Rugby World Cup: Fiji beats Australia for first time since 1954; Boks, England win

SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — Fiji defeated Australia 22-15 for the first time in 69 years and sent a jolt of joy rippling through the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.

The Fijians had to win to stay in the hunt for their first quarterfinal in 16 years, and lived to fight on while putting the heat back on Wales and Australia, who meet next Sunday. One of the trio won't make it out of Pool C.

Famed for being rugby's greatest ad-libbers, Fiji put the razzle-dazzle away and won in a very un-Fijian traditional way: Strong set-piece, breakdown domination, hard yards by the forwards, brick-wall defence, and relentless commitment for 80 minutes.

The Fijians were disciplined, composed and clinical in a heavily defensive game of few chances.

This result was not on the scale of Japan beating South Africa in 2015 or that much of an upset. This result was coming. Fiji crushed the Pacific Nations Cup. It pushed France close and toppled England at Twickenham in the warmups, then would have beaten Wales last weekend with even an ounce of luck in their pool opener.

Australia has brought to the Rugby World Cup its youngest squad in 20 years, a squad still learning how to win. A Fiji side that has been around the block several times gave the Wallabies a lesson that the Australians had given the Fijians in their previous 18 matches dating to 1961.

Australia badly missed three key injured players — captain Will Skelton, vice captain Tate McDermott and tighthead Taniela Tupou — but the Fijians had the majority backing of the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard crowd, who cheered every turnover and penalty for Fiji.

And they had lots to cheer.

Australia gave up 18 penalties, 11 at the breakdown.

Fiji put four of those penalties between the posts to lead 12-8 at halftime thanks to an unexpected goalkicker who enjoyed a dream start. Simone Kuruvoli, who rarely kicks for the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby, was picked ahead of Frank Lomani and nailed all four of his penalties at goal, plus the sideline conversion of Josua Tuisova's try.

Kuruvoli limped off and was replaced by Lomani who made only one of his three goalkicks, but it was enough.

Australia scored two tries, from smart thinking by Mark Nawaqanitawase in the first half and replacement wing Suliasi Vunivalu in the second to earn a losing bonus point that could be important.

ENGLAND 34, JAPAN 12

NICE, France (AP) — England first wore Japan down then scored a bizarre try and rolled to a 34-12 win and a second straight victory at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.

With Japan trailing only 13-12 nearing the hour mark, the odd try gave England breathing space.

Flyhalf George Ford’s pass glanced off prop Will Stuart’s arm backwards and ricocheted forwards off prop Joe Marler’s mohawk into the grateful hands of captain Courtney Lawes who walked in between the posts. Ford's conversion made it 20-12.

Moments later, Japan cut through England's defence but knocked on with the line in sight and momentum was lost. England's third try soon followed, when Ford sent a clever crosskick from right to left and fullback Freddie Steward caught it and twisted into the corner.

Good work from right winger Jonny May created space and the ball was quickly moved to the middle, where center Joe Marchant went over for the bonus-point fourth try.

Coach Steve Borthwick's England is not playing well and kicking too much, but is in pole position to win Pool D.

England's first try in the 24th minute, thanks to more fluky touches, went to No. 8 Lewis Ludlam. He was one of three changes by Borthwick to the side which beat Argentina 27-10 with 14 men for nearly the whole game following Tom Curry's red card. Ford scored all of England's points then and added 14 more against the Brave Blossoms.

Ford and opposite flyhalf Rikiya Matsuda traded early penalties, either side of Japan fullback Semisi Masirewa limping off injured after being clobbered kicking away.

Humid conditions in southern Nice frazzled the thinking and Ford got away with messing up his clearance kick midway through the first half. Scrumhalf Alex Mitchell just about covered as the ball bounced perilously close to the right corner.

Then, an England offside nearly led to a try when Japan kicked ahead but knocked on. Still, Matsuda's penalty put Japan ahead.

Very briefly.

A Ford kick pinned them back, Japan botched its own lineout catch and slapped the ball to England, and Ludlam burrowed over for a converted score.

After Matsuda closed the gap following a sloppy error by May, the steady boot of Ford to put the Red Roses 13-9 up.

A scrappy start to the second half saw little to suggest England or Japan would spark their attacking game.

It was attritional and gritty, with kickers ticking the scoreboard along. Matsuda's fourth penalty made it a one-point game once more with 25 minutes to play.

Then came the bizarre Lawes try that changed the game.

Flanker Michael Leitch broke Japan’s record with his 15th Rugby World Cup game, but otherwise they had little to cheer.

England faces Chile next Saturday in Lille while Japan, which opened with a sluggish 42-12 win against Chile, plays Samoa on Sept. 28 in Toulouse.

SOUTH AFRICA 76, ROMANIA 0

BORDEAUX, France (AP) — All of South Africa's plans came together at the Rugby World Cup on Sunday.

The first objective was achieved in a thumping 76-0 win over underdog Romania, with hat tricks by scrumhalf Cobus Reinach and wing Makazole Mapimpi among the Springboks' 12 tries without reply in Bordeaux.

The Springboks had the first four of their tries and a bonus point inside 12 minutes, and Reinach sniped from close-in for his third try in the 24th minute to just miss his own record for the fastest hat trick at the Rugby World Cup. He set that four years ago with three in 20 minutes against Canada.

South Africa went over five times in the first half and seven times in the second to dismantle the underdog Romanians in a Pool B match that was one-sided from the start.

Away from the convincing result, the defending champion also made big gains with a series of experiments. At least one of them might have a significant impact for the business end of the tournament, starting with South Africa's next pool game, a huge showdown with top-ranked Ireland next weekend.

Grant Williams, a scrumhalf playing as a starting wing against the Romanians, showed his searing pace to collect two tries in the second half. Faf de Klerk, yet another scrumhalf showing his versatility, came on as flyhalf and ran the Springboks backline for the last 24 minutes.

And Deon Fourie, a flanker who was switched to reserve hooker, came off the bench to mark his Rugby World Cup debut at the age of 36 with a try in the middle of a rolling maul two minutes after he arrived at halftime. Fourie also hit his lineout jumpers and was in the midst of the scrum that won a penalty try soon after.

That might be a significant detail of South Africa's powerful and widely expected win considering the loss of Malcolm Marx to a tournament-ending injury in the week.

Bongi Mbonambi, who started and was captain against Romania, is the only specialist No. 2 in the squad. Fourie, once a hooker in the early days of his career, might be expected to back up Mbonambi for the rest of the tournament with strong speculation that coach Jacques Nienaber is about to call up flyhalf Handre Pollard and not a hooker as an injury replacement for Marx.

Another flanker, Marco van Staden, has also been practicing at hooker and threw into the South Africa lineout for the last 10 minutes.

Against Romania, South Africa made 14 player changes to the team that ran on for its opening 18-3 win against Scotland last weekend but still started with eight Rugby World Cup winners from the 2019 squad, including Reinach and Mapimpi.

Reinach darted off the back of a scrum, threw a dummy and drifted through a gap for the first try in the third minute and the Springboks were away. Mapimpi had his first in the seventh when cutting back in from the left wing to take a pass from fullback Willie le Roux.

After Reinach's second, flyhalf Damian Willemse, the only surviving starter from Scotland, stepped and burst down the middle for the bonus-point try and 26-0 as the clock hit 12 minutes.

Going faster than a point a minute, South Africa was slowed by a burst of torrential rain from midway through the first half.

Romania had one of its best moments in that downpour when center Taylor Gontineac made as good a run as his team had all day down the right wing. Gontineac's father, Romeo, is a former Romania captain who played when the teams last met at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

The French skies cleared at halftime allowing South Africa to find its rhythm again, and Fourie made his immediate impact, followed by a penalty try, a double by Williams, two more from Mapimpi and a breezy 50-metre run by le Roux to cap the victory.