Eddie Jones has freshened up his side with six changes to the starting side that stunned the world with a victory over the Springboks on Saturday. Despite the changes, the side has not lost any strength and if anything is perhaps a bit stronger. Rotation in the tight five sees …

Romania will make their World Cup entrance on Wednesday against France at the Olympic Stadium. Head coach Lynn Howells has selected his strongest possible side for the Pool D match-up, making only one change to the run-on side that faced Tonga in the final warm-up match in Bucharest earlier this …

Vern Cotter has named his first Scottish team of the World Cup for what promises to be an enormously interesting game at Kingsholm on Wednesday with giant-killers Japan lined up as opponents. Cotter has taken no chances and named a very strong lineup to face the Brave Blossoms. Grant Gilchrist …

John McKee has offered his team a vote of confidence ahead of their match against Australia on Wednesday, making only four changes to the side that never quite got going against England on Friday. The changes all come up front, with one enforced after Dominiko Waqaniburotu was suspended for a …

French Head Coach Phillipe Saint-André has made thirteen changes to his team that faced Italy on Saturday. Only no8 Louis Picamoles and left winger Noa Nakaitaci remain from the side which sees veteran hooker Dimitri Szarzewski named as captain. Szarzewski will join the Belgium born Vincent Debaty and New Zealand …

For some teams the second round of Rugby World Cup matches will begin on Wednesday and Thursday while for others these days will mark their first fixtures. Such is the complication of having pools of five teams that one team per pool must begin last. Those to do so on Wednesday …

Wallabies head Coach Michael Cheika has named a powerful lineup to face Fiji in Cardiff on Wednesday. The Pool A fixture will be Australia’s first appearance in the tournament and Fiji’s second after the Pacific Islanders faced England in the tournament opener on Friday evening. Captain Stephen Moore will be …

The Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News which reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams over the previous week. UP Japan A spectacular, brilliant, unforgettable win against all odds by the world’s leading Asian nation over the best from Africa was …

Four members of Daniel Hourcade’s 31-man roster are undergoing evaluations to determine their availability for Los Pumas’ second Rugby World Cup fixture. The South Americans will take-on Georgia in Gloucester on Friday. Confirmed out of the match is back-rower Leonardo Senatore. The 31 year old was replaced by specialist hooker …

A world record crowd was witness to a superb game of rugby this afternoon in which the number one ranked side from the Americas, Argentina, started their Rugby World Cup campaign this afternoon with a strong performance against the 2011 world champions, New Zealand. The 26-16 final score saw the …

Uncapped Castres winger Rémy Grosso has been called up by France to replace the injured Yoann Huget. With speedster Teddy Thomas and veteran Maxime Médard also options, Philippe Saint-André has instead opted for the in-form Grosso, whose physical profile more closely resembles that of Huget. Despite having great success first …

Samoa got their World Cup campaign off to a good start with a less than thrilling 25-16 victory over the USA. Samoa, as expected, came after the Eagles with a punishing attack plan. The assault forced the USA into a stunning 29 missed tackles and kept the Eagles on their …

Wales eased through Uruguay by a score of 54-9 in front of a sold out Millenium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday. Though there was never any doubt who was the better side, the scoreline flattered Wales somewhat, as they looked far from clinical and made numerous errors with ball in …

France’s 32-10 win over Italy last night in London came at a cost with right winger Yoann Huget suffering a severe knee injury which has ended his World Cup. The Toulouse flier went down hurt in the second half holding his knee and had to be carried off the field. Tests have …

Arguably Argentina’s greatest rugby player of all time, Hugo Porta thinks that Los Pumas are in condition to make history at the World Cup in England. The player who forever changed Argentine rugby for the better believes that Daniel Hourcade’s team has what it takes to win the tournament. In an interview …

No match could have followed the drama that unfolded in Brighton with Japan causing the biggest upset of all time against two time world champions, South Africa but there was, nonetheless, hope that Italy could follow it up against France. It did not eventuate as a one-dimensional French side got …

An 84th minute try from Karne Hesketh secured a thrilling 34-32 victory for Japan over South Africa in what will be considered the biggest upset, to date, in Rugby World Cup history. To call the match David vs Goliath may be selling it short. The match could have been considered …

A lot of the pre-World Cup hype centered on whether or not Samoa would be able to trouble and defeat Scotland. Such was the search for an upset that Georgia had been considered substandard to defeat Tonga. The Mamuka Gorgodze led Lelos had other ideas and their post match victory …

Canada fell to Ireland by a convincing score of 50-7 at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. Ireland dominated possession and forced Canada to spend the vast majority of the first half defending, in which they scored 29 unanswered points. An improved second half saw Canada score a try, …

A last gasp try from Billy Vunipola saw England sneak home with a bonus point victory against Fiji to begin the World Cup campaign with a bonus point victory. England can now breath more easily after starting so nervously as they prepare for next weekend’s tough assignment against Wales also …