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24

2019 England Through To France Sneak Past Tonga To
Book Their Place In Quarterfinals
9th, France secured
October Quarterfinals With their place in the

World Cup quar-

| Win Over Argentina ter-finals with a
23-21 victory over
EXAMINER corner but once Benjamin K u m a m o t o
at
the
Tonga
Stadium.
France
will
Urdapilleta had landed a penal-
IRISH ty, England responded when a now face a
shootout with England next Saturday to determine who will fin-
driving maul provided the plat-
form for Ford to send May ish top of Pool C.
over. Virimi Vakatawa and Alivereti Raka went over for tries for
In a worrying sign for France, with Romain Ntamack booting 13 points. Sonatane
Argentina, Ford had expertly Takulua, Malietoa Hingano and Zane Kapeli scored the Tonga
exploited a two-on-two attack tries.
and their concern escalated Ntamack kicked France into an early lead after Tonga were
when they were driven back- penalized for offside.
wards at a scrum. And two minutes later they went over for the opening try
Captain Pablo Matera was when they turned the ball over in their own half before advanc-
warned by Owens for a late ing forward and working it wide to Raka, who sent center
tackle on Ben Youngs which Vakatawa in for the score.
incensed his former Leicester Ntamack converted and then missed another shot at goal
team-mate and sparked a large before France went in for a second try.
brawl. Scrum-half Baptiste Serin took a quick tap penalty and fed
Lavanini was not so lucky, Raka and he kicked the ball ahead, collected and touched down,
however, as his high tackle on with Ntamack converting from out wide to put France 17-0 up.
Farrell in which he failed to Tonga got back into the game shortly before the interval with
nglandcapitalizedonTomas Tom Curry moved from wrap his arms around the Lion the help of the TMO after Takulua was judged to have ground-
Lavanini’s dismissal to blindside flanker to cover and was inevitably punished by a ed the ball amid some fierce French defense.
Esecure their place in the the tenacious Lewis Ludlam red card. France thought they had a third try from flanker Charles
World Cup quarter-finals with a stepped off the bench to bring The drama deepened as Ollivon but the crucial pass from Sebastien Vahaamahina was
comfortable 39-10 victory over renewed energy, while there Manu Tuilagi was sanctioned forward.
And Tonga went straight up the other end and got a try of
ArgentinaatTokyoStadium. were comebacks for Mako with only a penalty when tak-
The Pumas were forced to Vunipola and Jack Nowell – ing out Emiliano Boffelli – but their own through Hingano.
play 63 minutes with only 14 who made their first appear- Argentina seemed inspired by Cooper Vuna’s kick ahead bounced kindly into the hands of
men after Lavanini was sent off ances at Japan 2019. the odds tilting against them. Hingano, who gathered and powered over the line and
by referee Nigel Owens for a Nowell marked his first out- Instead of wilting, they Takulua’s conversion brought them within three points at 17-14.
Ntamack then booted another two penalties to give France
high challenge in which he ing since starring at last season’s repeatedly attacked England
struck Owen Farrell’s jaw with Premiership final with a trade- with high energy but Eddie some breathing space heading into the final 20 minutes.
his shoulder. mark tackle-busting try to put Jones’ men were happy to soak Damian Penaud had a try disallowed by the TMO for France
It was the fifth red card of a his ankle and appendix issues up the pressure knowing they after Maxime Medard knocked on in the build-up.
Tonga got a third try right at the death when referee Nic
tournament that is being played firmly behind him. would soon capitalize on tiring Berry played a penalty advantage and Latiume Fosita kicked
against the backdrop of World Questions will be asked why legs.
Rugby’s crackdown on danger- Farrell was not sent for an HIA That moment came earlier wide for flanker Kapeli to gather and score in the corner.
ous tackles and the second in after being flattened by than expected when successive Fosita added the extras but Tonga could not gather the ball
which Farrell was the victim Lavanini and the Saracens cen- carries by May followed by a from the kick-off and France held on for the victory. C
following the dismissal of the ter endured a wretched after- forward barrage on the line cre-
USA’s John Quill in similar cir- noon from the kicking tee, ated space for Daly to score All Blacks Destroy Namibia In Tokyo
cumstances. missing his first four attempts at before Youngs scampered over N e w
After showing early signs of goal before successfully adjust- in first-half added-time. Z e a l a n d ’ s
using the setback to mount ing his sights. Five minutes after the inter- power and class
meaningful resistance, England have now won val and Argentina seemed a e v e n t u a l l y
Argentina fell away as England their last 10 meetings with spent force as Tuilagi took a shone through
attacked with width, Jonny Argentina, whose noisy and hard line into heavy traffic, as they wore
May and Elliot Daly helping colorful fans cheered wildly as opening a gap through which down brave
themselves to tries. they made a swashbuckling Ford accelerated to touch Namibia 71-9 in
When the superb George start in pursuit of the upset that down. Tokyo.
Ford raced over shortly after would keep their own quarter- England had emptied their Namibia bat-
half-time it was all over for the final hopes alive. bench and taken their foot off tled and
Pumas, who are effectively out Matias Moroni was the the pedal. Ford’s intervention matched the All
of the World Cup after suffer- source of the first danger was their only score until Blacks early on
ing a second defeat in Pool C. moment as turnover ball was Nowell crossed almost half an and New Zealand led only 10-9 after half an hour before stepping
A cloud hung over fed their little wing and he hour later, with a Moroni up their game to break clear and run in 11 tries as they won the
England’s most impressive vic- raced into space, only for May touchdown dividing their tries. last 50 minutes 61-0.
tory in Japan, however, after to win the chase for his chip But Jones’ men finished with Sevu Reece, Anton Lienert-Brown and Ben Smith all crossed
bulldozing number eight Billy ahead. a flourish when Luke Cowan- for a pair of tries, with Angus Ta’ava, Joe Moody, Sam
Vunipola failed to appear for Pumas pressure was ramped Dickie was swept over by a Whitelock, Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara also touching down.
the second half due to concerns up as Santiago Carreras was driving line-out and Farrell con- Barrett added eight conversions for a personal haul of 21
over his left ankle. stopped just short of the left verted. C points. C