Another important weekend of rugby is behind us as we now know who the top four seedings will be for the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool Allocation Draw. For some it's great news, while others are slipping down the list, but have another important week ahead.
It's no surprise that the All Blacks retain the number one position that they've held since 2009. South Africa stay in second place while the Wallabies are in third. France will be pleased to have secured fourth spot, despite being tested by Samoa.
image: IRB.com
The pool allocation draw takes place on December 3rd. As it stands, the bands are as follows:
Band 1: New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, France
Band 2: England, Ireland, Wales, Samoa
Band 3: Argentina, Italy, Tonga, Scotland
- Full explanation
- Full IRB rankings
As with last week, all the big matches of the weekend are now archived with highlights and full match replays. Below is a quick recap, including all the links you need to get up to speed.
| England vs South Africa The Springboks finished their northern hemisphere tour unbeaten after a narrow 16-15 victory over England at Twickenham. Willem Alberts scored the only try of the game in freakish circumstances. England pushed at the end, but South Africa held their nerve. Highlights | Full Match | |
| Italy vs Australia Italy came within inches of recording a draw with the Wallabies after a Luciano Orquera penalty kick went wide with a minute left on the clock. The 22-19 Wallaby win came about through another Nick Cummins try earlier in the game. Highlights | Full Match |
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| Ireland vs Argentina Ireland scored seven tries and four in the first half, including a brace each for Jonathan Sexton and Tommy Bowe as they beat Argentina 46-24. The win places them firmly in the second band ahead of the pool allocation draw. Highlights | Full Match |
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| Wales vs New Zealand It started controversially and there was a flurry of excitement for the home fans in the second half, but the result was never in doubt after the All Blacks led 33-0, and eventually left Cardiff with a 33-10 win. They face England at Twickenham next. Highlights | Full Match |
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| France vs Samoa Samoa have shown that they are a serious force to be reckoned with as they backed up their good win over Wales with an impressive performance against France. The home side triumphed 22-14 in the end thanks to three Freddie Michalak penalties in the final quarter. Highlights | Full Match |
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| Scotland vs Tonga Tonga produced the upset of the weekend, beating Scotland 21-15 despite having players three players sinbinned. Andy Robinson has since resigned as Scotland coach. They are now ranked 12th in the world, while Tonga are up to 11th after their great win. Highlights | Full Match |
The two sections that are linked to in this post: Full Matches | End of Year Tours