Rugby Union World Cup 23 [Everything Thread - IC]

[Estenia]

What did my eyes see? We won Uitbregen!



An Estenian player tries to tackle and intercept the ball from an Uitbregen player

Our team yesterday won Uitrbergen with a 2 point differential to climb on top of group and escape a round of 24 match up, with a little bit of luck after Green Jello Salad defeated, might we say crushed Ekox with 6-44. Our squad was lucky enough yesterday to have all the main squad players healthy. The Semi-Proffessionals lineup had

Andrian Laceanu
Karp Romanov
Igor Makaryan
Solimen Dobracow
Filipp Oselov
Ondrej Okosmov(Captain)
Andrei Kosmov(Man of the match)
Fasie Umbrian
Grigory Lomberav
Ermolai Antonov
Iosif Gamburashvili
Stanislav Bokev
Pasha Stojanov
Ruslan Onmav
Yevgeny Sakatiev

All of them were proved vital in last night's matchup and we're going to tell you some of the main chances in a timeline.

0:00-1:36: The game begins, Estenian forms some defensive style of playing in the start. They cut of an Uitbregen try 20 meters outside the posts and the goal line. Counter offence is made, RUCK!

1:36-7:47: Ruck is made, the counter offence is stopped and Uitbregen has the ball. Shot from far range by Kain Bolgaard and it got in. Uitbregen 3-0 Estenia. Counteroffence made as a revenge Makaryan is passed by Kosmov and does an amazing run dribbling through the whole Uitbregen defence, when he was left with no powers, he passed it to Laceanu who made the try and he did it! Uitbregen 3-5 Estenia. Okosmov with the penalty and it's in Uitbregen 3-7 Estenia.

7:47-22:56: Peaceful time, both sides do passing game and a couple of rucks were made also an Estenian side out to be caught by Estenian hands, it lead to a failed Laceanu try. Abels was the one was passed by Tholberg for the counter offence and he scores his try. Uitbregen 8-7 Estenia. Abels also scores the penalty. Uitbregen 11-7 Estenia.

22:56-40:00: Last minutes of the half, Estenia in the offence, trying to take the lead again. Kosmov kicks it in, Umbrian wins the mid-air battle against Simonis and takes the ball, he passes it to Laceanu who scored his second try. Uitbregen 11-12 Estenia. Okosmov is the kicker of the penalty this time and he does it. Uitbregen 11-15 Estenia. Estenia with the lead at the locker rooms.

---Half Time----

40:00-50:33: Uitbregen players have a chance, a far range shot made by Bolgaard to end it. Uitbregen 14-15 Estenia. Estenians in response did a counter offensive, Okosmov ran the half field and did a try to end in. Uitbregen 14-20 Estenia. Kosmov misses the penalty, what a shame!

50:33-77:36: Generally relaxed offence by the Estenian side who lacked chances against a far more superior at the time, Uitbregen. Gelen scored a far range shot again Uitbregen 17-20 Estenia. Gelen did it again 2 minutes later. Uitbregen 20-20 Estenia. The match was about to end on a draw the way it was going. But Okosmov was there to the rescue, he kicked it in, Laceanu caught it and passed it to Kosmov who scored the try. Uitbregen 20-25 Estenia. What a pity though, Okosmov missed the penalty.

77:36-80:00: The Uitbregen team started going on a more offensive rythm, it stopped Estenia from going over the 42 meters outside the posts. And i didn't really pay off as Uitbregen was lucky to score a far range shot again by Bolgaard to make the ball get in. Uitbregen 23-25 Estenia. What a nice match played by both sides, but this time, David won Goliath.

[Mapletish]

The Sour Kind
"Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day"

Sports | Tish

Rugby Union World Cup 23

The All Reds played Apox at the Freedom Arena at 4 in the afternoon in the last match for both the Mapletish and Apox sides. The two highest ranked teams in the the group and a reputation to uphold. Gong into the match, the All Reds lost to Zhenherribae 23-17 and got one over Kernansquillec in a 52-7 win. Apox on the other hand, had a rather smooth journey in Group G only to drop points against Kernansquillec with a 29-29 draw.

So what's the end result we have here? A rather close match between here with Apox dominating proceedings early in the game with their prowess and pure experience pitted against an All Reds side that count on brute strength and force. One would not be surprise to see Apox up ahead early in the game right? Wrong. With the right to passage to the Round of 16 and pride at stake, both sides held on strong with exciting last ditch tackles bringing down the attack, leaving little space for the next attack to build up.

Apox however got the upper hand in the close game with two tries quick in succession followed by two successful conversions. That's just going to stop right there as the All Reds responded right away to bring the scoreline back to normal (at the very least). Before we know it, tries become so hard to come by as Apox could only manage three tries while the All Reds only scored two tries. What made the difference? The amount of penalties and drop goals. The All Reds scored eighteen points from both penalties and drop goals alone, while Apox scored just three points.

In the end the All Reds won Apox 32-24. With the group stage out of the way let's dive into the Round of 24!

Riysa vs Semarland

From the group matches, Riysa finished their group campaign with a 4-1-0 while Semarland finished lowly with a 2-1-2. On paper Semarland is already fighting a losing battle as a relative newcomer against a 16th ranked Riysa. Riysa to win this one.

Nova Anglicana vs Kaboomlandia

Nova Anglicana for this one. -CONFIRMED- The Lions are one of the top few seeds in the Round of 24. Pit against a newcomer, the Lions only have themselves to disappoint if they don't win this match.

Saintland vs The Sword Bloke

Saintland is in for this match, A team that is aiming to win the RUWC after a podium finish previously, taking everything in their stride is important here. Unfortunate not to get a matchday's rest with some inconsistent performances in their own group, the Saints have to win against The Sword Bloke to fulfill their objectives,

Darmen vs Ontorisa

Darmen to win this match period. Although with similar records of 3-0-2 like Ontorisa, we can see that experience is what Darmen have in the multiverse rugby scene. The Greens, oh Greens, oh fellow Rushmoris.

Zhenherribae vs Electrum

A pretty close one to call. Electrum were the ones who knock us out in the previous RUWC, while Zhenherribae were the ones who threatened our chances of getting into the Round of 16 proper. Zhenherribae might be the ones to win this game on paper with a better seeding, and less kick-booty power than Electrum.

Uitbregen vs Polaaskan

Eyes on Uitbregen here, on paper Uitbregen looks like the one to even want to win the RUWC! The number four in the rugby union rankings, they were shocked previously by a bunch of amateurs from Estenia. A David slashing a Goliath, not something you see everyday but it is certainly possible. Polaaskan on the other hand are the clear underdogs in this match and will there be another David winning Goliath encounter?

Prusy krolewskie vs Apox

Clearing their minds from a rather rocky group campaign, Apox will have to win against Prusy krolewskie to regain some footing in the RUWC to at least justify their number 9 ranking or they will have to pack up and go home earlier than expected this RUWC. A little challenge might sometimes to the trick for an out of sorts Apox side.

Ingla Terra vs Green Jello Salad

A co-host vs Greenie match. A 58th ranker vs an UR, not much of a difference if you compare their records and their seedings though. Expect the co-host to win because it's their tournament, well we can't hope for the worst for the Greenies right? The co-host however on our plates to win.

Well the All Reds on the other hand will get to enjoy a well deserved, one matchday rest before they kick start the Round of 16 clash,

[Zhenherribae]

Second place in group? Surely not. (Uh . . . wait . . .) Yes, it's true, the Snow Leopards placed second in their qualification group at the Rugby World Cup. They've won four on the bounce and have gone from patsies to promising in a very short time.

The most recent win was almost comfortable, a 26-12 victory over Kernansquillec in the capital of Ingla Terra. Three tries from Jiǎ Tǐnglún, Imanol Arriaga, and Sigurður Njálsson and a staunch defensive effort that denied any opposing try set the tone. Mǎ Chāoxīn was back after a match off and kicked three penalties plus a conversion.

So the round of 24 is set. Zhenherribae is seeded 13th and will face Electrum (20th). The books have Zhenherribae as slight favorites, and I agree. Although the Snow Leopards have really looked like a top-flight side just once, in that 17-0 first half run against Mapletish, they seem to have the knack for doing what it takes to win. Their differential of just +3, 102 scored against 99 yielded, is the second-worst of the 24 advancers. But they spread those points out to win four matches out of five. Twelve different players have scored for Zhenherribae in the tournament:

Player                   GP  PT  T  CON  P  D
Mǎ Chāoxīn                4  31  2  3/7  4  1 
Sigurður Njálsson         5  10  2  0/0  0  0
Brynjólfur Þorbjörnsson   2  10  0  2/2  1  1
Hugo Urberoaga            5   8  1  0/0  1  0
Chén Gāngdào              5   7  1  1/3  0  0
Aaron Arrigorriagakoa     4   6  0  0/0  0  2
Imanol Arriaga            5   5  1  0/0  0  0
Jiǎ Tǐnglún               5   5  1  0/0  0  0
David Loiola              2   5  1  0/0  0  0
Sū Xùhé                   5   5  1  0/0  0  0
Alexander Ugarte          5   5  1  0/0  0  0
Ignacio Urberoaga         5   5  1  0/0  0  0

[Ko-oren]

This World Cup's interesting characters - a writeup

With the field reduced to 24, it's time to look at the stars of the upcoming matches. The best of the World Cup has yet to happen, even though there are just 24 more matches to go. The entire World Cup is open to upsets. Out of the top 24 ranked teams, just 15 bothered to sign up for the RUWC. From these 15 teams, 14 made it through to at least the top 24 (Western Borderlands being the only absentee).

Before we look at the individuals, let's look at the team. Rugby is a team sport and an excellent example of a sport where the team is much, much larger than any individual player. First: which teams are composed of players who simply don't want to lose?

The Royal Barangay is the first to come to mind. The hosts of the entire tournament, they secured a spot among the top 16 with five victories and three bonus points*. Hutanjia, Abanhfleft, Neu Engollon and Ko-oren are the other teams with a perfect 5-0-0. The Fair Republic and Riysa are the special cases with four victories and a draw, but no losses.

Now let's look at something in between teams and players: the relationship between attack and defence. You often hear something like that a team with good forwards concedes less points and that a team with good backs scores more... which might be true, but it's far from a certainty. Looking at high scoring teams, it's Mapletish who outperform any other team. 190 points in five games - that's 38 per match. That's also 16 points more than the Royal Barangay. Together they are leagues ahead of the other teams (the Fair Republic, Hutanjia, Riysa and Green Jello Squad - a rare case of three victories, two losses, yet still 153 points scored). As for what we pride ourselves on - defence - it's Hutanjia and Riysa who have allowed less than 50 points (or 10 per match).

So now we've a good idea of which teams are teams to look at: the eight group winners, Riysa, Green Jello Squad, and obviously Saintland, Darmen, Nova Anglicana, Uitbregen but also the relative newbies from Prusy Krolewskie, Zhenherribae and Ingla Terra.

And that brings us to the individuals. Some names have come through the group stage. Based on the first five match rounds, here are some players to look at:

Quentin Foray, Nova Anglicana. Fearless architect of the Nova Anglicanan game, and an excellent kicker to boot. Scoring, kicking and even tackling, Foray is a rare all-rounder.

Umar Tamam, Riysa. Productive skipper to his team, leading his country to excellent statistics and a good position to reach the last 16 tomorrow.

Mort Arthur, Mapletish. Tall and eloquent, he puts up some points on the board. He isn't Mapletish's only star, as the All Reds have several players that pop up every now and then, but Arthur is our pick for next possible MVP. It might also be Davi though.

Lincoln Sherwood, Mapletish. Captain for the All Reds, he leads a team that shows a lot of ups and downs. One day it's one player that lights up the crowd, another day that same player might be nowhere to be seen. Sherwood is a reliable player though, on any given day.

Peter Lazarus, the Fair Republic. Instead of scoring two or three in one match, the dependable Lazarus consistantly scores a try for the Toucans regardless of opponent.

Till Solvermann, Abahnfleft. The left wing for Abanhfleft draws some attention to himself... if he feels like it. He is capable of deciding a match, but only if he shows up for the blue, orange and green.

Chaoxin Ma, Zhenherribae. There are many #10s in this list, and there are many captains in this list. Chaoxin Ma (western name order, if we did this right) is a typical player in that regard, but he gives this unranked team an interesting twist.

Andrew Bowen, Green Jello Squad. While GJS is expected to leave the tournament at the next possibility, Bowen's kicking might tip the scales in the Salad Shooters' favour.

Ondrej Okosmov, Estenia. The least inspiring group winning team, if you just look at the statistics. A team with some very interesting characters, if you actually watch the game itself. Okosmov is the captain to this volatile team, capable of scoring tries and kicking.

We can't end this list without naming a Dragonfly, obviously. So here we go: we nominate Raphael Favre as our most inspiring player - if only because of the points he puts up from kicking. Otherwise it's going to be Maurice Trottiscliffe, who would be a rare forward on this list (most are backs, or most specifically, wings or halves).

*Bonus points are a big issue in Rugby - if you follow Ko-orenite rugby. Bonus points aren't a part of the Ko-orenite league. That's why it should be unsurprising that the Dragonflies have managed a grand total of zero bonus points... as the only group winners without any bonus point. Now only two teams are left without any bonus points: Ko-oren and Zhenherribae.

[Green Jello Salad]

No, your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. Green Jello Salad flanker Paul Long was on his knees the night before the big Rugby World Cup clash with Ekoz. Well, one knee anyway. In a fancy restaurant. And she said Yes.

And if Paul was praying then, his requests were all coming true in a big way. Long scored three tries the next day with hometown sweetheart Kelly Bradford in the stands as the Salad Shooters blasted into the round of 24 with a 44-6 triumph.

Kelly will be familiar to many readers as an attacking midfielder for South Partridge and Green Jello Salad. When not playing she calls Oxford her home, and the house where Paul grew up is just four doors away. Paul in turn plays rugby league on the other end of the venerable Mountaineer rail line as a second-row forward for perennial Super 20 contenders Bountiful.

When the dust settled the Salad Shooters earned the 17th seed and a date with co-hosts Ingla Terra on Freedom Island. That will be a tall ask but not an insurmountable one as their form is good. But lurking in the wings should they chalk up one more win is a possible tilt with the other co-host, tournament leaders The Royal Barangay.

[Nova Anglicana]

Nova Anglican Locker Room, Estadio Lorenz de Baoyam, The Royal Barangay

The players were milling around the locker room, attending to the various things they needed to do to get ready for their Round of 24 game against Kaboomlandia. All except one. The slender scrum half Julian Lee stood sullenly in the corner. Lee was usually as taciturn off the pitch as he was animated on it, so something was up. Damien Clemens, the sturdy flanker and captain, approached him.

"What's up, Julian? You look like someone stole your lunch and you're plotting how to get back at them. Buck up, son. It's not like you to be like this before a game."

Lee looked at him for a moment. "Nothing, Julian. It's just..."

Damien clapped his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Spit it out, man! What's going on?"

"Can I talk to the team for a moment?" Julian asked.

"Sure you can! You're the head of our offense, you don't need to ask me."

Lee nodded at Clemens before stepping past him. "WHAT DO YOU MOTHERF*****S THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?!?"

The locker room went deathly quiet and everyone stopped to look at their irate scrum half.

"Do you bastards seriously think you can get away with the same level of effort you've been giving me, Damien, and Errol this whole tournament? We started off so well against Mighty Warriors, and then we got lazy and f****d it up in the last fifteen minutes. It's been downhill ever since. We should have scored fifty against Silkjd! We got our asses handed to us by Semarland for the first forty minutes! If it weren't for Quentin, we'd have lost to a f*****g unranked team! We're f*****g lucky that Cosumar couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, or they'd have had us on the run! And don't even get me started on the Abanhfleft game! This is the same team that knocked us out of the f*****g playoffs two years ago, and you didn't give two s***s about beating them! They straight outplayed us there at the end because there was a complete lack of f*****g effort out there on the pitch!"

He stepped right into the middle of his ashen-faced teammates. "This is the motherf*****g playoffs, gentlemen! S**t gets real from now on! You may be overlooking Kaboomlandia, but I'm sure as hell not! You want to know why? Because a f*****g unranked team knocked us out in the Round of 24 last year! I'm not going to let that happen, but I need you cunts to step up too! Crush these nerds and Ko-oren's waiting for us in the Round of 16! #1 team in the f*****g world, boys! Time to do some headhunting and show the world that our run four years ago was no f*****g fluke!"

His fist shot into the air. "Now who's with me? Lions on three! One, two, three!"

"LIONS!" The whole team roared in unison, then charged out of the locker room onto the pitch. Damien Clemens, running alongside Julian Lee, laughed and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Christ, man! When you said you were going to talk to the team, I didn't think you meant like that!"

Lee looked at him grimly. "I'm f*****g tired of losing."

[The Royal Barangay]

Cutoff for the Round of 24.

---

ROUND OF 24

---

Riysa 60–0 Semarland

Nova Anglicana 23–16 Kaboomlandia

Saintland 40–10 The Sword Bloke

Darmen 8–40 Ontorisa

Zhenherribae 17–19 Electrum

Uitbregen 33–7 Polaaskan

Prusy krolewskie 20–15 Apox

Ingla Terra 12–34 Green Jello Salad
(Scorinated by me, can't find a third party scorinator)

Rearrangement of Seeds:
9. Riysa
10.Nova Anglicana
11. Saintland
14. Uitbregen
15. Prusy krolewskie
17. Green Jello Salad
20. Electrum
21. Ontorisa

Round of 16 Matchups

The Royal Barangay vs Ontorisa
(at StadiumSangti, Sangti)

Estenia vs Riysa
(at Estadio de Lorenz de Baoyam, Baoyam)

Abanhfleft vs Prusy krolewskie
(at Estadio Iscrachi, Gueti)

Neu Engollon vs Uitbregen
(at Nueva Ryne Estadi, Ryne)

The Fair Republic vs Electrum
(at Hope Ground, Aarvedra)

Ko-oren vs Nova Anglicana
(at Lutternham City Park, Lutternham)

Hutanjia vs Green Jello Salad
(at Inglan National Stadium, Shiefield)

Mapletish vs Saintland
(at Freedom Arena, Freedom Island)

In order to prevent a situation wherein I could not find a third party scorinator, tomorrow's scorination will be moved back by 2 hours; the window will now be between 00:00 and 02:00 Philippine Time, UTC+8.

[Neu Engollon]

"Breathe easy Neu Engollon! We made it to the Round of 16! Magda Wertauer here and you're watching the NETV 7 Sports Update. So, let me amend myself here and say that you should breathe easier, but don't get too comfortable. It only gets tougher from here on out for the Goats, but we have been down this road many times before...Haven't we?

Nothing else stops business as usual here in the Confederacy like the Rugby World Cup. Not any other sport gets us completely infatuated like our national past time of rugby - Union, and to a lesser degree, League and Sevens. The line grows longer as the grocery clerks jabber on about who they think will score the most trys in that night's game. Office projects take longer as everyone keeps sneaking online to see the video clip highlights of the previous night's match and make their fantasy league adjustments. That beer is poured just a little slower in the pub as the barkeep is trying to multi-task while she gazes lovingly at images of Jean Semmes or Carsten Lichtmann in action for the Goats on that beer splattered screen.
Politicians get short shrift as Coach 'Papa' Cosento is revered as a near saint like father figure. He is, with no exaggeration, one of the most popular rugby coaches, or coaches of any sport, for that matter, in the Confederacy...Ever.

Accorzu...that's 'Okay', 'Sure' or 'Right' in Frandit, for our non-Neu Engollian viewers out there. Anyway, so, enough hype, let's get down to it. As suspected, the last match of the group stage, while somewhat anti-climactic in comparison to the Darmeni match and the four point difference there, was crucial in cementing the top spot for the Group C, as well as being able to skip the Round of 24 that some of our fellow rugby nations have to pass through. Here's the scary part...Although the Goats won, they squeaked by with a six point lead over Mallanica, a team that hadn't won a single match for the whole group. What they really needed to do was blast the Mallanicans out of the stadium with a super domination to rack up that point differential. That didn't happen. Instead, a worn and not fully recovered Goats defense was unable to keep the Mallanicans from punting that ball through the sticks twice to supplement their one converted and one unconverted try, that also should never have crossed our 22 meter line.

What did happen that was a saving grace was the All Greens, also spent from that grueling epic match, took a stunning loss to Kaauqliaq. 16 unanswered points. That match was shown on delay here on NETV 7 after the Mallanica match. Even so, most Neu Engollians were aware of it, either having snuck a peak on the web, or caught it on the radio as they had the Goats match on the tube, or...some lucky folks, many in the pubs, had the advantage of seeing both simultaneously on two screens. Yes, I know, there's also the picture in picture option these days, but who can really focus on that?

So, I'm getting sidetracked here, but my point is this...For those that were patient and watched one match after the other, they would go through the roller coaster of emotions. Certain after a lackluster win against an unranked had locked in that second spot for Neu Engollon, our fellow citizens would have watched in disbelief as the mighty Darmen took a lark of a loss to another unranked to give the Goats that window to skip on to the Round of 16 and not risk the Round of 24 elimination.


That brings us to tonight and some more epic matches between the Goats' fellow rugger squads. Probably the most hotly anticipated match of this round for Neu Engollians was the one between fellow Astyrians Riysa, and Semarland in the capital of Royal Barangay, Sangti at StadiumSangti. The Ibex of Riysa...kind of ironic that they chose that mascot name, isn't it? The national animal of Neu Engollon, also called the mountain goat, anyway...The Ibex went up against unranked Semarland, who we have heard nothing from media wise or officially, other than a posted roster. What happened was almost predictable, but still flabbergasting...a SIXTY to ZERO blowout of Semarland by Riysa. Way to go, Riysians! Er, commiserations to Semarland. I think many of their citizens are too focused on that other Cup, you know...the association football one, to care about this loss.

We did lose some other big names in this round. Darmen and Apox fell to their opponents. The All Greens never quite bounced back from their downward spiral and took a stunning 40-8 loss to newcomers Ontorisa. Apox lost out on a close one to another new rugby nation, Prusy Krolewskie, by a conversion and drop goal. We are crushed in empathy for the Apoxians, who we hoped to see in the big Sixteen.

We now know who the Goats will face in their Round of 16 match. It's Uitbregen. Could it be any tougher of a match then that for the Goats to attempt to take their first Cup? I use the 'edge of the seat' and 'nail-biter' cliches a lot, but this time, it is warranted and apt. I want everyone to pray real hard tonight and do whatever voodoo and superstitious shenanigans that you do in order to send good juju the Goats way. Whatever it takes. Am I right? They have to pull this one out people. Let's hope their laziness from the Mallanica match doesn't carry over, because it will be fatal in Nueva Ryne Estadi, in Ryne, if they slip up even a bit against the formidable Uitbregen team.

As always, you can catch the match right here, tonight on NETV Sports 7, with replays on our sister station NETV Sports 19 and all sorts of pre-match coverage on both stations. Go Goats!"

[Prusy Krolewskie]

The Reprezentacja Pruski Beat Apox!

The Reprezentacja Pruski beat Apox 20-15 and advanced to the round of 16, it's an historic win for Prusy Krolewskie! Czeslaw Januszewski made a drop kick at the 4th minute and Prusy Krolewskie took a 3-0 lead. Wojciech Drozdowski scored a try at the 17th minute and Prusy Krolewskie was leading 10-0. Things keep going wrong for Apox and at the 25th minute, their kicker Iphitos Horne was tackled hard by Grzegorz Skrzypek. Horne was hurt and left the game. Because Horne was the kicker, someone else had to take the penalty kick. James Danbershan volunteered to take it but he missed it. Apox finally came on the board at the 37th minute when Alex Thornton scored a try, but James Danbershan missed the conversion. It was 10-5 Prusy Krolewskie.

Apox made another try at the 55th minute when Percy Hughes ran to the end zone but once again, James Danbershan missed the conversion.It was a 10-10 tie. Prusy Krolewskie also scored a try at the 68th minute, thanks to Arkadiusz Prusinowski. The score was 17-10. Apox striked back at the 73rd minute when Richard Jones scored a try. Coach Henry Monteforth wasn't pleased to see James Danbershan missing his conversions so this time he asked Jones to make the conversion himself, but he missed it either. The score was 17-15 Prusy Krolewskie. Philipp Schweinsteiger made a drop kick at the 77th minute and extended Prusy Krolewskie's lead to 20-15. It's the final score, Prusy Krolewskie wins!

Iphitos Horne has a broken nose but he seems to be ok and he'll play Gwinevra Saints' next game in the Apoxian domestic league.

GAME SUMMARY

4th minute - Drop Kick by Czeslaw Januszewski
17th minute - Try by WOJCIECH DROZDOWSKI (conversion by Philipp Schweinsteiger)
37th minute - Try by ALEX THORNTON (unsuccesfull conversion by James Danbershan)

55th minute - Try by PERCY HUGHES (unsuccesfull conversion by James Danbershan)
68th minute - Try by ARKADIUSZ PRUSINOWSKI (conversion by Philipp Schweinsteiger)
73rd minute - Try by RICHARD JONES (unsuccesfull conversion by Richard Jones)
77th minute - Drop Kick by Philipp Schweinsteiger

Next Game

Next, the Reprezentacja Pruski will play against Abanhfleft, the country who has a rivalry with Southern Democratic States (baseball, football) and Pays d'en Haut (soccer).

[The Fair Republic]

Gideon Patrick is pacing around his hotel room in the middle of the night. Yes the Toucan's were able to win Group B, but they blew a 15-3 lead against Riysa and would have lost if it wasn't for a game saving tackle by Ross Lynch. He hears a knock at the door and opens it. The Team is there, tired and cranky but there. They shuffled in, they knew bad news was coming whenever Coach Patrick called a midnight meeting. "Boys, we need to talk about finishing." Patrick whispered. I didn't matter, the Toucans heard him loud and clear "We had that game in the bag yesterday. All we had to do was finish strong and we were golden. We didn't do that, we choked and it nearly cost us the round of 16. We all remember what happened last year vs Saintland, up 20-14 we missed tons of easy points and didn't play all the way through, that's why we lost 21-20. I know you guys replay that game over and over in your heads. We are in the same place this year. Electrum is the most mentally tough team in this tourney. They had a winner take all just to get into the Playoffs and then had to duel Zhenherribae in the best Rugby game I've seen in a long time! If we are going to win, we have to play a full 80 minutes. Don't even think about the quarter finals. Until that final whistle blows, your mind will be on Electrum and only Electrum. Back to bed and conditioning at sunrise tomorrow. I expect every single one of you to be there on time. Even you Lazarus!" The Toucans shuffled back into their respective hotel rooms. Patrick allowed himself for a small smile, they got the message.

[Kaboomlandia]

Kaboomlandia Eliminated 23-16 by Nova Anglicana

The Kaboomlandian Cinderella story is over. A 23-16 loss in the Round of 24 to Nova Anglicana ended the surprise run for the first-time participants. "We had a good run, but just weren't aggressive enough with the Nova Anglicana players. We are happy, though, about where we are as a team going into the World Cup 24." The highlight of the match was a try by Manny Hayes just 41 seconds into the game, and the subsequent conversion making it 7-0 in the first minute. Quentin Foray scored two tries for Nova Anglicana, while inside centre Alexander Jackson had the other try for Kaboomlandia. With the score 16-16 late in the game, Ben Brady scored a 51-yard try to pull away with just six seconds left. The victory was bittersweet for Nova Anglicana though, as Dan Bridges suffered a sprained ankle after a crunching tackle by hooker Leonard Clooney. He is expected to be out until at least the Final Four, if Anglicana make it that far.

[Ko-oren]

Round of 16 Preview

Nova Anglicana is back in the final 16 of the RUWC after their lackluster performance last time. However it is going to be the second time in two World Cups that Nova Anglicana and Ko-oren face each other: World Cup 22's group match and now a Round of 16 game. At the time, the Greenblues won 25-13 and shut out the Lions in the entire first half. Tryscorers at the time were Santos, Savage and Pereira, of which only Santos is still on the team. Sergio Santos was responsible for a decent amount of tries last time, but this time around he only scored twice, and he was replaced by Cyrille Salomon for two games as well. Latest rumours say that Salomon will also play against Nova Anglicana, which means that all three tryscorers from last game will not play against the Lions this time.

During the 25-13 game, there was one other player that we have heard a lot about this time around: Quentin Foray. He has been playing stellar all World Cup, yet against us he only managed 3 points last time. This time, though, he is looking even better, especially after three drop goals he scored against Kaboomlandia last night for a 23-16 win, and if that wasn't enough, even recorded a try.

Other scores include Riysa's 60-0 win over Semarland, setting new competition records: biggest margin, most points scored by one team (beating the Unified Sunrise Islands' 56-0 win over RamsGates). Saintland and Ontorisa both scored 40 against their opponents, the Sword Bloke and Darmen respectively. Electrum won a close game against our favourites Zhenherribae. Fellow Group H team Prusy Krolewskie won 20-15 in an upset over Apox, the Green Jello Squad continues their amazing streak with a 34-12 victory over co-hosts Ingla Terra, and Uitbregen cemented their status as Rugby giants with a 33-7 win over Polaaskan.

For the first next game, head coach Makkarn will confirm his starting XV during the press conference scheduled for 4 pm today. No surprises are expected, but Sergio Santos might be replaced by Cyrille Salomon as said. Ryu Young-Il might play for Florent Manceau as fullback. Looking at the forwards, Mulholland might replace Maki and Tiago Faria could take a place in the front row with Russell and Araullo, replacing Hokama.

(edit: changed details to align with NA's match report, which was more accurate)

[Zhenherribae]

The glass slippers fit no more, alas. The Xuěbào of Zhenherribae played yet another close match but were on the losing end this time, falling 19-17 to Electrum in the Rugby World Cup round of 24.

David Loiola got a start at inside centre for an injured Sigurður Njálsson, and he made the most of his opportunity with an 11th-minute try. After Mǎ Chāoxīn kicked the conversion it was 7-0. But Electrum would answer with two tries of their own and take a 12-7 lead into half time.

Mǎ then closed the gap to 12-10 with a penalty just three minutes into the second half, and for nearly a half-hour the teams waged furious combat up and down the ground without altering the total. Then in the 69th minute Sū Xùhé broke free from his left wing post to score a try and give Zhenherribae the lead; after Mǎ's conversion the score was 17-12.

But Electrum would not be denied, and their greater experience showed in the clutch. Six minutes later another try would knot the match at 17, and one conversion kick established the final two-point margin.

It's been a fun tournament and a great run for a squad not expected to do much. I hope the word on the street is right about an international sevens tournament coming to the City! Sevens is our true game, after all. It would be wonderful to see forty thousand pack the Borgaraleg Völlinn for some of the world stars who have been on view here in Ingla Terra.

Hey, after this tournament dreaming big comes naturally.

[Saintland]

Saintland 40, The Sword Bloke 10

(SP) The Saintland National Rugby Team demolished the team from the Sword Bloke yesterday in a match that was lopsided from start to finish. The Sword Blok is a nation that is rumored to consist of a single shop and the owner of that shop, known only as "Shop Owner" is the coach of their Rugby Team. However, Shop Owner's team was no match for the #6 ranked team in the multiverse. "We're satisfied with the victory, but we must turn our attention to Mapletish. Mapletish are one of the most formidable rugby teams in the multiverse, as we would expect from a nation of their caliber. Our National Basketball and Ice Hockey teams have done battle with teams from Mapletish in the past. In fact, we have faced them twice before, way back in World Cup 20 nearly 2 years ago. They beat us 49 to 7 in our first ever international match, but we beat them 23 to 21 in the rematch a few days later. Now, we meet again and the stakes are higher. May God be with us as we face them in the Round of 16." - Paulus Norbanus

Saintland's victory against the Sword Bloke was relatively easy. The Sanctii produced 6 tries on the day and converted 5 out of 6 conversion attempts. 6 different Sanctii players scored those tries, showcasing the team's remarkable depth and versatility. The scoring began with Josephus Funisulanus's try in the opening minute and ended with a try by his brother Alessandro in the 79th minute, to put an exclamation point on the Sanctii victory. The only blemish on the day for the Sanctii was a missed conversion attempt by Lucas Portius, who hit the right goalpost. The match was simply a one-sided affair.

The next opponent for the Sanctii is Mapletish. The last time these teams met, the game was a 23 to 21 classic that was ultimately decided by a Marcus Ennius drop goal after Mapletish missed a drop goal and a penalty in the prior minutes. Back then, the Sanctii were a struggling debutante and Mapletish was an established team. Now, the Sanctii out-rank Mapletish in the most recent rankings, but the 2 teams are likely relatively evenly matched. Whoever wins, it should be a great game. Be sure to tune into it on Royal One and support your National Rugby Team!

[Nova Anglicana]

Lions Scrape by Kaboomlandia, Will Meet Ko-oren Next

Harland Howerton, Londinium Courier

Due to their excruciating 28-21 loss to Abanhfleft in the final game of the group stage, the Lions found themselves in a familiar position: playing a low-ranked team in the Round of 24. Last year, the Lions were the #12 seed and faced 21st-seeded Abanhfleft. Their Fleftic opponents defeated them 27-21, rallying from a 21-3 deficit to stun the favored Nova Anglican team. This year, the Lions were seeded 10th and faced #23 Kaboomlandia, a team that needed to beat Banija on the final matchday to sneak in with a 2-0-3 record. Many were predicting an easy victory for the Lions, but the game would be anything but.

Kaboomlandia got the opening kickoff, and a stupid tackle by Garrett Morgan gave the Kaboomlandians an overlap. Scrummy Adrian Phillips quickly tossed the ball out to wing Kevin Millar, who was tackled by Eric Clark. Unfortunately, reserve flanker Manny Hayes was right there at the breakdown, scooped the ball up and sprinted into the try zone before anyone could react. Less than a minute into the game, the Lions trailed 7-0. The Kaboomlandians maintained this advantage for the next fifteen minutes, before Quentin Foray stepped up. The Lions had penetrated inside the opposing 22, and Foray got the ball from Julian Lee off of a ruck. Foray angled up the pitch, heading straight for Alexander Jackson, the opposing inside centre. At the same time, Roger Wood cut in behind him, and Foray's fake to Wood kept Darryl Rutherford, Foray's opposite number, from combining with Jackson for the tackle. As it was, Foray ducked and slipped Jackson's high tackle attempt, and he was off to the races. He rushed into the try zone, just barely touching the ball down before fullback Dave Watkins could lay a hand on him. He hit the conversion, which tied the game. The two teams traded drop goals before the half and the score was 10-all at the break.

Frustrated with his team's lack of punch offensively, Errol Anderson brought on veteran prop Franck Terrot for Khristopher Beard, hoping that Terrot could help the Lions retain possession in rucks and win more scrums. Terrot soon proved himself to be more than capable, and the Lions won three of the first four scrums, including a Kaboomlandian put-in. But the Kaboomlandians held firm on defense. Damien Clemens was held up at the try line, and tentative play from the back line combined with an aggressive defense pushed the Lions back and forced them to settle for a drop goal ten minutes in. Foray would add his third drop goal of the game with twenty minutes to go, giving his team a 16-10 lead.

Kaboomlandia struck back when Manny Hayes crashed a ruck hard and drove Dan Bridges off the pile to win it for his team. Bridges apparently suffered a mild ankle sprain in the collision. Bridges promised to be ready for the next game in the postgame press conference, but if he is unable to play, the capable Jacob Grant will take his place. Now in possession, Kaboomlandia drove down close to the Lions' goalposts, but the defense stiffened and Alexander Jackson hit a drop goal instead. On the ensuing possession, Jacob Grant (who had come on for Bridges) was stupidly called for hands in, and the Kaboomlandians received a penalty. They tried to take it quickly and catch the Lions before they had gotten back ten metres, but the referee blew his whistle sharply and forced them to take it from the spot. The Lions were back by then, and Frederic Allemande conservatively signaled for Jackson to take the penalty. Jackson hit it, tying the game.

The game went back and forth for a few minutes before the thrilling conclusion. With about thirty seconds to go, it looked like the game was headed for overtime. Then something very odd happened. A ruck developed in the middle of the pitch, but both sides threw four or five forwards into the mix instead of the usual two or even three. The Kaboomlandians were desperately trying to win the ball back, and Julian Lee could not get at the ball through the mass of bodies. Then a stray foot hit the ball, and it bounced right to hooker Ben Brady. Brady took off, since there was only the wing Travis McMillan and fullback Watkins to beat on that side. Brady is not a fast man, but he threw a wicked stiff-arm into McMillan and headed for the try zone. By some miracle, Watkins slipped on the pitch and did not get up. Preliminary reports indicated a hamstring strain. Brady ran faster than he had ever ran in his life, just hitting the try zone before the hungry arms of the swift-footed Kaboomlandian backs could get him. Quentin Foray hit the conversion, the Lions received the kickoff, and promptly booted the ball out of bounds to end the game.

The Lions will face Ko-oren in a tough Round of 16 matchup. Be sure to tune in on StateSports1.

OOC: Kaboomlandia's report of four tries for my side could not have been accurate. There is no way to score three tries and have only 16 points before Brady scored the final try. That's why our match reports may not line up.

[Green Jello Salad]

Hey, guys, here's the way to improve your rugby: Get serious with that soccer girl you have your eye on!

Paul Long scored two more tries, making it five from two matches since proposing to his long-time girlfriend, and Andrew Bowen was perfect in four conversions and two penalties to pace the Salad Shooters to a surprising 34-12 win over Rugby World Cup co-hosts Ingla Terra. Eighth man Aiden Begum and winger Jacob Hunt each added a try to round out the scoring.

Hutanjia are next up for the Green Jello Salad fifteen in the octofinals. The Hutanjia team are ranked #5 in the world and are surely contenders to win it all. But should current form hold they'll know that they were in a rugby match.

[The Royal Barangay]

Cutoff for the Round of 16.

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ROUND OF 16

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The Royal Barangay 24-10 Ontorisa
(scorinated by Semarland)

Estenia 17–37 Riysa

Abanhfleft 25–15 Prusy krolewskie

Neu Engollon 15–17 Uitbregen

The Fair Republic 30–16 Electrum

Ko-oren 30–16 Nova Anglicana

Hutanjia 26–11 Green Jello Salad

Mapletish 23–9 Saintland

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Quarterfinals Matchups

The Royal Barangay vs Riysa
(at Estadio Lorenz de Baoyam, Baoyam)

Abanhfleft vs Uitbregen
(at Estadio Iscrachi, Gueti)

The Fair Republic vs Ko-oren
(at Hope Ground, Aarvedra)

Hutanjia vs Mapletish
(at Inglan National Stadium, Shiefield)

[The Fair Republic]

The Fair Republic Toucans defeated Electrum today by a score of 30-16 to advance to its 2nd quarterfinals in 4 tourneys. Victor Peterson started off the match with a try at the 7th minute to give the Toucans a 7-0 lead. Ross Lynch scored a drop goal in the 12th minute to extend the lead to 10-0. Electrum responded with 3 drop goals in a span of 15 minutes to bring the score to 10-9. Ted Meyer scored a rare drop goal in the 34th minute to extend the lead to 13-9. Peter Lazarus scored a try in the last minute of added time to bring the score to 20-9 heading into the break. After the break, Electrum was a different team. They dominated the pitch and didn't allow the Toucans to gain any momentum. A try by Electrum at the 57th minute made it a 20-16 game. They kept attacking and keeping the Toucans on edge. A Lynch tackle saved a go ahead try at the 70th minute to keep the score at 20-16. After the Lynch tackle, Electrum ran out of gas. It was clear that they used every ounce of energy they had to dominate the game in the second half. Brett Adams scored on a penalty try at the 73rd minute to extend the lead to 27-16 and a Lynch drop goal at the 79th minute gave the Toucans the final result of 30-16. Said Patrick after the game, "I'm really proud of the team today. We had our backs against the wall and it looked like we were going to blow another late lead. But we hung in there and were able to get the victory."

Next Game: Ko-oren (1)
The rank says it all. They are the two time defending champions for a reason. Ishtun Makkarn is the best defensive mind in multiverse and Maurice Trottiscliffe is undoubtedly the best forward, if not the best player in the Cup. If the Toucans are going to shock Ko-oren, they have to play the most technically sound attack and their defense has to be superb because, once Ko-oren figures you out, you are not going to get another try.

[Ko-oren]

Dragonflies contain Lions in second half, tough times ahead

Both teams were having small injury difficulties. Jacob Grant played in Dan Bridges' place for most of the game, following his ankle injury against Kaboomlandia. On the Greenblue side, Cyrille Salomon finally got his starting XV spot following Leonardo Braga's shoulder injury sustained during training.

All eyes were on Quentin Foray and Maurice Trottiscliffe, two world class players in completely different roles. Foray is the leader of Nova Anglicana, scoring, tackling and kicking. Mostly kicking. Trottiscliffe is way more powerful and has a natural talent for being in the right place at the right time, which earns this second rower a few tries here and there. The two connected multiple times during this match, and the referee threatened both with yellow cards. It was good judgment on the referee's side that he did not follow through and the entire game just flowed naturally and freely. Foray and Trottiscliffe flourished and in turn all 30 players played a clean game.

The first score was a try for the Lions after nine minutes: Eric Clark was launched by a Quentin Foray kick and escaped through Fletcher and Van Loon to score the first points of the game. Foray's conversion was good, and the Lions were ahead 7-0. It did not take long for the Dragonflies to respond: Magalhães saw an opportunity on the next possession, passed to Kajiwara, who in turn found Salomon, who scored the first Ko-orenite try. Favre made no mistake and scored a seventh point. With 13-10, the teams went to the dressing room at half time (two drop goals for Ko-oren, courtesy of Favre and Magalhães, and one for Nova Anglicana by Foray).

In the entire second half, the Lions were limited to a drop goal by Merlin St. Clair, after Ko-oren's forwards completely shut down Foray. Graham King came close to a 75th minute try, but his attempt was stopped just before he could press the ball down. The Dragonflies were far from done though, and scored two more tries and a penalty goal to ramp up the score to 30-16. Favre was successful for all conversions, too. Nunes and Manceau scored both of Ko-oren's tries in the second half.

In other Round of 16 matches, Riysa completely destroyed Estenia with 37 points scored. This totals to 97 points for the Riysan team in the knockout stage, and luckily for us they will be playing the Royal Barangay, the team with the best group stage record. Abanhfleft will play Uitbregen after ousting Prusy Krolewskie. Best of luck to this losing team for next World Cup! All other games ended in a victory for the 'home' team: the Fair Republic and Ko-oren both with a 30-16 victory, Hutanjia finished the Green Jello Squad's run 26-11 and Saintland is out after losing to Mapletish 23-9. That gives us the following four matches in the quarterfinals:
The Royal Barangay - Riysa: the best allround squad from the group stage versus a scarily high scoring team.
Abanhfleft - Uitbregen: a new giant versus an old giant, after a tough Round of 16 match for both.
Hutanjia - Mapletish: two teams with an insane point difference, two group winners, two high ranking teams - one highly anticipated matchup.

The Fair Republic - Ko-oren: on average the highest ranking quarterfinal duo and both still haven't lost at all during this World Cup. Peter Lazarus scored a try for the Toucans again and extends his scoring streak to 6 matches (Electrum (r16), Riysa (group), Banija, the Peoples Emirate, Devonta, Kaboomlandia) and remains the only player to score on every single match day (save the Round of 24, but that was not Lazarus' fault). He should be the major problem to our defence: if we can stop him, that's 7 points we save. Leonardo Braga should be back for the Greenblues, relegating Salomon once again to the bench.

[Riysa]

---

IKHBAR AL-WATAN

Sports News
Jamal al-Dari

---

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

We're almost there!

By there, I mean the final games. In case you haven't been following the news lately, the Riysian team had an excellent winning streak, plowing through four competitors without any losses and forcing a tie with the #8 ranked team in the world. In the round of 24, our team broke a new record for the 23rd World Cup, winning 60-0 against the previously unranked Semarland team and moved on to defeat the Estenian team 37-17 in the Round of 16. Now, we're at the quarterfinals, playing against the host team, which has turned out to be one of the best overall teams in the game. There's no doubt that it will be a highly anticipated - and very, very close -game, and as such it is pretty much anyone's guess as to who will win. Lets cheer on for our fellow players, and pray that they win!

This game overall has been a game of upsets, with veteran teams such as those of Darmen (#15 in the world), Apox (#9 in the world) falling to unranked newcomers, and even fellow Asytrian Neu Engollon (#2 in the world!) losing to the Uitbregen team in the Round of 16. Is the old order of things being shaken up? Is this a sign that the world is starting to become more invested in rugby? Who knows? Well, regardless, consolations to those that have lost, and best of luck to our new competitors.

Apart from our game, the other quarterfinal games have are Abanhfleft (#24) vs Uitbregen (#4), The Fair Republic (#8) vs Ko-oren (#1), and Hutanjia (#5) vs Mapletish (#12). The first two are more straightforward then our game, so here's my prediction:

Abanhfleft vs Uitbregen: Abanhfleft has pulled off a perfect 5-0-0 game, managing a small but important win against the Nova Anglicana (#10) team. However, apart from that Abanhfleft has only faced newcomers, so is this really indicative of their performance of their team, or was it just a lucky fluke? They're going against the #4 team in the world this coming game, so while it is possible for them to pull off an upset, I'm not seeing it being likely. Uitbregen will be the victor here.

The Fair Republic vs Ko-oren: The Fair Republic has pulled off a decent game, beating Electrum (#22) in the Round of 16. While we'd certainly want a team that we've managed to tie with before to win, they're facing the #1 team in the world, while beforehand they've only managed to tie with a team half their rank...they need to pull off an incredible hat trick in this next game, or else they'll get utterly flattened. At this point, I'll say that Ko-oren wins this match.

Hutanjia vs Mapletish: This setup seems interestingly similar to the Riysa vs Fair Republic game and the subsequent tie that we saw earlier, during the group stage match. However, I'd say that Hutanjia has the slight advantage; while Mapletish has managed to score heavily, its also suffered a loss during the group stage, while Hutanjia has played a perfect 5-0-0. This will be close though, so while I do want to say that Hutanjia will win, I'm not sure at all. We'll just have to wait and see.

Till next time!

This has been Jamal al-Dari, Tel al-Riyah, Riysa.

[Abanhfleft]

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
SPORTS CHANNEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE

ABANHFLEFT VS. PRUSY KROLEWSKIE: SCORES AND LIVE TWITTER REACTIONS
By Archon Venkman

GUETI, THE ROYAL BARANGAY - Abanhfleft stood ready and waiting for their next opponent in the round of 16 of the Rugby Union World Cup as the round of 24 culled the weak from the strong, and when all was said and done, Abanhfleft was paired off against Prusy Krolewskie, a rugby union newcomer who was nevertheless associated with a group of nations that Abanhfleft knows very well: the Commonwealth of United Smilers, whose members include regular Fleftic sports rivals such as Pays d'en Haut, Southern Democratic States, and Miley World. Prusy Krolewskie seem really set on defeating the Berserkers to avenge their fellow Smilers, but with Abanhfleft currently on a 5-win run, the most notable being the group stage closing match against Nova Anglicana, which saw the Berserkers triumphant over the men in blue and white once again, repeating the feat they did in RUWC 22.

Abanhfleft, as always, started off strong, but it was Prusy Krolewskie that landed the first blow as their left wing Wojciech Drozdowski managed to get around the Fleftic defense and landed the try. Fortunately for Abanhfleft their kicker and vice-captain Philipp Schweinsteiger flubbed the conversion, meaning Prusy Krolewskie led the Berserkers only by five points. The Riuwiee Daily Bulletin sent out this tweet:

@RiuwieeDailyBulletin: @philippschweinsteigerofficial flubs the conversion after Drozdowski try, Prusy Krolewskie leads Abanhfleft 5-0. #RUWC23

But the Berserkers were quick to get back on the attack. And it was inevitable that Dev Nasuggi would land a try of his own. This time, with kicking duties now handed over to Zack Mosquito, he managed to make the conversion even when a strong wind picked up inside the stadium. Fleftic baseball star and rugby union fan Ibrahim Ahmadinejad was all praises for the national team after Mosquito had made the conversion.

@ArmoredDinnerJacket67: @rugbymosquito_official gives Abanhfleft the lead after @TheDevNasuggi equalized! #COYB #AbanhfleftVyievra #RUWC23

Of course, since this is an international rivalry spanning at least four different sports, and since it was still just seven minutes into the first half, Prusy Krolewskie wasn't about to give up yet. Szymon Sokolowski managed to successfully evade a tackle from Prabhesh Nayyar, and seeing that the rest of the Fleftic defense was bearing down on him, he hoofed the ball through the posts, giving Prusy Krolewskie the lead once again. But Abanhfleft was not to be overpowered so easily. Sikaruchabamba, noted drop goal taker, did what he does best and sent the ball through the posts and lift Abanhfleft back up over Prusy Krolewskie. Ahmadinejad fired off another tweet as soon as Sikaruchabamba's drop goal was counted.

@ArmoredDinnerJacket67: @sikaruchabamba puts up back on top with his specialty drop goals! #AbanhfleftVyievra #RUWC23

The first half ended with a quite surprisingly low 10-8 scoreline, definitely lower than fans of both teams were expecting from such a vital game. But it turned out that this was actually just a prelude for the second half, which would see lots of tries and drop goals seemingly flying in from everywhere and going in. That is an overstatement, but tries and drop goals will definitely be scored in the second half.

Once again, it was Prusy Krolewskie who struck first, and it was Agata Grudzinska who managed to land the try. With Schweinsteiger making the conversion, Prusy Krolewskie was five points ahead of Abanhfleft. But Abanhfleft is really out for blood now. Archie Wigglesworth landed a try, and Mosquito made the conversion. SIkaruchabamba made a second drop goal, and then Nawwaz Shareef Wahhab completed the game with a try of his own. With Prusy Krolewskie finally disposed of, Abanhfleft is up against Uitbregen, the team that eliminated them from the last rugby union world cup. The Rugby Union Federation of Abanhfleft posted this tweet after the match:

@rugbiunitasor_abanhfleft: Uitbregen knocked us out last time. We hope to return the favor tomorrow. #AbanhfleftVyievra #RUWC23

Archon Venkman is a former national rugby union team fullback and captain. He now writes rugby union-related blogs and articles for Abanhfleft's Crescent News Network Sports Channel. He is also the author of the book Why in the World Did Rugger Gain Fame Here in My Country Anyway?: The Irreverent and Ultimately Irrelevant Autobiography of Archon "The Anchor" Venkman.

[Mapletish]

The Sour Kind
"Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day"

Sports | Tish

Rugby Union World Cup 23

There we have it, the All Reds are through to the quarter-finals after a satisfying 23-9 victory over rivals Saintland. The Saints have always been an opponent to get a win against. Team Mapletish have a rather competitive rivalry with the Saints in both basketball and ice-hockey. Just previously, the All Reds fell to the Saints with a 23-21 scoreline. We were definitely a rather established team in the Saints' eyes only to outmatched in the international rankings.

All eyes were on the two teams which prided themselves on a very rough and aggressive style of play. Although fouls were rarely given in both of the domestic leagues, the match referee for the RUWC was indeed strict with his judgement and ensures no one steps out of the line. The Saints were the first to take the lead through a penalty goal in the 8th minute after a high tackle from Upton Major to an on running Mattheus Ennius.

It however did not take long for the All Reds to respond as Lincoln Sherwood linked up well with Farran Douglas who then released Isidro Roberto into play and he made no mistakes to score a try for the All Reds. Farran Douglas converted the subsequent conversion and brought the scoreline to 7-3. The aggressive plays continued as Marcus Desidenius from the Saints apparently obstructed Mort Arthur from tackling the former's teammate. Arthur then tripped over Desidenius' foot and an argument ensured only for both players to be sent off. The heated half continued as the All Reds deliberately collapsed the scrum for a time-wasting technique only for the Saints to convert the penalty for that, but it was only after Mr Referee played his cards after several players from the All Reds failed to retreat at the penalty. Among the recipients were Junior Van and Brigham Harper.

With the Saints only a point behind, the All Reds turned up the heat and responded with a try and a drop goal but were disappointed with the performance of Douglas who failed to convert a Loyd Danny's try. The skipper of the All Reds then added a drop goal to bring the score to 17-6 as both teams entered the dressing rooms separately at half time to prevent a brawl from happening.

The second half followed the same fashion as for the half time whistle as the Saints entered the field first only for the All Reds to follow them later on. Two players were almost sent off before the second half even started! Deforest Norm tripped Nicolaus Opsius on the field as he was warming up. Opsius apparently headbutted Norm only for Mr Referee to card them both with a yellow as a warning.

In the whole of the second half, the Saints were completely shut off in attack, with only a drop goal by Silvester Spurius to show that they were still in the game. Frequent commotions from the both sides and from the rowdy fans threatened to cut the match off prematurely but Mr Referee insisted that the match had to be played. The All Reds however took advantage of the numbed attack to strike back lethally. Veteran Isidro Roberto added a try of his own only to see Davi missed the third conversion kick for the All Reds.

The All Reds were still not done yet as they took advantage of another scrum infringement , this time round, the Saints' forwards were not binded properly with each other and the All Reds' players. Sherwood took the penalty and got another three points for the All Reds to ramp up the score line to a comfortable 23-9.

In the next match, the All Reds will face 5th placed Hutanjia who had been perfect this RUWC with a flawless record in group stage and dominating their opponents comfortably. The All Reds will definitely need to press their opponents hard to secure a win and advance. We will just wait for the match to play out and see what we can get from there!

This is Tish signing off.

[Hutanjia]

They had fought their way through, time and again. Going up against nations both tough and slack, but keeping their steel as they hoped they would need it for down the line. The Green Jello Salad match had been one of the tough ones.
They had done the Panehu, slapping elbows, grunting out the chants, war faces grimacing; all to amused smirks. That's ok, they were used to the dismissal as foreign heathens.

Were it the battlefield, they would have made quick work of their opponents with machetes and clubs soon afterwards, knocking the smirks right off their smug faces. Instead, they set to conquering them with rucks, scrums and drop kicks. The opening try scored by Weston Ketsangu put them on the board and woke up the GJS squad that it wasn't going to be all wine and roses...

With the conversion kick from Lintanu, they were off. No try attempts could cross their 22 for the next twenty seven minutes. A later drop goal to add on and they continued to press every advantage. Then, they faltered.

Green Jello Salad was ready, and they pressed the advantage to add to their two successful kicks, one of them resulting from a penalty on Sokota, the beginning of the cracking. The Spiders would not make it easy for them, but GJS used their momentum to squeeze closer, rolling and piling their way forward. It was their captain, Aiden Begum, that would make the final short dash and touch down the rock within the inside corner of the zone. It was Bowen who would nail the post instead of slipping the conversion kick inside it, leaving it a firm 5 to tack onto 6. Green Jello Salad led at the half, 11-10.

A huddle to knock heads and clear the cobwebs for the Spiders. They got back on the pitch and got down to business. Not another point through. That was the mantra hammered down by Wakala, and that was what they would stick with. Sure enough, they rallied 8 minutes into the second to get that next try. It had led from a far tossed lineout and fake near the mid-pitch.

Conversion through the toothpicks and they were resetting for a response. A bruising tackle on Jacob Hunt by Jelego, when Hunt had tried to return the ball, left him crawling out of his crater as the action flowed on. Monty Apegku made a mad sprint on a break and danced along the line to round through the try zone and park the ball behind the center posts as the GJS futilely caught up in those seconds.

It was downhill from there, as they could tell their opposites were thoroughly demoralized, and the Hutanjians finally looked up in triumph at the whistle. 27-11 the final. They would move on to the Quarters.

[The Royal Barangay]

Cutoff for the Quarterfinals!

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QUARTERFINALS

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The Royal Barangay 17-15 Riysa
(scorinated by Semarland)

Abanhfleft 29–24 Uitbregen

The Fair Republic 31–13 Ko-oren

Hutanjia 14–19 Mapletish

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Semifinals Matchups

The Royal Barangay vs Abanhfleft
(at StadiumSangti, Sangti)

The Fair Republic vs Mapletish
(at Freedom Arena, Freedom Island)

OOC Note: With The Royal Barangay remaining in the tournament, cutoff window will be at 00:00 to 02:00, UTC+8.
EDIT 2: Changed typo from Quarterfinals to Semifinals.

[The Fair Republic]

The Fair Republic Toucans shocked the two time defending champs Ko-oren today by a score of 31-13 to advance to their first semifinals appearance ever. It was raining cats and dogs at Hope Ground and both teams had to react to their environment. Ko-oren started off strong with a Maurice Trottiscliffe try in the second minute to give the Dragonflies an early 7-0 lead. Things got worse for the Toucans as Peter Lazarus twisted his left ankle when he slipped, trying to make a cut past Trottiscliffe. Thankfully Lazarus was able to stay in the game, although he wasn't 100%. Florent Manceau had a drop goal in the 17th minute to extend the lead to 10-0. Leonardo Braga had a drop goal at the 29th minute to extend the lead to 13. It seemed like this was going to be a long game for the Toucans, Lazarus wasn't at full strength and he was shut down by the Ko-oren forwards and the Toucans sloppy play, combined with the poor conditions didn't allow them to gain any momentum. Luke Smith somehow got a drop goal during injury time to cut the lead to 13-3 at the break. Something changed during halftime, as the Toucans came out with a chip on their shoulder. Lazarus came out with new energy as he collided with Trottiscliffe right by the Toucans twenty two line to save a try at the 42nd mintue despite earning a yellow card on the play and giving Ko-oren a penalty try. Ross Lynch, who made plenty of mental errors in the first half, somehow stopped the penalty try to keep the score at 13-3. After that, the Toucans controlled the game. Franz Williams, who was streaky and inconsistent in the games so far was able to get 2 tries in a span of 13 minutes to give the Toucans a 17-13 lead. Victor Peterson scored a try at the 67th minute to give the Toucans a 24-13 lead. Timothy Hunter later scored a try at the 78th minute to put the game out of reach and the final score stayed 31-13. Coach Gideon Patrick said after the game, "I'm really proud of the boys today. After that first half, I thought the game was over. However, we were able to fight back and beat the two time defending champions." When asked about Lazarus' status for the rest of the tourney, Patrick said, "Thankfully, the injury to Peter wasn't as bad as we feared. However, he is still walking with a slight limp. As of right now, he is a gametime decision for tomorrow."

Next Game: Mapletish (12)
The All Reds might be the most dangerous team left. One day their stars can dominate the pitch, another day they could be completely AWOL. Mort Arthur and Lincoln Sherwood lead a powerful offense, while not the most technically sound team, their skill and natural athletic ability more than make up for a lack of polish. The Toucans are the slight favorites, however that can all change because the All Reds can go off at any time leaving any team stunned and wondering what just happened. Lazarus' health will be the x factor heading into tomorrow and if he is able to play and be close to 100%, the Toucans might have a chance to advance to the RUWC finals