"Must Win for All Blacks" - 5 Rugby World Cup Matches to Watch This Weekend

16. Hame Faiva, 17. Ivan Nemer, 18. Simone Ferrari, 19. Niccolo Cannone, 20. Manuel Zuliani, 21. Toa Halafihi, 22. Martin Page-Relo, 23. Paolo Odogwu

The opening fixture took place last night, as Namibia and Uruguay battled in an under-rated barn-burner of a match. The search for an elusive first ever Rugby World Cup win goes on for Namibia, after the ultimate underdogs were defeated by their own poor discipline. Two yellow cards saw prop Johan Coetzee and captain Tijuee Uanivi take trips to the sin bin, whilst replacement prop Desiderius Sethie had his yellow upgraded to a red in the off-field bunker review.

Uruguay took control and ran away with the match in the second half, for a 36-26 victory. Namibia captain Uanivi admitted ill-discipline was his side's undoing: "Our discipline let us down. To get two yellow cards and then a red makes it very hard. Our discipline at the end of the day cost us.

"We lost the game but I am very proud of the boys. I know they left it all out there. Apart from the discipline issue, I am super proud of them."

England's Pool D opponents Japan and Samoa were in action last night, as the Brave Blossoms secured a 28-22 win against the Pacific Islanders. Japan made amends from their unexpected defeat to Samoa in the 2023 Pacific Nations Cup last Summer (24-22), as tries from Pieter Labuschagne, Michael Leitch and Kazuki Himeno kept the dream of a quarter-final spot alive.

Japan and Argentina are set to collide on Sunday October 8th, with the winner of that looking to join England in the knock-out stages of the Rugby World Cup. There are six more exciting matches to watch this weekend, beginning with the All Blacks taking on Italy this evening.

Pool A: New Zealand vs Italy, 20:00 KO, Lyon

Friday's late kick-off takes centre stage after Japan vs Samoa, as New Zealand take on Italy in what is with a doubt a 'must win' game for the All Blacks. If Italy secure the unexpected upset victory, New Zealand will be ousted from the competition at the pool stages for the first time in their illustrious history.

The three time Rugby World Cup winners sit at third in Pool A, five points adrift of Italy (who are yet to play pool leaders France). The All Blacks want nothing less than a bonus point win tomorrow night in Lyon, to keep their push for a record fourth Rugby World Cup title alive. There are some significant milestones in the match, with New Zealand lock Sam Whitelock set to become the most-capped All Black of all time if he comes off the bench.

Whitelock is set to overtake two-time Rugby World Cup winning captain Richie McCaw, and make his 149th All Blacks cap in Lyon. This will also mark Whitelock's 22nd Rugby World Cup appearance, which will equal the record that is currently shared by McCaw and legendary England prop Jason Leonard. Italy line-up under the watchful eye of former All Black Kieran Crowley, who won the inaugural Rugby World Cup with New Zealand back in 1987.

NEW ZEALAND: 15. Beauden Barrett, 14. Will Jordan, 13. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 11. Mark Telea 10. Richie Mo’unga, 9. Aaron Smith 1. Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Nepo Laulala, 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Scott Barrett, 6. Shannon Frizell, 7. Dalton Papali’i, 8. Ardie Savea (captain)

Replacements: 16. Dane Coles, 17. Tamaiti Williams, 18. Tyrel Lomax, 19. Samuel Whitelock, 20. Sam Cane, 21. Cam Roigard, 22. Damian McKenzie, 23. Anton Lienert-Brown

ITALY: 15. Tommaso Allan, 14. Ange Capuozzo 13. Juan Ignacio Brex 12. Luca Morisi, 11. Montanna Ioane; 10. Paolo Garbisi, 9. Stephen Varney, 1. Danilo Fischetti, 2. Giacomo Nicotera, 3. Marco Riccioni, 4. Dino Lamb, 5. Federico Ruzza, 6. Sebastian Negri, 7. Michele Lamaro (captain) 8. Lorenzo Cannone

After last weekend's dramatic 22-15 victory over Australia, Fiji are the masters of their own destiny for the remainder of Pool C. The Pacific Islanders are level on points with the Wallabies (both six), but have the all important game in hand advantage. Fiji have two matches left in Pool C, as they take on Georgia this Saturday, and Portugal in a week's time. Simon Raiwalui's side need just five points from those two matches, to progress alongside Wales into the quarter-finals.

All eyes from Australia will be glued to this match, and will be urging on Georgia to find a way to win. Victory for the Eastern Europeans is certainly possible, however Fiji have a better rate of success against their upcoming opponents. Fiji have lost just one of their previous six tests against Georgia, however the most recent meeting ended in a 15-15 draw in the 2021 Autumn Internationals. This will only be the second World Cup meeting between the two sides, after their last meeting four years ago in Japan.

However, this last meeting between the two sides also brought about Fiji's second biggest competition win. In 2019, Fiji recorded a 45-10 win over Georgia, which stands as the Pacific Islanders' second biggest win at the tournament (behind 67-18 win over Namibia in 1999). Fiji are looking for their first back-to-back victories in the Rugby World Cup since the 2007 competition, which coincidentally also took place in France.

Scotland will be looking at this weekend as a real opportunity to score significant points difference, for a hopeful late run-in to progress out of the pool stages. Both Ireland and South Africa recorded heavy bonus point wins over Romania (Ireland 82-8, South Africa 76-0), and Gregor Townsend's men have to follow suit if they want to keep their Rugby World Cup hopes alive. After Ireland's monumental 13-8 win over the Springboks last weekend, Scotland need to win the rest of their pool stage matches to get a spot in the quarter-final.

Scotland are yet to face Ireland, in what is likely to be the 'do or die' match for Townsend's side. However, a significant Scottish win against the Eastern Europeans could instil significant momentum into their Pool B closer against Andy Farrell. Scotland have won the last seven matches in a row against Romania, and have not been beaten by them since the 1991 Rugby World Cup. This is a frequent fixture in the Rugby World Cup calendar, as the two sides have met in the pool stages of four previous tournaments (1987, 1991, 2007, 2011).

Scotland enter this match in fine form, having won five of their previous seven matches dating back to the 2023 Six Nations. Scotland's 'not-so-secret' weapon is South African winger Duhan van der Merwe, who has been taking the 2023 Rugby world Cup by storm. The Edinburgh winger has made the second most line-breaks of any player in the competition with 17, and is behind Ireland centre Bundee Aki. Scotland also possess arguably the best defender of the tournament so far, as flanker Rory Darge has the best tackle completion rate with 24 out of 24, and is third overall for dominant tackles.

Pool C: Australia v Portugal, 16:45 KO, Saint-Etinne

All eyes will be on Eddie Jones for this one, as the rumours surrounding the future of the Australia Head Coach continue to swell. Jones has been linked with a move to Japan, after it came to light that he reportedly had been interviewed by the JRFU just two days before the Wallabies started their Rugby World Cup campaign. It is safe to say that Jones is not the most liked individual from an Australia rugby fans' perspective, as he has been receiving resounding 'boos' whenever he appears on the stadium screens.

Australia's recent run of form has certainly not helped matters, with last weekend's defeat to Fiji sending Wallabies fans, pundits and former players to breaking point. Jones and the Wallabies will want to secure a sizeable win against Portugal this Sunday, to keep their albeit slim chances of quarter-final progression alive. Australia must secure a five-point bonus point win, if they want to stay in the hunt for a spot in the knock-out stages.

However, the aforementioned successes of Fiji puts the Wallabies at a disadvantage, and a shock defeat to Portugal would hammer the final nail in the coffin. Portugal achieved their first points of the tournament last weekend, as they drew 18-18 against a hard-hitting Georgian outfit. Portugal would like nothing more to upset the Australians, with every 'neutral' fan in attendence set to back 'the Wolves'.

Portugal do possess the element of surprise in this match, as the Wallabies have never faced the Western Europeans. Australia do not have the best rate against European opponents, having lost eight of their last 10 matches against Six Nations participants. Could an unbelievable upset be on the cards in Saint-Etinne?

The Springboks close out this weekend's action, as they look to bounce back from the 13-8 defeat against Ireland. That match was the first defeat for South Africa in six matches, having previously taken a loss at the hands of the All Blacks in the 2023 Rugby Championship last Summer. In what is a 'must win' game for the Springboks, Handre Pollard returns at fly half, to take over the reigns from Manie Libbok.

Pollard was originally left out of the 33-man Springboks squad due to injury, but was later re-called by Rassie Erasamus following the injury to hooker Malcolm Marx. The Leicester Tigers man has missed the last 16 Springboks test matches, and will look to bring his shooting boots to make up for Libbok's heavily criticised form from the tee. South Africa hooker Dan Fourie is set to make his first ever test-match start, a year after he became the oldest-capped Springbok debutant at 36-years-old.

This match will be just the third test meeting between South Africa and Tonga, and the first since the 2007 Rugby World Cup pool stages. The Springboks recorded a 30-25 win that time around, but will want a more decisive victory this weekend. South Africa have never lost two Rugby World Cup pool stage matches at the same competition, and also hold the accolade of being the only side to have won the Web Ellis trophy after a pool stage defeat (vs New Zealand - 2019).