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Whilst most eyes are fixed on the likes of Twickenham and the Stade de France, there is still plenty of rugby taking place amongst the T2 nations. This weekend saw teams attempting to put embarrassing scorelines behind them and the first round of the Final Qualification Tournament (FQT) to decide the last spot at RWC27. Here’s what happened…
Whilst most eyes are fixed on the likes of Twickenham and the Stade de France, there is still plenty of rugby taking place amongst the T2 nations. This weekend saw teams attempting to put embarrassing scorelines behind them and the first round of the Final Qualification Tournament (FQT) to decide the last spot at RWC27. Here’s what happened…
The first of the FQT games saw Samoa – who many are still shocked to see in this competition – face off against last minute attendees Brazil, who were subbed in after Paraguay were excluded for fielding and ineligible player. The disparity of player quality between the other 3 teams and Samoa, who have super rugby and Top 14 players on the bench, is stark - and that was clear in this match.
Unsurprisingly, Samoa walked it. They lead for 95% of the game, scoring 7 tries inside the hour mark (despite 2 yellow cards) before easing their foot off the gas for the final 20. Jacob Umaga, playing at fullback, registered 18 points in this one. Brazil did throw a few nice moves and won the territory battle 56-44 despite losing a desperate 9 out of 20 lineouts. Meanwhile, their first try came from an impressive set play.
However, they struggled badly in the collisions with less than 2 post contact meters per carry compared to Samoa averaging well over 3 and they achieved just 76% tackle success. 48-10 was the final score.
The second FQT game saw Rugby Europe 5th placed team Belgium take on Rugby Africa runners up Namibia. Namibia have been World Cup regulars this century but were well beaten in this one, being kept to just 3 points until the final five minutes.
Belgium lost the territory battle – probably thanks to conceding 17 penalties and 2 yellow cards - but showed up well in defence by limiting the Namibians to an average of just 1 point across their 11 22m entries. Namibia on the other hand missed 36 of their 152 attempted tackles and gave away 2 yellow cards of their own. 22-15 was the final score.
USA were looking to move on from their crushing defeat against Scotland by testing themselves against top T2 nation Georgia. This was a competitive game despite the Georgians being able to call on a host of their top players including superstar Davit Niniashvili.
Georgia’s 1st & 3rd try came from their ever reliable rolling maul but USA struck back quickly from close range and neat passing. The Eagles’ 2nd came from smart attacking kicking as Ninishavili had a rare off day in the air before magic footwork in the centres gave USA a 2 score cushion.
By 32 minutes though Georgia were back in front though slick attacks and the class of their backline. Carty did get USA back ahead with two well taken penalties but Georgia once again struck from close range to pass the 30 point mark. A couple more penalties kept the scores tight before the final minute saw another Niashvili inspired attack land the final score of the match. 43-30 is how it finished.
Hosts Portugal were looking to bounce back from a humiliating summer that saw them take 100 points from a rotated Ireland team. It took 21 minutes for the deadlock to be broken – a long range penalty goal from Uruguay – before a thrilling chip and chase from Portugal game them a slender 5-3 lead at the break. That lead extended to 8-3 immediately after the restart, a penalty taken after Uruguay committed a cynical infringement whilst defending a line break.
However, that was the end of the good news for Portugal as they failed to trouble the scoreboard again. The moment of the game came in the 53rd minute as Uruguay’s replacement prop Suarez Folch raced clear from his own half to give his side the lead. Finally, a smartly taken high ball in the 76th minute put some shine on the scoreboard for the visitors as they ran out 8-26 winners.
Both of these nations remain a mystery. Romania were totally embarrassed in the summer as they were thrashed all over South America whilst Canada shocked USA to qualify for the World Cup before reverting to their previous, desperately poor form for the rest of the PNC. The man who dragged them to the win over USA – Castres Tyler Ardron – was nowhere to be seen in this one as his side went down 12-0 by the 24th minute courtesy of 4 Conache penalties.
The Canadians did score the first try of the match with Flesch crossing in the 28th minute but that work was undone as Romania struck twice within 15 minutes of the 2nd half beginning. The battle raged on throughout the 2nd half with scores being traded well into overtime, but it was the Romanians who always had a 2 score cushion and they finished the game 31-21 winners.