Rugby World Cup 2023: Ireland and Scotland face showdown in Lyon
Rugby World Cup stars have one eye on the knockout rounds as the pool stage comes to a close. England and Wales have already advanced to the next stage of the tournament with games to spare, while Scotland and Ireland are desperate to join them.
England face their final Pool D clash against Samoa on Saturday but have already qualified for the quarter-finals. Steve Borthwick is set to start with a dual-playmaker pivot of George Ford and Owen Farrell in a bid to find out his best team.
Scotland and Ireland also face a battle in France on the same day. A place in the knockout rounds could be at stake.
Follow all the latest developments with Express Sport’s live blog, below.
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What next for England?
England face Samoa in Lille on Saturday.
Borthwick’s side have taken advantage of a favourable Group D and have already breezed into the next round, maintaining an unbeaten record.
Tom Curry is set to return to the back line after his red card just 120 seconds into England’s opener against Argentina.
Country may face ban
South Africa may apparently be banned from playing under their own flag and singing their national anthem, reports suggest.
The country’s government missed a deadline to comply with the latest World Anti-Doping Code (Wada) that came into force in 2021.
According to the Daily Maverick, the government must amend its own outdated drug-free sport act but reportedly has fewer than 10 days to do so.
England star to miss rest of the tournament
England star Jack Willis has been sent home from the tournament with a neck injury.
The flanker suffered the problem in the 71-0 thrashing of Chile and is the latest in a long list of injury issues for the 26-year-old.
Head coach Borthwick has announced that a replacement will arrive in France.
“We are obviously really disappointed for Jack. He has been an important member of this team and this squad,” Borthwick said.
“We anticipate the injury will just be a few weeks, but clearly with the timescales we operate in he will be replaced in the 33.
“He is naturally very, very disappointed. His return to being back on the field has already started – a determined man like that wants to be at his very best and getting stuck into the work that needs to be done.”
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