Rugby World Cup 2023 LIVE: Wales vs Australia score and latest ...
Facial injury may end French skipper Antoine Dupont's Rugby World Cup
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Wales could guarantee their spot in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals should they beat Australia in a crunch match this evening.
Warren Gatland’s side have eked out two hard-fought wins over Fiji and Portugal in the first two weeks to leave themselves on the brink of the knockout stages. A win in Lyon would guarantee their progression and likely see them top the pool.
Australia, meanwhile, could be on the brink of elimination should they fail to beat Wales. Eddie Jones’s side beat Georgia in their opening game but fell to a shock defeat against Fiji to leave their quarter-final hopes hanging in the balance and the noise around Jones potentially losing his job if the Wallabies suffer a first-ever group stage elimination is growing.
Follow all of the action from Lyon, plus get the latest Rugby World Cup odds here.
Yesterday evening then saw the tournament’s biggest fixture so far as defending champions South Africa too on Ireland in a mouthwatering pool-stage encounter.
But it’s Ireland’s narrow, 13-8 win over South Africa that will go down as this tournament’s first true example of vintage, pure Test match rugby. And it was spell-binding.
Read Luke Baker’s full report from the Stade de France below:
Ben Fleming24 September 2023 19:14
We have just under an hour to go until Wales and Australia take to the field, so let’s take a look back at some of the other action over the week. First, to the Stade Pierre Mauroy where England put on a dominant display to thrash Chile 71-0 with 20-year-old Henry Arundell the star of the show.
For Henry Arundell, nothing could break a sense of reverie. There are dream World Cup debuts and then there was this, Arundell becoming only the fourth Englishman to score five tries in a single match as Chile were put to the sword. Who knows what the future holds for a player still with years, but aside from a sip from the Webb Ellis Cup, this first experience of tournament rugby will surely not be topped.
Read more of Harry Latham-Coyle’s report from yesterday’s thumping win below:
Ben Fleming24 September 2023 19:06
Liam Williams has hailed the work ethic behind Wales’ transformation from Six Nations also-rans to potential Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists.
It is barely six months since Wales floundered on northern hemisphere rugby’s biggest stage. Their solitary win – a 29-17 victory over Italy in Rome – spared them the indignity of propping up the table.
The Six Nations campaign also unfolded against a backdrop of major financial and contractual uncertainty in Welsh professional rugby, factors which almost led to a player strike as Wales prepared for a Six Nations appointment with England.
“We’ve worked hard as a group, everyone,” said Wales full-back Williams, who wins his 87th cap this weekend. The pre-World Cup camps were hell, to be honest, but the boys have just been digging in. We are all on the right page.
“If you had said six months ago that we would have played two pool matches and been at the top of the group with 10 points we would have bitten your hand off. We have just got to go and back that up on the weekend.”
Read more of his thoughts ahead of today’s clash below:
Ben Fleming24 September 2023 18:58
Josh Adams says the chance to clinch a Rugby World Cup quarter-final place on Sunday has been a motivational force behind Wales’ preparations to face Australia.
Wales will guarantee a last-eight place if they topple the Wallabies in Lyon.
And they would do it with a game to spare, with their final Pool C fixture against Georgia a fortnight away.
“It is in our hands now, which is a nice feeling,” Wales wing Adams said. “It is all depending on us and how we perform.
“We are quite aware of the carrot at the end, if you like, and it has motivated us a lot this week, if I am honest.”
Read more of the winger’s thoughts ahead of the clash with Australia below:
Ben Fleming24 September 2023 18:50
It’s all over in Nice and Scotland have a much-needed bonus-point win against Tonga to kickstart their World Cup campaign.
Tries from Turner, Van der Merwe, Steyn, Darge, Horne, Kinghorn and Graham see Gregor Townsend’s men romp to a convincing 45-17 victory.
Ben Fleming24 September 2023 18:48
The vastly-experienced referee has taken charge of more than 100 international games, a record tally.
Having made his tournament debut in France in 2007, Barnes is back for a fifth edition of the men’s World Cup.
Find out more about today’s ref below:
Ben Fleming24 September 2023 18:42
Australia, meanwhile, make three changes to the side that lost to Fiji. Fraser McReight makes way for Rob Leota in the back row as Tom Hooper shifts to open-side flanker. Tate McDermott has recovered from a head injury and returns at scrum-half in place of Nic White while Ben Donaldson moves from full-back to fly-half with Andrew Kellaway filling in at 15.
Australia XV: Angus Bell, David Porecki, James Slipper; Nick Frost, Richie Arnold; Rob Leota, Tom Hooper; Rob Valetini; Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson; Marika Koroibete, Samu Kerevi, Jordan Petaia, Mark Nawaqanitawase; Andrew Kellaway.
Replacements: Matt Faessler, Blake Schoupp, Pone Fa’amausili, Matt Philip, Fraser McReight, Nic White, Carter Gordon, Suliasi Vunivalu.
Luke Baker24 September 2023 18:34
After a heavily-rotated side faced Portugal, Gatland has reverted to the same starting XV that narrowly beat Fiji on the opening weekend. Dewi Lake - Wales’ co-captain - is the only surprise absentee with the hooker missing out on a place in the matchday 23.
Wales XV: Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis; Will Rowlands, Adam Beard; Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan; Taulupe Faletau; Gareth Davies, Dan Biggar; Josh Adams, Nick Tompkins, George North, Louis Rees Zammit; Liam Williams.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Corey Domachowski, Henry Thomas, Dafydd Jenkins, Taine Basham, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Rio Dyer.
Luke Baker24 September 2023 18:26
When is Wales vs Australia?
Wales vs Australia is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Sunday 24 September at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV1, with coverage on the channel from 7:15pm BST. Registered users can also stream the action via ITVX.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the event, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are and also with the terms of their service provider.
Luke Baker24 September 2023 18:20
Has Eddie Jones’s day of reckoning finally arrived? During this entire Rugby World Cup cycle, both when he was head coach of England and now Australia, Jones’s mantra has essentially been ‘trust me mate, there’s a process’ with the implicit promise that there will be jam tomorrow.
Bad results were brushed off as a necessary evil in building towards the World Cup – you wouldn’t want to win matches by revealing innovative tactics and structures that might surprise the opposition if they were unleashed in the tournament itself, seemed to be Jones’s thinking.
Consecutive sub-par Six Nations and autumn international defeats for England could be swept away in service of the greater goal of lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy in Paris next month, until the RFU belatedly ran out of patience with the losing and fired him nine months out from the World Cup.
Parachuted in to salvage the Wallabies’ cycle, five consecutive losses, including a last-placed finish in the Rugby Championship, to begin his tenure was similarly waved away by Jones alongside the promise that things would get better tomorrow. Well, tomorrow has now arrived.
Read Luke Baker’s full preview of this evening’s game
Luke Baker24 September 2023 18:10
