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Rugby World Cup sides toppled in afternoon of Tier 2 upsets

Credits to WalterD Fotografia. 

A packed action weekend with some surprising results over in the Tier 2 world, as Spain, Romania and the United States of America were able to defeat Uruguay, Tonga and Portugal, respectively.

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Leones even the score with the Teros
Spain’s Autumn campaign started on the right foot, as the Leones were able to defeat Uruguay after an intense contest that saw the home side winning 33-24 in Estadio Nacional Complutense in Madrid.

Pablo Bouza’s men clicked from the very beginning, with fly-half Gonzalo Vinuesa threading the needle with ease and creating a handful of smart plays that put the Spanish over the try line four times.

Video Spacer

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Video Spacer

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Fixture
Internationals
Spain
33 - 24
Full-time
Uruguay
All Stats and Data

With Biarritz Olympique Kerman Aurrekoetxea scoring a brace, Uruguay had to contend with a single try just before half-time, in what was a lacklustre first half for the Los Teros.

However, the visitors turned the tables in the second leg of the game, with the Uruguayans picking up the pace and asserting a significant dominance in the set-piece. Guillermo Pujadas and Felipe Aliaga crossed the whitewash and narrowed the score to 27-21, with just 20 minutes to play.

Uruguay Spain
Credits to WalterD Fotografia.

Despite the slight slipping, Spain calmly got back to their senses and started to increase the gap thanks to three well-executed penalty kicks from Gonzalo Vinuesa, which was enough to take the win.

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This was Spain’s seventh victory over Uruguay, in a rivalry dating to 1987, with Pablo Bouza landing his fourth win since taking charge of the Iberian side.

Eagles vindicated
The Lobos welcomed the United States of America in the Estádio de Coimbra this Saturday, with the North Americans scoring a 21-17 win one year after having conceded their biggest loss against the Portuguese.

The home side scored the first three points, with fly-half Hugo Aubry converting an early scrum penalty. However, it was the Eagles who were in control, playing at their own pace and forcing the Portuguese to concede a series of mistakes that boxed them inside their 22.

After several attempts, San Diego Legion’s Paddy Ryan would push several tacklers aside before placing the ball on the ground, with AJ MacGinty adding the extras.

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Fixture
Internationals
Portugal
17 - 21
Full-time
USA
All Stats and Data

Pressured by their fans, the Lobos momentarily found their groove, fostering a handful of good attacking moves that would end with a Raffaele Storti try. The Stade Français wing dived in the corner following a swift offload from Simão Bento, allowing his side to get in the lead again.

With five minutes to go, the USA would score a second try thanks to a lineout mistake from the opposition, with Nathaniel Augspurger finding himself alone out in the wing to calmly place the ball.

In the last half of the game, the Lobos continued to have issues in the lineout and with the ball speed, getting caught consistently by a physical Eagles defence. It would take 22 minutes until the scoreboard was changed, with veteran José Lima powering through the advantage line to run and score Portugal’s second try.

With the game slowly coming to its closure, the home side felt comfortable enough to turn down the pressure which would be a mistake, as it allowed the Americans to believe a turn of events was possible.

After a quick lineout, the USA pack started to relentlessly carry the ball, forcing the opposition to concede several penalties without being able to hold the line, with Saracens hooker Kapeli Pifeleti scoring the last try of the game. MacGinty successfully kicked the conversion, and the score would remain unchanged until the final whistle.

After two games not being able to defeat the Portuguese, the Eagles were able to claim a precious win over the team that knocked them from qualifying to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, getting a well-earned vindication.

The Stejarii show their power once again
In what was one of the biggest shocks of the weekend, Romania pulled a sensational last 40 minutes to earn their second win over Tonga, the first in 11 years, with the home side triumphing by 25-15 in the Bucharest Arcul de Triumf Stadium.

The game started with Tonga basically on the lead, as wing John Tapueluelu had all the time and space to slot down the ball after a brilliant 30-meter pass from Zebre’s centre Fetuli Paea. Romania had to wait three minutes to add their first points to the scoreboard, thanks to a well-placed kick from scrum-half Alin Conache.

However, it would be the visiting side finding their way into the try-line once again, this time by wing Taniela Filimone, with the Pacific side taking advantage of playing against 14, due to a yellow card shown to Corrado-Romeo Stetco.

Fixture
Internationals
Romania
25 - 15
Full-time
Tonga
All Stats and Data

Tonga’s conditioning started to dip, and Romania would take the opportunity to impose some dominance from the maul, which would translate into their first try of the game scored by hooker Tudor Butnariu.

Patrick Pellegrini converted a late penalty to give a seven-point lead at half-time.

Romania took charge of the game from the start of the second half with Alin Conache and Hinckley Vaovasa running the show, with the latter scoring a spectacular try in the corner to put the Stejarii in the lead.

Alin Conache slotted in four more penalties, helping his side wrap up the game with a 25-15 victory.

After a dismal Rugby World Cup performance and a lukewarm Men’s Rugby Europe Championship season, the Romanians seem to be back to their best with David Gérard earning his fourth win since taking control of the eastern European side.

In other results: 

Hong Kong defeated Brazil 23-10 at the Hong Kong Football Club Stadium.
Chile dominated Canada 44-14 at Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf.
The match between Netherlands and Zimbabwe was cancelled.
Ukraine defeated Slovakia 135-13 at Štadión PFK Pieštiany.
Kenya edged out Uganda 27-25 at RFUEA Ground.
Czech Republic beat Croatia 49-26 at Marketa Stadium.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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