England on Saturday overcame a potentially dangerous Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina thanks to the prolific boot of George Ford as Ireland welcomed back their dynamo Johnny Sexton.
England had recorded just four wins in 13 matches heading into the clash in Marseille and Argentina had stunned them in November last year.
It started badly for the 2003 champions after Tom Curry was red-carded for a clumsy clash of heads with Argentine fullback Juan Cruz Mallia in just the third minute, becoming the first England player in history to be sent off at a World Cup.
Photo: AFP
Ford stepped up to take a scrappy game by the scruff of the neck, kicking every single one of England’s points, including three drop-goals and six penalties, in a 27-10 victory to lift the pre-tournament tension in the Red Rose camp.
Ford is standing in for Owen Farrell, who is serving a ban for a dangerous tackle that rules him out of this game and the next against Japan, but on this evidence Farrell could have a fight on his hands to get the No. 10 jersey back.
“We have had a bit of a rocky buildup to this World Cup, but I think in the last 10 days there has been a different feeling to the place. It is only game one and we will look to build next week,” Ford told ITV.
Ireland, the world’s No. 1 ranked side, were able to select Sexton — so often their inspiration — for the first time following a six-month injury absence as they took on minnows Romania in the Pool B curtain-raiser.
Sexton’s errant kick handed Gabriel Rupanu the first try for Romania, but Ireland then flattened them with 12 tries in response to romp home 82-8 in Bordeaux.
Sexton grabbed 24 points, including two tries, to become Ireland’s record World Cup points scorer.
“I’m delighted just to get some minutes under my belt,” Sexton said. “We know there’s a much tougher task coming on Saturday against Tonga.”
Like England, Australia have had a rocky build-up to the tournament, but coach Eddie Jones earned his first win in six games with a 35-15 bonus-point victory over battling Georgia.
Fullback Ben Donaldson scored 25 points in just his fourth Test appearance to leave Jones hailing a “perfect” start for the two-time champions.
“World Cups are about taking each step,” Jones said. “If we were to plan a perfect World Cup preparation, we said at the end of the round one we want to sit there on five points and that’s what we’ve got.”
In the other game on day two of the tournament, Italy romped to a 52-8 win against Namibia in Pool A.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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