Saturday 30th September
Pool C: Fiji vs Georgia, 16:45 KO, Bordeaux
After last weekend’s dramatic 22-15 victory over Australia, Fiji are the masters of their own destiny for the remainder of Pool C. The Pacific Islanders are level on points with the Wallabies (both six), but have the all important game in hand advantage. Fiji have two matches left in Pool C, as they take on Georgia this Saturday, and Portugal in a week’s time. Simon Raiwalui’s side need just five points from those two matches, to progress alongside Wales into the quarter-finals.
All eyes from Australia will be glued to this match, and will be urging on Georgia to find a way to win. Victory for the Eastern Europeans is certainly possible, however Fiji have a better rate of success against their upcoming opponents. Fiji have lost just one of their previous six tests against Georgia, however the most recent meeting ended in a 15-15 draw in the 2021 Autumn Internationals. This will only be the second World Cup meeting between the two sides, after their last meeting four years ago in Japan.
However, this last meeting between the two sides also brought about Fiji’s second biggest competition win. In 2019, Fiji recorded a 45-10 win over Georgia, which stands as the Pacific Islanders’ second biggest win at the tournament (behind 67-18 win over Namibia in 1999). Fiji are looking for their first back-to-back victories in the Rugby World Cup since the 2007 competition, which coincidentally also took place in France.
RUCK Prediction: Fiji 24 – 16 Georgia
Pool B: Scotland vs Romania, 20:00 KO, Lillie
Scotland will be looking at this weekend as a real opportunity to score significant points difference, for a hopeful late run-in to progress out of the pool stages. Both Ireland and South Africa recorded heavy bonus point wins over Romania (Ireland 82-8, South Africa 76-0), and Gregor Townsend’s men have to follow suit if they want to keep their Rugby World Cup hopes alive. After Ireland’s monumental 13-8 win over the Springboks last weekend, Scotland need to win the rest of their pool stage matches to get a spot in the quarter-final.
Scotland are yet to face Ireland, in what is likely to be the ‘do or die’ match for Townsend’s side. However, a significant Scottish win against the Eastern Europeans could instil significant momentum into their Pool B closer against Andy Farrell. Scotland have won the last seven matches in a row against Romania, and have not been beaten by them since the 1991 Rugby World Cup. This is a frequent fixture in the Rugby World Cup calendar, as the two sides have met in the pool stages of four previous tournaments (1987, 1991, 2007, 2011).
Scotland enter this match in fine form, having won five of their previous seven matches dating back to the 2023 Six Nations. Scotland’s ‘not-so-secret’ weapon is South African winger Duhan van der Merwe, who has been taking the 2023 Rugby world Cup by storm. The Edinburgh winger has made the second most line-breaks of any player in the competition with 17, and is behind Ireland centre Bundee Aki. Scotland also possess arguably the best defender of the tournament so far, as flanker Rory Darge has the best tackle completion rate with 24 out of 24, and is third overall for dominant tackles.
RUCK’s Prediction: Scotland 48 – 12 Romania
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