Rugby Blog

We're more than two weeks into the Rugby World Cup and the current atmosphere in England today is one of grave disappointment after fans watched the team get knocked out of the World Cup losing to Australia 13-33 at Twickenham on Saturday night.

Despite this devastating performance, we've seen a number of exciting games held across the country since the tournament began, some containing the most phenomenal, breath-taking rugby, while some games have left us wondering just exactly what happened?

Below, Centurion takes a look at some of the highs and lows of the Rugby World Cup 2015 so far.

England lose to Australia

Coined as 'England's worst World Cup performance' which saw the team become the first host nation to fail to advance from their group,  on a more positive note Wales and Australia amassed 61 points at Twickenham and will both go on to compete in the knock-out phase.

In England's defense, Group A has been described by Wales coach Warren Gatland as the "group of hell", whilst he also rounded on the organisers' decision to draw the pools that pitted England, Wales and Australia against each other. The Rugby Football Union has announced that there will be an inquest following the World Cup whereby the performances of key figures such as Stuart Lancaster will be reviewed.

So for now, perhaps it's time to focus on our neighbouring British nations. Ireland and Wales are now both safety through to the knock-outs whilst Scotland, having lost badly to South Africa this weekend, still stand a good chance of going through providing they can beat Samoa on Saturday.

Best try of the tournament so far...

After an eventful weekend, and two full weeks of exciting rugby playing, Centurion has picked its best try from the World Cup 2015 so far. The try is awarded to Rob Kearney during the Ireland v Romania game at the World Cup record crowd of 89,267 at Wembley. Full back Simon Zebo was the stand-out figure in an excellent performance - his searing pace and incisive pass inside put Rob Kearney in for a fantastic breakaway score.

Biggest shock of the tournament: Japan beat South Africa

The biggest shock to the World Cup tournament, and to rugby world history, was Japan beating South Africa, which led Heyneke Meyer to make an official apology to the South African nation. Brighton was the venue which saw the most unpredictable defeat, yet even towards the closing seconds there was a chance that South Africa might still win. ButNew Zealand-born replacement wing Karne Hesketh dived over in the corner in the final move of the game to clinch a supposedly impossible triumph. Outstanding performances were shown by full-back Ayumu Goromaru who scored 24 points and the team head coach Eddie Jones.

Wembley breaks new record

On 27th September 2015, Wembley Stadium broke a new world record during Ireland's Rugby World Cup clash against Romania. The game drew in the biggest crowd in the tournament's history with 89,267 fans packed into the 90,000 capacity Stadium. 

The crowd broke the previous record of 89,019 for New Zealand's victory over Argentina at Wembley last week. Prior to this year's tournament, the record stood at 82,957 for the 2003 final between England and Australia at Sydney's Olympic Stadium.

Stadium Guides

If you are attending a match at the Rugby World Cup and would like advice on hotels, restaurants, nightlife and how to get to the stadiums, read our complete collection of stadium blogs.