Rugby World Cup

VIDEO: 2015 Rugby World Cup daily roundup

And the fallout from the hosts' crushing late loss at the weekend continues.

Former England captain Will Carling aimed his cricitism at Stuart Lancaster's methods, suggesting his players are treated like 'schoolboys'.

VIDEO: 2015 Rugby World Cup Daily round-up

Vunipola has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a knee ligament strain.

Harlequins number eight Nick Easter, 37, who has 52 Test caps, has been called up as a replacement.

England have played two games in the World Cup. They beat Fiji 35-11 followed by a defeat against Wales on Saturday,

They are third in Pool A and face Australia at Twickenham on Saturday and Uruguay a week later, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals.

VIDEO: 2015 Rugby World Cup Daily Round Up

England’s hopes of making it out of their highly competitive Pool A are hanging by a thread following Saturday's hearertbreaking 28-25 defeat to Wales at Twickenham.

Stuart Lancaster’s men must now prepare for a huge ‘knockout’ clash with two-time world champions Australia on Saturday, where they must win to have any chance of a spot in the last eight.

VIDEO: Rugby Union World Cup Highlights Round Up

The Wallabies won the match 28-13 courtesy of a  stellar two-try performance from David Pocock.

In what was a far from a polished performance, the three-try win fell short of delivering a valuable bonus point in the 'Pool of Death' clash at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

In another game, Scotland beat Japan 45-10 in their opening game.

Springboks make eight changes to face Samoa

Adriaan Strauss, who will win his 50th cap, is the starting hooker, while Duane Vermeulen will make his first Test appearance of the year in the No 8 jersey as coach Heyneke Meyer reacted swiftly to the shock of defeat against Japan.

Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen and Damian De Allende return in the backline – with skipper Jean de Villiers shifting to outside centre – while there are new halfbacks in Handré Pollard and Fourie du Preez.

VIDEO: Rugby World Cup 2015 - Injury-hit Wales still a challenge, says Launchbury

Wales' World Cup campaign in England has been overshadowed by injuries, with Leigh Halfpenny, Rhys Webb, Cory Allen and Eli Walker all withdrawing.

Wales also has injury concerns in the front row, with Aaron Jarvis, Paul James and Samson Lee all being assessed, while full-back Liam Williams suffered a hip injury in the win over Uruguay.

 

 

VIDEO: Rugby World Cup - New Zealand and Wales win openers

A final-quarter surge saw New Zealand registering a come from behind 26-16 victory over Argentina at Wembley in Pool C.

Over at the Millennium Stadium, Wales claimed a bonus point as they opened their campaign with an eight-try win over Uruguay in Pool A. Wales won the contest 54-9.

 

VIDEO: Rugby World Cup 2015 - Daily round-up

The pool also involves Australia and Wales.

England are seeking to secure their first world title since 2003.

Check video for the opening day preview.

 

Next tier of Pacific rugby nations Oceania Cup

Cook Islands won the biennial event two years ago but will not defend their title, choosing to focus their limited resources on November's Olympic Sevens Qualifier.

Newcomers American Samoa open proceedings against Solomon Islands at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, followed by hosts Papua New Guinea against Tahiti, in the first round of matches.

The General Manager of Rugby PNG, Frank Genia, says pride and silverware aren't the only things on up for grabs.

Rugby World Cup 2015 set to be the biggest in history

A total of 40,000 tickets are currently on sale at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com and a further 100,000 additional tickets will go on sale Monday (July 27).

More than 2.15 million have already sold.

The additional tickets are a mixture of extra seats from the completion of venue configuration, handbacks from the Rugby World Cup Limited commercial programme, and tickets that have been registered for re-sale from fans who can no longer use their tickets.