From prop Hubert Buydens’ lumberjack appearance, to Ray Barkwill’s great big bushy beard to the long flowing locks of eventual man of the match Jeff Hassler, it proved to be a hairy day for the Canadians, as Romania stunned them with a late fightback. The Oaks scored 17 points in the final 28 minutes as their powerful pack overcame Canada in the biggest comeback in World Cup history. Covering the men in red in both halves meant missing out on the Romanian’s tries but there were plenty of opportunities for photos after the final whistle, as the underdogs celebrated a memorable victory. Full set of images from the match

Jeff Hassler of Canada takes on the Romania defence

Hirsute Hubert Buydens of Canada celebrates a try

Jeff Hassler of Canada takes on the Romania defence

Romania players celebrate their first Rugby World Cup win

South Africa v USA

The first nilling of the tournament came at a sold out Stadium at the Olympic Park, as South Africa reached the quarter-finals by thrashing USA by 64 points. The headlines were all about Bryan Habana though, who equalled Jonah Lomu’s World Cup try-scoring record with a hat-trick. The winger scored three times in 21 second-half minutes to draw level with Lomu’s mark of 15 World Cup tries. Full set of images from the match

Tendai Mtawarira of South Africa offloads the ball after being tackled

Francois Louw of South Africa in action at a scrum

Jesse Kriel of South Africa is tackled

Bryan Habana of South Africa scores his third and record-equaling try

England Captain’s Run

After England’s devastating failure to make the knockout stages, their fixture against Uruguay in Manchester was one they would probably want to forget, giving a new meaning to the term dead rubber. Spirits looked understandably down during training and the ensuing press conference. A rare England game up north was something to savour though, and they ran out eventual 60-3 winners in a fully supportive sold out stadium the following day. Full set of images from the match

England players make their way onto the field at the Manchester City Stadium

Chris Robshaw of England leads the Captain’s Run

Chris Robshaw of England looks on during the session

Tom Youngs of England faces the media

New Zealand v Tonga

All Blacks centre Ma’a Nonu celebrated his 100th cap for his country as the All Blacks weathered an early Tongan storm to run out 47-9 winners at Newcastle’s rocking St James’ Park. Tries from Ben Smith and Tony Woodcock before a second-half double from Nehe Milner-Skudder wrapped up a clean sweep of pool stage victories, even if the number one ranked side in the world look nowhere near their best. Full set of images from the match

A face-off ensues as the All Blacks perform their haka as Tonga perform the Sipi Tau

Ben Smith of New Zealand scores the opening try of the match

Luke Romano of New Zealand claims the ball at a lineout

Nehe Milner-Skudder of New Zealand scores a dramatic try in the second half

France v Ireland

The pool-deciding games where coming in thick and fast at the weekend, as France faced their Six Nations rivals Ireland in Cardiff. A man of the match display from Sean O’Brien drove the Irish to a pulsating 24-9 win, condemning the French to a quarter-final against defending champions New Zealand. There have been some incredible atmospheres at this World Cup, Brighton, Twickenham and Newcastle spring to mind, but the noise at the enclosed Millennium Stadium was something else, with the men in green roared on by their army of supporters. Full set of images from the match

Sebastien Tillous-Borde of France presents the ball

Keith Earls of Ireland looks to gather the ball

Louis Picamoles of France rallies his forwards at a scrum

Ireland supporters in the crowd celebrate a try

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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

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With Japan playing their second match in four days after the heroics of their stunning win against South Africa, fitness was always going to be an issue late in the match, and so it proved. The game turned when Japan suffered the cruel loss of the influential Amanaki Mafi to injury early in the second half, as Scotland turned the screw and ran in 45-10 winners. Full set of images from the match

Tommy Seymour of Scotland looks to get past Kenki Fukuoka of Japan

Japan supporters in the crowd celebrate a try

Amanaki Mafi of Japan gets past Greig Laidlaw of Scotland

Fumiaki Tanaka of Japan looks on

New Zealand v Namibia

David and Goliath was the running theme at the Olympic Park in London, with Namibia being the lowest-ranked side in the World Cup facing the tournament favourites. Despite the eventual 58-14 scoreline, Steve Hansen’s side were often matched at the breakdown and did not produce the avalanche of tries many had predicted. Full set of images from the match

A general view of the Stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

New Zealand players perform the haka to the Namibia team

Richie McCaw takes on the Namibia defence

Codie Taylor of New Zealand dives for the try-line

Argentina v Georgia

Argentina scored three tries in five second-half minutes to defeat Georgia at Kingsholm and claim their first win in Pool C of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. ‘It was like playing in an Argentinian stadium’ said captain Agustin Creevy of the thousands who made the trip and were rewarded with a seven tries to nil romp. Full set of images from the match

A Georgia supporter shows his colours prior to the match

Juan Martin Hernandez of Argentina takes on the Georgia defence

Marcelo Bosch of Argentina looks on during a break in play

Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe of Argentina celebrates with supporters

 
Ireland v Romania

Ireland cruised to the top spot in Pool D as Keith Earls and Tommy Bowe both scored two tries in a bonus-point win. Despite 12 changes to the line-up, Ireland made light of their opponents in front of 89,267 fans – a new record attendance for the Rugby World Cup. Full set of images from the match

Devin Toner rises high to win lineout ball

Cian Healy of Ireland takes on the Romania defence

Ireland supporters in the crowd take part in a Mexican wave

Darren Cave is tackled by Florin Surugiu of Romania

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England were made to work hard by Fiji in their World Cup opener but pulled away in the last 20 minutes to secure a bonus-point win at Twickenham. Two tries from full-back Mike Brown and the impact from the bench saw Stuart Lancaster’s men home despite a disjointed display. Full set of images from the match

Fireworks are set off from the Twickenham roof as the teams enter the field of play

Api Ratuniyarawa of Fiji and Anthony Watson of England look to claim the ball

Nemani Nadolo of Fiji claims the ball in the air to score a try

Referee Jaco Peyper watches a replay on the big screen, in a match heavily influenced by the TMO

South Africa v Japan

Barely a weekend had passed and already supporters in the Brighton Community Stadium were treated to what would surely be called the game of the World Cup. Japan stunned two-time champions South Africa to cause arguably the biggest upset in rugby union history as Karne Hesketh crossed in the final minute. Full set of images from the match

Schalk Burger of South Africa loses the ball after being double-tackled

Handre Pollard of South Africa takes on the Japan defence

The Japan team celebrate one of the biggest upsets in sport

South Africa fans look dejected as Japan supporters celebrate

Samoa v USA

Samoa narrowly overcame USA in their World Cup Pool B encounter in Brighton in a much more scrappy affair than the previous days incredible scenes. Tim Nanai-Williams and Ofisa Treviranus crossed for Samoa, as the Americans were eventually punished for their ill discipline. Full set of images from the match

The USA team look on as Samoa perform the Siva Tau.

Tim Nanai-Williams of Samoa claims the ball in the air

Paul Perez of Samoa looks to the ground during a break in play

Alesana Tuilagi of Samoa gets past Chris Wyles of the USA

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A look into the Bath Rugby changing rooms

A sea of blue, black and white

Supporters cheer on their team

Forwards practise the lineout during the pre-match warm-up

The Bath team are welcomed onto the pitch

Try number two for Matt Banahan

12-3 up and time for a cuddle

The east stand makes some noise

Paul James celebrates a scrum turnover with opposite number Dan Cole

At the coal face

Aggressive defence for 80 minutes

Peter Stringer dives for the try-line in his last home game for the club

George Ford and Peter Stringer celebrate try number four

George Ford makes a break for the try-line

Francois Louw congratulates try-scorer George Ford

First ever hat-trick in a Premiership semi-final by Matt Banahan

All smiles on the sidelines

Skipper Stuart Hooper celebrates at the final whistle

A job very well done

Post-match celebrations

Party atmosphere on the terracing

Stuart Hooper speaks to his team after the match

Man of the Match Matt Banahan

See you at Twickenham…

Full set of photos from the match | Match report at www.bathrugby.com

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Tom Biggs scores the opening try

Tom Heathcote is tackled to ground

Ryan Caldwell wins the ball at a lineout

Gavin Henson catches the ball in the air

Ryan Caldwell has a word with team-mate Mat Gilbert

Tom Heathcote watches a scrum

Tom Ellis in action at a scrum

Mat Gilbert celebrates a try

Tom Heathcote kicks for the posts

The Bath United team huddle together after the match

Charlie Beech celebrates after the match

Micky Young is all smiles after the match

Kane Palma-Newport lifts the Aviva A League trophy in celebration

The Bath United team celebrate their victory

Tom Dunn with the Aviva A League trophy

Bath United captain Kane Palma-Newport speaks to his players after the match

Tom Dunn, Tom Ellis, Charlie Ewels and Tom Woolstencroft

The Bath United team celebrate their win after the match

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