2023 Rugby World Cup Pool C
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Pool C of the 2023 Rugby World Cup began on 9 September 2023 and concluded on 8 October 2023. The pool included two-times champions
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and automatic qualifiers
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
. They were joined by
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
(Europe 1) and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
(Final Qualifier Winner). It is the fourth time in five Rugby World Cup tournament in which Australia, Wales and Fiji have been in the same group (
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
being the exception, where Wales and Fiji were still drawn together, and Wales faced Australia in the bronze medal match).


Teams

Notes


Overview

Pool C got underway with
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
facing
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, in which Australia came out victorious with a 35–15 win. Ben Donaldson earned himself two tries while also succeeding in 3 conversions and 3 penalties, earning him player of the match. The following day,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
faced
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
in a pulsating encounter which Wales edged in a scoreline of 32–26. Tries were scored at both ends, but
Elliot Dee Elliot Mitchell Dee (born 7 March 1994) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for United Rugby Championship club Dragons and the Wales national team. Early life Dee was born in Newport and attended Newbridge Comp ...
's converted try in the 66th minute turned out to be what sealed victory for the Welsh, despite a late attempt at a fightback from Fiji which included a try from Mesake Doge in the 78th minute which was not converted.
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, making their first Rugby World Cup appearance since
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, began their campaign the following week against Wales. Despite a valiant effort from the Portuguese, Wales came out winners with a scoreline of 28–8, courtesy of four Welsh tries. Australia faced Fiji for their second match of the pool the following day, as Fiji came out shock winners with a 15–22 victory in
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...
, with
Josua Tuisova Josua Tuisova Ratulevu (born 4 February 1994) is a Fijian rugby union player. A wing or centre, he currently plays for Racing 92 in France's Top 14. He won a gold medal in sevens as part of the Fiji team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Known for his ...
scoring their only try of the match. After a six day rest in the pool, action returned with Georgia facing Portugal in
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
. After trailing 13–0, Portugal staged a comeback with two tries from Raffaele Storti, before a late try from Tengiz Zamtaradze drew Georgia level and denied Portugal a famous first World Cup victory, with
Nuno Sousa Guedes Nuno Maria Ramos Pinto Sousa Guedes (born Porto, 21 November 1994) is a Portuguese rugby union player. He plays as a fullback. Club career He first played for Associação Prazer de Jogar Rugby, in his hometown of Porto. He moved afterwards to C ...
missing a last minute penalty for the Portuguese as the match finished with a scoreline of 18–18. On the following day, Wales took on Australia, in which Wales scoring a record breaking 40 points to Australia's 6, a result which saw Wales become the first team to officially progress to the knockout stage in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, while leaving Australia in serious jeopardy of exiting the tournament at the pool stage for the first time in the Wallabies history. The following weekend, on 30 September, Fiji and Georgia locked horns in
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
with both sides still fighting to join Wales in the knockout stage. Despite trailing to first half penalties from
Luka Matkava Luka Matkava ( ka, ლუკა მატკავა; born 10 May 2001) is a Georgian professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Rugby Europe Super Cup club Black Lion, he is currently on loan at Castres in the Top 14 as injur ...
and Davit Niniashvili, Fiji fought back in the second half with tries from
Waisea Nayacalevu Waisea Nayacalevu Vuidravuwalu (born 26 June 1990) is a Fijian professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and captains the Fiji national team. Club career Waisea, along with his brother, Ave ...
and Vinaya Habosi to move to the brink of qualifying for the quarter-finals, while Georgia were confirmed elimination from the tournament despite Matkava's late penalty providing Georgia a losing bonus point. The next day, Australia played their last match of the pool against Portugal in a must win encounter for both sides in
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...
. In a physical match which saw three players sin-binned, the Australians came out victorious with a 34–14 scoreline, despite a valiant Portuguese effort. Five tries were scored by Australia, two not converted, to secure a bonus-point win and keep their faint hopes of progression to the knockout stage alive while officially knocking Portugal out of the tournament. Ahead of the final matchweek in the pool, which Australia would not play, Fiji needed just a point from their match against Portugal to advance to the knockout stage alongside Wales and ahead of Australia. On 7 October, Wales played their final match of the pool against Georgia in which they came out with a 43–19 victory, courtesy of a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
from
Louis Rees-Zammit Louis Rees-Zammit ( ; born 2 February 2001) is a Welsh professional American football wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and former rugby union player. From 2018, Rees-Zammit played as a Rugby union ...
, to officially secure the Welsh top spot in Pool C. All that was left in Pool C was the final match the following day between Fiji and Portugal, to officially decide whether it would be Australia or Fiji who would finish second in the pool and join Wales in the knockout stage. With the exception of a few moments, Fiji started the game slowly and by halftime the scoreline was level at 3–3, with both teams having scored only a penalty each. By the 51st minute, Portugal looked to pull off a historic upset with Francisco Fernandes scoring a try, which converted, brought the scoreline to 10–17. In the 68th minute, a well-worked drive from Mesake Doge levelled the score at 17–17. Two converted penalties for Fiji within the space of four minutes looked to seal their place in the last-eight for them, however, in the final minute of the game, Rodrigo Marta ran in a last try. Samuel Marques would convert, bringing the final scoreline to 23–24, and marking Portugal's first ever victory in a World Cup tournament. Although Fiji lost the match, they were awarded a losing bonus-point as they lost the game within a margin of seven points, therefore putting them level with Australia on points in the standings. According to the tiebreaking criteria, advancement therefore went to the team with the better head-to-head record. Because Fiji had won against Australia, they went through to the knockout stage, and for the first time in their history, Australia was eliminated in the pool stages. Portugal finished in fourth, while Georgia took fifth.


Standings


Matches


Australia vs Georgia

Notes: * Taniela Tupou (Australia) earned his 50th test cap.


Wales vs Fiji


Wales vs Portugal

Notes: * This was the first ever meeting between these two nations at a World Cup. However, they did previously meet in a World Cup qualifying competition. *
Tomos Williams Tomos Geraint Williams (born 1 January 1995) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Premiership Rugby club Gloucester and the Wales national team. Club career Cardiff academy graduate, Tomos Williams, made ...
(Wales) earned his 50th test cap. *
Tommy Reffell Tomas John Reffell (born 27 April 1999) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Premiership Rugby club Leicester Tigers and the Wales national team. Club career Reffell began his junior career at his local clu ...
(Wales) was originally named in the starting line-up, but withdrew during the match-day warm-up because of injury. He was replaced by
Jac Morgan Jac Morgan (born 21 January 2000) is a Welsh rugby union player, who plays in the backrow for the Ospreys and Wales. He is the current captain of the Wales national rugby union team. Early life Jac Morgan was born in Sketty, Swansea, an ...
. *
José Madeira José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
(Portugal) was originally named in the starting line-up, but withdrew the day before the match because of injury. He was replaced by Martim Belo, whose place on the bench was taken by Thibault de Freitas.


Australia vs Fiji

Notes: * Captain
Will Skelton William Skelton (born 3 May 1992) is an Australian rugby union player, who plays as a lock for La Rochelle in the French Top 14 competition. Skelton was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and he is of Samoan descent; he moved to Australia as a chi ...
was originally named at lock for Australia, but failed a fitness test prior to the match. He was replaced in the starting line-up by Richie Arnold, whose place on the bench was taken by
Matt Philip Matt Philip (born 7 March 1994) is an Australian rugby union footballer who currently plays as a lock for the . He previously played for the Western Force and Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby, and signed with the New South Wales Waratahs ahead ...
. The Wallabies captaincy was handed over to
Dave Porecki David Porecki (born 23 October 1992 in Australia) is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the in Super Rugby and the Australian national team, the wallabies. His playing position is hooker. Rugby career Domestic Porecki made one ...
. * This was Fiji's first victory over Australia at the
Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...
, and their first since an 18–16 away win in 1954. * This was Fiji's largest victory over Australia.


Georgia vs Portugal

Notes: * This was the first ever meeting between these two nations at a World Cup. * This was the fourth draw in a World Cup match, and the first since
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
drew 23–23 in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
.


Wales vs Australia

Notes: * This was Wales' largest ever victory over Australia, for both total points scored and overall winning margin. * This was Australia's largest defeat in a World Cup match (by margin). It was also the first time they had lost two matches in the World Cup pool stages. *
Adam Beard Adam James Beard (born 7 January 1996) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a Lock (rugby union), lock for United Rugby Championship club Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys and the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national ...
(Wales) earned his 50th test cap. * With this loss, Australia dropped to 10th place in the
World Rugby Rankings The World Rugby Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in rugby union, managed by World Rugby, the sport's governing body. There are separate men's and women's rankings. The teams of World Rugby's member nations are ranked based on th ...
– their lowest placement in history.


Fiji vs Georgia

Notes: * Irakli Aptsiauri (Georgia) made his international debut.


Australia vs Portugal

Notes: * This was the first ever meeting between these two nations at a World Cup. *
Carter Gordon Carter Carl Gordon (born 29 January 2001) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays for Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL). He formerly played professional rugby union for the Melbourne Rebels and intern ...
was originally named on the bench for Australia, but withdrew prior to the match because of injury. He was replaced by Samu Kerevi.


Wales vs Georgia

Notes: *
Gareth Anscombe Gareth Anscombe (born 10 May 1991) is a rugby union player who plays for Top 14 side Bayonne and the Wales national rugby union team. He primarily plays at fly-half but can also play as a fullback. Anscombe is the son of former Auckland and Uls ...
was originally named to start at fly-half for Wales, but withdrew after sustaining a groin injury during the pre-match warm-up. He was replaced by
Sam Costelow Sam Costelow (born 10 January 2001) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets and the Wales national team. Early life Born in Llantrisant and raised in Pencoed, Costelow s ...
, whose place on the bench was taken by
Dan Biggar Daniel Biggar (born 16 October 1989) is a Welsh professional rugby union player currently playing for French Top 14 side Toulon as a fly-half. A Wales international, Biggar has also twice been selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions. ...
. * Wales finished top of their pool for the second World Cup in a row – the first time they have achieved this feat in consecutive tournaments.


Fiji vs Portugal

Notes: * This was the first ever meeting between these two nations at a World Cup. * This was Portugal's first ever World Cup victory, and their first ever victory over Fiji or any other Pacific Island nation. * Portugal achieved their highest points total (24) and most tries scored (3) in a World Cup match. * Fiji qualified for the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time since
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
, and just the third time in their history. * Fiji became the first team since
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
to progress to the knockout stage with only two wins in the pool stage. * With this result,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
were eliminated at the pool stage of the World Cup for the first time.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup
Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...
2023–24 in Welsh rugby union 2023 in Australian rugby union 2023 in Fijian rugby union