the first, probably, 45 or 50 minutes, but to come home so strong and score some really good tries is very pleasing.

"It's great to see us scoring some tries out wide and showing our talents to the world."

Scots bemoan busy schedule

Scotland assistant coach Mike Blair has expressed concerns (Jane Barlow/PA)

Scotland assistant coach Mike Blair believes changes may have to be made to future World Cups in order to manage the increasing physicality of the game.

The Scots face a four-day double-header against Russia and Japan as they look to continue to bounce back from their opening defeat to Ireland and book their place in the quarter-finals.

Blair says either the tournament schedule should be increased or greater squad numbers should be allowed in order to prevent some nations feeling "vulnerable."

Blair said: "I think bigger World Cup squads would certainly help. It's a challenging position to be in.

"You leave yourselves a little bit vulnerable in some positions when you cut down to 31-men."

amp_article_373860 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-10-03 22:09:03:
html db last update - 2020-02-23 11:52:35 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool26251061154676
2Manchester CityMan City27183668293957
3Leicester CityLeicester27155754272750
4Chelsea2713594537844
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd27118841291241
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs2711794436840
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd27101072925440
8Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2791263832639
9Arsenal2781363936337
10Burnley27114123339-637
11Everton27106113641-536
12Southampton27104133448-1434
13Crystal Palace2789102432-833
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2787122441-1731
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton27610113239-728
16Bournemouth2775152643-1726
17Aston Villa2774163452-1825
18West Ham UnitedWest Ham2666143045-1524
19Watford2759132443-1924
20Norwich CityNorwich2746172451-2718
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Serie A Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Juventus25193348242460
2Lazio25185258233559
3Inter Milan24166249222754
4Atalanta BCAtalanta24136563323145
5Roma25126747321542
6Napoli2510693935436
7AC Milan2510692732-536
8Hellas VeronaHellas Verona249872824435
9Parma2410593230235
10Bologna259793840-234
11CagliariCagliari248883836232
12Fiorentina2578103236-429
13SassuoloSassuolo2485113839-129
14Udinese2576122137-1627
15Torino2483132743-1627
16Lecce2567123249-1725
17Sampdoria2465132643-1723
18Genoa2557132946-1722
19Brescia2544172246-2416
20SPALSPAL2543181944-2515
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.