Skills, strength, jubilation and heartbreak
Tonga v Namibia
In front of a capacity crowd at Exeter’s Sandy Park, it was clear that neither side wanted a narrow, forward-orientated game, and the outcome was a thrilling clash, which Tonga eventually claimed, running out 35-21 winners. A first ever World Cup win still eludes Namibia, but they scored three tries in a match at the tournament for the first time and will take plenty of positives from the game. Full set of images from the match
Hale T Pole of Tonga fends Chrysander Botha of Namibia
Soane Tonga’uiha of Tonga in action at a scrum
Telusa Veainu of Tonga dives for the try-line
Twenty two stone Opeti Fonua of Tonga takes on the Namibia defence
Wales v Fiji
Wales put in a solid shift at their home patch in Cardiff, just about securing a win against a Fiji side that improved in extraordinary fashion as the game went on. Three matches and three victories saw Wales climb to the top of Pool A and keep the pressure on their opponents. Wales captain Sam Warburton said the 23-13 World Cup win was one of the hardest games of his career. Full set of images from the match
Campese Ma’afu of Fiji gets emotional during the national anthems
Leone Nakarawa of Fiji wins the ball at a lineout
Metuisela Talebula of Fiji is tackled by Alun Wyn Jones of Wales
Aseli Tikoirotuma of Fiji gives thumbs up to the crowd after the match
New Zealand v Georgia
New Zealand’s 43-10 win over Georgia may have earned them qualification for the quarter-finals but it was the underdogs who left the field with all the plaudits. As expected, the defending champions had too much for their opposition in the first meeting between the sides, scoring seven tries, but errors cost them far more. A scrum in reverse and a litany of errors from the All Blacks showed they had plenty of improving to do before the knockout stages. Full set of images from the match
Sam Whitelock of New Zealand rises high to win lineout ball
Brodie Retallick of New Zealand wrestles with Giorgi Chkhaidze of Georgia at a maul
Malakai Fekitoa of New Zealand takes on the Georgia defence
Levan Datunashvili of Georgia congratulates team-mate Giorgi Begadze on a strong game
England v Australia
Eighty thousand screaming fans were soon stunned into silence as Australia put hosts England to the sword in what was deemed a must win clash for Stuart Lancaster’s men. Dominating every aspect of the game and led by star performers Bernard Foley, Michael Hooper and David Pocock, the Wallabies provided England the embarrassing honour of being the first host nation to be knocked out at the pool stages. Pool A was always was going to have a high profile casualty, and Lancaster will rue the lapse in concentration the week before. Full set of images from the match
The England team huddle together prior to kick off
George Ford of England kicks for touch
Nick Easter of England is tackled by David Pocock of Australia
David Pocock of Australia celebrates the win with supporters in the crowd
Argentina v Tonga
Argentina stood firm against a powerful Tonga in Pool C to take a giant stride towards the World Cup quarter-finals. A startling opening by Tonga, characterised by brutal tackling and powerful running, looked like it could overpower the Argentines, but there was no sign of Puma panic, even after Tonga got on the score sheet early on in the first half. Although the Pacific island team dominated possession in the first half, it was their failure to kick their goals that saw them get left behind by an eventually impressive Argentine performance. Full set of images from the match
Argentina players sing their national anthem prior to the match
Pablo Matera of Argentina takes on the Tonga defence
Steve Mafi of Tonga wins the ball at a lineout
Horacio Agulla of Argentina celebrates victory
