Week two of Rugby World Cup 2021 (played in 2022) has concluded as teams start to make their push towards the quarter-finals.England cemented their status as favourites with a tight victory over France whilst the Black Ferns' thumping of Wales was a timely reminder of their talent.In the end, it was Fijiana that were the main talking point from the weekend, recording their first-ever World Cup victory with a thrilling win over South Africa.Rugby.com.au breaks down week two of the 2021 Rugby World Cup.Australia 14 def Scotland 12The Wallaroos fought hard to secure a 14-12 victory over Scotland in Whangarei.The Scottish stunned Jay Tregonning's side early on as they crossed twice via the rolling maul.However, the Wallaroos refused to die and Bienne Terita's try got them back into the contest.A bruising burst from Ashley Marsters gave them a late lead before hookers Marsters and Adiana Talakai were red-carded late in the contest.In the end, a great tackle and rip by Arabella McKenzie forced the mistake and secured the win.Quotes“It was a real tough match. Scotland, they really showed us how to play footie. I’m immensely proud of the whole team for giving everything for the whole 84 minutes, it’s an amazing reward. This team have come a long way in the last 12 months so a win in the world cup means so much to us and it really shows that all the hard work that went into this win has paid off.” – Australia captain Shannon Parry“It’s a tough score to take. We put in a big first half and we really capitalised on putting pressure in there which is something we didn’t do last week. From an attacking point of view we did a lot better than last week but in the second half we just couldn’t get a hold of the ball or get the territory that we needed to play. I’m really proud of the effort and attitude that the girls put in today. It’s been a learning curve for us the last two weeks but we have another opportunity next week to end on a good performance.” Scotland captain Rachel MalcolmScoresAustralia 14 (TRIES: Bienne Terita, Ashley Marsters; CONS: Lori Cramer 2) def Scotland 12 (TRIES: Lana Skeldon, Penalty try)USA 30 def Japan 17The USA have survived a scare to overcome a valiant Japan 30-17.The Japanese stunned their much-fancied opposition as diminutive halfback Megumi Abe dived over the line for a 5-3 lead at the break.Joanna Kitlinski got the Americans back on the front foot before the two sides traded tries in an entertaining second half.Tries to Elizabeth Cairns and Jennine Detiveaux put the result out of question as they kept their World Cup aspirations alive.“We came here to have a performance today, we needed a performance and the girls showed up and I’m really proud of them.”Quotes“I’m honestly speechless at times, the girls came to play. We had some fantastic tries. Bizy coming off and the bench coming right in and scoring a try from the kick was amazing. Janine cutting up the middle, that’s something we’ve been working on the training park for a few months and it’s taken us a while to execute so today was a good day to see that come off.” – USA captain and player of the match Kate Zackary“I think we were able to bring to the game what we had worked on, and especially in the first half I think that we achieved what we had set out to. As for the score I think we could have scored more. I think considering the possession and territory we had, that there were many chances for us but we just couldn’t use them. There were times when we couldn’t even make use of the opportunities, we were making ourselves and because of that things seemed to go in the USA’s favour and that’s when the game was taken from us.” – Japan captain Saki Minami ScoresUSA 30 (TRIES: Joanna Kitlinski, Alev Kelter, Elizabeth Cairns, Jennine Detiveaux (70')' CONS: Alev Kelter 2; PENS: Gabriella Cantorna, Alev Kelter) def Japan 17 (TRIES: Megumi Abe, Hinano Nagura, Komachi Imakugi; CONS: Komachi Imakugi)England 13 def France 7England have held on for a 13-7 victory over fellow title hopefuls France.Emily Scarratt scored all the points for England, including their lone try, as they extended their unbeaten run to 27 matches.Scarratt powered her way over the line in the 25th minute as they took a 10-0 lead into the break.Looking in trouble with 15 minutes remaining, France scored against the run of play through replacement forward Gaëlle Hermet to give them a glimmer of hope.However, England's domination of possession and territory continued over the closing stages to ensure victory and their spot in the quarter-finals.Quotes“We know the encounters with us and France have come down to fine margins and they’ve been tight scores and tonight was no different. Two very good sides going head to toe against each other, it was attritional out there. Great for France to put in a performance like that and make us play and hopefully it was a good showcase for women’s rugby and what happens when two teams want that win.” – England captain Sarah Hunter"Tonight we promised ourselves to go into the commitment, to find ourselves defensively, to go up like crazy and it didn't matter what the outcome was because it wasn't a game that knocked us out. I think, given the score, they were pretty hot. It's still a loss, for sure, but I think tonight we can go back to the locker room with our heads up." France captain Celine FererScoresEngland 13 (TRIES: Emily Scarrett; CONS: Emily Scarrett; PENS: Emily Scarrett 2) def France 7 (TRIES: Gaëlle Hermet; CONS: Caroline Drouin)Canada 22 def Italy 12Canada have secured their spot in the final eight with a 22-12 victory over Italy.The Italians started strong as fullback Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi raced away to open the scoring inside 40 seconds.From here, it was all Canada as player of the match Sophie de Goede continued her red-hot tournament, powering her side home.Hooker Emily Tuttosi continued her try-scoring spree, scoring either side of the break as their forward pack took control of the game.A late try to Elisa Giordano wasn't enough for Italy as Canada held on for the win.Quotes“We came here wanting to win the Rugby World Cup and the first step is to get wins and bonus points and we managed to do that in our first two games in this pool. Again, it's very tough opposition like, we saw Japan yesterday against the USA, they are a very tough side, they were very tough in our game as well, and then coming out today against Italy. Gosh, that was the most exhaustive game we've played. So, all credit to them and I'm just really happy that we were able to come away with the win today.” – Canada captain and player of the match Sophie de Goede “We knew that Canada would be a tough opponent so we knew we had to start well with that first try. Unfortunately, we ended up leaving things to them and I think they took advantage. The first half the wind helped them but that doesn’t take away from their win because they are a great team. They are physical and they are tough and they really came firing at us so we will analyse and see what we need to work on for next week.” Italy flanker Giado FrancoScoresCanada 22 (TRIES: Paige Farries, Emily Tuttosi (2), Sara Kaljuvee; CONS: Brianna Miller) def Italy 12 (TRIES: Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, Elisa Giordano; CONS: Michela Sillari)New Zealand 56 def Wales 12The Black Ferns have delighted home fans in Auckland with a brutal 56-12 victory over Wales.Legendary winger Portia Woodman and teenage centre Sylvia Brunt finished with doubles in the dominant showing.Wales kept itself in the fight with a try to Ffion Lewis keeping the score in reach at the break.However, New Zealand blew them out with three tries in the space of eight minutes putting the result out of question.Late tries to player of the match Ruahei Demant and Ruby Tui sealed the bonus-point victory and their spot on top of Pool A.Quotes“I am so proud of the way we started that game, compared to the way we started the previous game. I am proud of the way that we prepared mentally throughout the week, the mindset we showed on the field to show courage, be brave and play the pictures in front of us." – New Zealand captain and player of the match Ruahei Demani“Our set-piece was really dominant today. Our pack did exceptionally well in that area. Line out’s, driving mauls, scrums there was a lot of penalties there. We didn’t capitalise on the opportunities in that area and didn’t front up physically enough in that area. Credit to the Black Ferns they put everything at us." – Wales captain Siwan LillicrapScoresNew Zealand 56 (TRIES: Chelsea Bremner, Portia Woodman (2), Sylvia Brunt (2), Maia Roos, Theresa Fitzpatrick, Krystal Murray, Ruahei Demant, Ruby Tui; CONS: Ruahei Demant 3) def Wales 12: (TRIES: Ffion Lewis, Sioned Harries; CONS: Elinor Snowsill)Fiji 21 def South Africa 17Fiji secured their first women's World Cup win with a 21-17 victory over South Africa.They started strong as Ilisapeci Delaiwau found the line after a sustained period of dominance.South Africa eventually worked their way back into the contest as tries to Zintle Mpupha and Aseza Hel levelled it up.Flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg slotted a penalty to break a 14-14 deadlock with two minutes left to put the South Africans in front.However, Fijiana charged back down the other end and earned a penalty under the posts, with a quick tap leading to Naisewa's winning try.Quotes“I have no words for it. I am just grateful for the girls, hats off to them. We talked about just leaving everything on the field and playing with heart. Something Fijians are known for is that if we have a minute or a couple of minutes left, we can score a try and win a game, and that’s what we did.” – Fiji captain Asinate Serevi “At the end of the day this was a 50:50 game, Fiji wanted it as much as we did and everyone in the team is disappointed with the way the result came out. We let the management down. There were moments when we had good runs and there were moments when we put in good hits but they won the game because they stuck to their plan and we didn’t stick to ours.” South Africa captain Nolusindiso Booi ScoresFiji 21 (TRIES: Ilisapeci Delaiwau, Akanisi Sokoiwasa, Karalaini Naisewa; CONS: Lavena Cavuru 3) def South Africa 17 (TRIES: Zintle Mpupha, Aseza Hel; CONS: Libbie Janse van Rensburg 2; PENS: Libbie Janse van RensburgClick Here: Argentina soccer tracksuit
