Eddie Jones believes he is still the right person for the job after his Australia side capitulated against Wales to leave their Rugby World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
Jones had said before the crucial Pool C clash he had no doubt his team would win the game.
But Wales rammed those words down his throat with a dominant 40-6 success in Lyon, with two Ben Donaldson penalties Australia’s only scoring acts.
The defeat, following last week’s setback against Fiji, left the Wallabies facing a humiliating pool stage exit.
Jones apologised for his side’s performance but is confident he can turn things around.
“Firstly, I would just like to apologise to all the Australian supporters. Our performance was not up to the standard that was required,” the former England boss said.
“I came back to Australia trying to help. At the moment I am not giving much help, am I? But that doesn’t mean my commitment to helping has changed.
“I am a proud Australian. I hate to see Australian rugby do as poorly as we have been doing, particularly under my reign.
“I think I have got the ability to turn things around. I was hoping we would be able to do it by now, but we haven’t been able to.
“I take full responsibility, I haven’t done a good enough job and I disappointed about that.
“A process unfortunately takes times, takes some pain. Sometimes it takes more pain than it does pleasure.
“While it looks at the moment like it’s a shambles, I can guarantee it is not.”
Warren Gatland says Wales will not start looking further down the track than necessary after they cruised into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a record 40-6 win against hapless Australia.
Wales made it three successive victories in Pool C, leaving Eddie Jones’ team close to group-stage elimination.
Gatland’s men are guaranteed to top the group if they defeat Georgia next month, setting up a likely quarter-final clash against Argentina in Marseille.
But Gatland said: “We haven’t looked past anything yet, it has been one game at a time.
“Australia came into this game feeling confident about winning. We felt confident to produce a performance today. I thought we were clinical.
“Our focus will be on Georgia, a team we lost against in the autumn (last year).
“We need to rectify that and we need to make sure we don’t drop our standards. I think these players are well aware of that – they have worked incredibly hard.
“We have put a lot of work in the last four months as a team together. We are a momentum team, we build on confidence in terms of performances.
“Today was an outstanding performance in terms of what we wanted to achieve. We were blowing a bit at half-time, but I thought we went out and controlled the second half fantastically well.”
Wales overcame the early loss of injured fly-half Dan Biggar to boss Australia in every key department and coast home through tries from scrum-half Gareth Davies, centre Nick Tompkins and captain Jac Morgan, while Biggar, who kicked an early conversion, saw his replacement Gareth Anscombe boot 23 points.
It was Wales’ record win against Australia, overtaking a 25-point margin in 1975, and former England boss Jones will be left to face the music as the Wallabies lurch towards World Cup oblivion.
On Biggar, Gatland added: “Dan has stretched his pec. I haven’t spoken to the medics, but I spoke to Dan and they are saying it is probably a couple of weeks.
“We have got 13 days’ break before we take on Georgia, so that potentially rules him out of that match, just to recover. It’s not a significant injury, just a pec strain.”
Anscombe, who landed six penalties, a drop-goal and conversion after going on for Biggar in the 12th minute, said: “We talked a lot this week about family and the people we care about.
“We talk about the red wall, and to concede only six points against Australia is just remarkable.
“Dan Biggar means so much to this team, and I knew I had to just come on and do my role, and that was all I was focused on.
“The boys were really calm and we got off to a really good start. Our boys up-front were outstanding, they dominated the set-piece and I was just able to keep rolling forward.”
Dominant Wales booked a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals after crushing Australia 40-6 and leaving Eddie Jones’ team close to pool-stage elimination.
A third successive Pool C victory sent Wales into the last-eight for a fourth successive World Cup under head coach Warren Gatland.
They are guaranteed to top the group if they defeat Georgia next month, setting up a likely quarter-final clash against Argentina in Marseille.
Wales overcame the early loss of injured fly-half Dan Biggar to boss Australia in every key department and coast home through tries from scrum-half Gareth Davies, centre Nick Tompkins and captain Jac Morgan, while Biggar, who kicked an early conversion, saw his replacement Gareth Anscombe boot 23 points.
It was Wales’ record win against Australia, overtaking a 25-point margin in 1975, and former England boss Jones will be left to face the music as the Wallabies lurch towards World Cup oblivion.
The Wallabies boss said on Friday he had no doubt Australia would win the game, yet Wales rammed those words down his throat, with two Ben Donaldson penalties Australia’s only scoring acts.
It was an outstanding display by Gatland’s team as they delivered the goods through a performance that bristled with confidence, power and accuracy.
Gatland named the team that accounted for Fiji in their World Cup opener, with lock Adam Beard winning his 50th cap in a line-up skippered by flanker Morgan.
Australia showed three changes from the side beaten by Fiji last weekend as full-back Andrew Kellaway, scrum-half Tate McDermott and flanker Robert Leota were all handed starts.
Wales blasted out of the blocks and were ahead after just three minutes when Morgan broke through in midfield and Davies ran a brilliant supporting line before gathering the pass and diving over.
Biggar converted, with Wales asking immediate questions of Australia’s confidence.
The Wallabies then responded through a concerted spell of pressure inside Wales’ 22, before Biggar took a blow and required treatment and Donaldson kicked a short-range penalty that made it 7-3.
Biggar could not shake off what appeared to be a shoulder problem, being forced to leave the pitch after just 12 minutes and replaced by Anscombe.
A second Donaldson penalty cut the gap to a point as the Wallabies fought for their World Cup lives.
Anscombe hit the post with a 19th-minute penalty, but he made no mistake off the tee just two minutes later as Wales moved 10-6 ahead.
It was a fast and furious contest, and Wales had to defend resiliently at times as Australia utilised powerful back-row runners Leota and Rob Valetini.
Anscombe’s second successful penalty 12 minutes before half-time opened up a seven-point gap, and then he completed a hat-trick before Wales attacked from halfway and almost breached Australia’s defence through wing Louis Rees-Zammit.
Wales took a 10-point lead into the interval, and they were good value as the prize of a quarter-final place drew closer.
Wales extended their advantage just two minutes into the second period when Australia conceded a scrum penalty and Anscombe duly obliged with three points.
The Wallabies’ lineout also started to go astray, and Wales were turning the screw through a dominant pack superbly marshalled by Morgan and lock Will Rowlands.
And they claimed a second try after 48 minutes when Anscombe’s pinpoint chip over the top of Australia’s defensive line led to Tompkins touching down, with Anscombe converting to leave the Wallabies 26-6 adrift.
Two more Anscombe penalties took Wales past 30 points, and they were now almost toying with their hapless opponents.
Australia had no answer in the set-piece area, with Jones being loudly booed each time he appeared on the stadium’s giant screens.
Gatland was able to ring the changes with his team in so much control, and Anscombe dropped a goal 10 minutes from time that rubbed salt into gaping Australian wounds.
Wales fans were jubilant, and Morgan scored try number three from a driven lineout as Gatland’s men cruised to a remarkable landslide triumph.
Marcus Smith finished England’s World Cup rout of Chile in the same back line as Owen Farrell and George Ford – six years after rushing his A-level maths exam to train with his heroes.
England experimented by deploying all three of their fly-halves for the final half-hour of Saturday’s 71-0 victory in Lille that places them on the brink of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Smith was operating in his new role of full-back while Ford stepped off the bench to form a creative axis with Farrell designed to run spirited but outclassed Chile off their feet.
For Smith it was a special moment after his first encounter with the duo came in May 2017 when he took part in England’s camp in his native Brighton, where he was studying as an 18-year-old.
“Those two have been really influential ever since I was invited to train with England when I was very young,” he said.
“I was very lucky that England went to Brighton College – I went to Brighton College – and I had to beg my teachers because when I heard that opportunity was available because I was desperate to take it.
“I rushed my maths exams so I could get on the field. I had my rugby socks on and I was ready to go. I got a B, I think. I’ll take that – maybe I rushed it too much!
“To be able to learn from the best two fly-halves in England was special for me. They’ve been really helpful to me.
“It was class to play with Owen and George against Chile. To have two guys who are unbelievably skilful inside, able to see space, and for me to have slightly more space in the outside channels was a pleasure.
“They managed to find me a few times and I really enjoyed running in the wider channels. To all be out there at the same time was an honour. It was a day I’ll never forget.”
Smith’s conversion from fly-half to full-back now spans four cameos as a replacement and 80 minutes against Chile and while a success to date, tougher assignments await in the form of Samoa and the quarter-finals.
The Harlequins magician insists he is happy to contribute in whatever role gets him on the field.
“It was class. I really enjoyed it. Playing 10, 15, where – I thoroughly enjoy being on the field,” Smith said.
“It doesn’t last forever so whenever I get the opportunity I’m going to try to make the most of it.”
Sharing star billing with Smith at Stade Pierre-Mauroy was Henry Arundell, the 20-year-old wing who equalled the England record of five tries scored in one match.
Arundell will join Racing 92 after the World Cup following the financial collapse of London Irish but despite playing for an overseas club he is expected to be available for selection in the Six Nations under the exceptional circumstances rule.
“Henry is a great finisher and he certainly makes things happen. That pace he has… I see the hard work he does on the training field – he’s a man who is determined to get better,” head coach Steve Borthwick said.
England now have their bye week and will not resume training until Thursday with players able to leave their camp in Le Touquet and meet family, although none will be returning home.
While allowed to depart France under tournament regulations, players must be available for drug testing and media commitments, thereby restricting their movement.
Some of Borthwick’s management team will return home briefly over the coming days, however.
“The coaches have the next few days off because the whole management team has worked alongside all the players very, very hard to this point. It’s important now they all have a few days break,” Borthwick said.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend insisted the standard of officiating at the World Cup needs to improve after being left perplexed by the decision not to issue a red card to Tonga’s Afusipa Taumoepeau for a high tackle that forced his captain Jamie Ritchie off and ruled him out of the next match against Romania.
The Scots scored seven tries as they defeated the Pacific islanders 45-17 in Nice on Sunday to get the bonus-point win they needed to kick-start their tournament and keep alive their hopes of progressing to the knockout phase.
However, Townsend was astonished that Taumoepeau did not have his yellow card upgraded to a red for the 33rd-minute flashpoint that left his skipper with a head injury and unable to take part in full contact training until the eve of what is shaping up to be a critical showdown with Ireland in Paris a week on Saturday.
The head coach’s anger was heightened by the fact there was a similar scenario in Scotland’s first game when South Africa’s Jesse Kriel dodged a red card despite appearing to make head-on-head contact with Jack Dempsey.
“It’s very disappointing that our captain, one of our key players, was hit in the head and had to be removed from the game,” said Townsend. “It’s twice now that’s happened. Against South Africa, Jack was hit in the head. Nothing happened that day, and today it was only a yellow card.
“I just don’t understand what the TMO bunker and the three officials who are there to say if it’s a red card are looking at. They are trying to look at ways to not give red cards rather than referee what isn’t a legal tackle and should be a red card, in my opinion.
“This is our showcase, our opportunity to show what is legal and what is illegal, what we want out of the game. That’s two tackles now, both upright, both hit the head of our players, one had no sanction, not even a penalty, and the second one just had a yellow card. I don’t think that’s good enough.”
Townsend was pleased with the way his team handled the pressure of needing a bonus-point win to keep themselves in with a sniff of qualifying for the quarter-finals from a formidable pool B. The Scots’ seven tries were all scored by different players and four of them came in the first half, reducing any sense of anxiety associated with chasing the bonus.
“It was a bonus – literally – that we got those four tries in the first half,” he said. “It was probably a bit ahead of what we expected. Credit to the players for doing that.
“Tonga are a very good side with very good individuals. They are very physical. We talked about the fact that the work we did in the first 20 minutes might not necessarily lead to points on the board but we believed we could take away their fitness.”
Ireland’s win over South Africa on Saturday made Scotland’s qualification bid slightly harder than it already was as Townsend’s men will now have to beat the Irish in Paris in the last game and ensure their opponents do not get a losing bonus point.
“Reading a few comments after the game, it looked like Ireland were already in the quarter-finals,” smiled Townsend, mildly miffed by such talk. “Even chatting to a few people today, they were saying it will be Ireland against New Zealand. Maybe that’s already been decided.
“We know we have to win our next two games, and it’s likely now we’ll have to win with either a bonus point or deny Ireland a bonus point. But we’ve got a game next week (against Romania) to focus on and we’ve got to get maximum points from that one first.”
Scotland romped to the bonus-point victory they required over Tonga at Stade de Nice to kick-start their World Cup campaign and keep alive their hopes of qualification for the knockout phase.
The pressure was on Gregor Townsend’s side after losing their first game to South Africa and then seeing Ireland defeat the Boks on Saturday, a scenario that left them with no margin for error and in need of big victories from their remaining fixtures.
The Scots kept their composure, however, and showed their attacking quality to get themselves a foothold in the top-heavy pool B by recording a 45-17 win over Tonga, with their seven tries all scored by different players.
Scotland signalled their intent in the second minute when Blair Kinghorn chased down his own kick-through and outpaced the Tongan defence to get there but he knocked the ball on as he tried to slam it down over the line.
They only had to wait a further three minutes to get their first try of the tournament, though, as hooker George Turner pushed over following a maul. Finn Russell converted.
Tonga halted the early Scottish flow when William Havili sent his penalty between the posts in the 10th minute, and midway through the first half the Pacific islanders managed to get themselves in front when Solomone Kata ran on to a Salesi Piutau offload and dotted down on the right. Havili converted.
With the Scots trailing 10-7 more than a quarter of the way into a must-win game, they could have lost their composure, but they soon regained control of proceedings with three tries in the closing 14 minutes of the first half.
Duhan van der Merwe got them back in front in the 26th minute when he finished off a lovely move involving Sione Tuipulotu, Russell and Kinghorn by touching down on the left. Russell was wide with the conversion attempt.
Kyle Steyn – who scored a record four tries in the Scots’ last meeting with Tonga almost two years ago – then raced in on the right to score on the half hour following a lovely pass from Russell, who subsequently saw his kick come back off the post.
There was a flashpoint in the 33rd minute when Tonga back Afusipa Taumoepeau was sin-binned for a high challenge on Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie, who was forced off with a head injury and replaced by Matt Fagerson.
The Scots – anticipating that it might be upgraded to a red card on review – took advantage of their temporary numerical advantage when Rory Darge finished impressively in the last action of the half, with Russell on point with the conversion.
Shortly after Taumoepeau was surprisingly allowed to return to the field in the third minute of the second half, Tonga got back in the game when prop Ben Tameifuna bulldozed his way over on the left, and Havili added the extras.
With the deficit down to just seven points, Scotland reasserted themselves when substitute George Horne touched down in the 53rd minute after brilliant play by Van der Merwe to set him up. Russell converted.
Kinghorn and replacement Darcy Graham put the seal on a much-needed victory with late tries – both converted by Russell – either side of a yellow card for Tonga’s Vaea Fifita.
Magellan Strait caused a huge surprise with a 150-1 victory in the Friends Of The Curragh Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh.
Although a dual winner as a three-year-old last season, Joseph O’Brien’s inmate had shown precious little in four previous starts this term, most recently finishing tailed off at the Galway Festival.
With 7lb claimer Hugh Horgan in the saddle, Magellan Strait was among the rank outsiders for a 30-runner contest staged in atrocious conditions, but came out on top at the end of a pulsating contest.
The son of Australia raced in third position for much of the two-mile-one-furlong journey before committing for home three furlongs from the finish.
He was soon joined by the strong-travelling My Mate Mozzie and Galway Hurdle runner-up Jesse Evans, while the winner’s stablemate Dawn Rising and Falcon Eight also joined the party late to set up a grandstand five-way finish.
Falcon Eight was arguably coming home strongest of all, but Magellan Strait clung on grimly to claim the lion’s share of the huge prize fund of €600,000 by half a length, with Dawn Rising, Jesse Evans and My Mate Mozzie all close up behind in third, fourth and fifth respectively.
“It’s a fantastic win. A great run and a great ride from Hugh,” said O’Brien.
“He’s not been the most consistent horse in the world, but when he runs his race he generally runs a good race. Hugh got a great tune out of him today.
“He stays very well and stamina has always been his thing. That’s what he did today, he outstayed them.
“Hugh’s instructions were to go forward, get a nice position, and make sure that stamina counted and to go out on his sword. He committed at the bottom of the straight and he kept galloping.”
Of Dawn Rising, he added: “He ran a great race, carrying a lot of weight, two weeks after finishing third in the Irish St Leger.
“It was a great run, he got a lovely run around, and I’m very proud of his run again.
“I don’t know if he’ll go back over hurdles as he’s had a busy enough summer. We’ll speak to JP (McManus) and Frank (Berry) and see. He might have a little break and come back next year.”
Home favourite Carlota Ciganda played a starring role as Europe retained the Solheim Cup after a thrilling 14-14 draw with the United States, the first in the biennial contest’s history.
Trailing 4-0 after the opening foursomes, Suzann Pettersen’s side rallied magnificently at Finca Cortesin and it fittingly fell to Spanish star Ciganda to ensure the trophy would remain in Europe with her fourth win from four matches.
With Ciganda pegged back to all square on the 15th against Nelly Korda, the United States were briefly on course for an outright win due to the status of the remaining matches.
However, Ciganda then hit a stunning approach to the 16th to set up a winning birdie and, after Maja Stark had beaten US Open champion Allisen Corpuz to make it 13-13, repeated the feat on the 17th to ensure Europe would at least retain the trophy.
Emily Pedersen still had an outside chance to halve her match with Lexi Thompson and secure outright victory, but Thompson calmly holed from 10 feet for par on the 17th to close out a 2&1 win.
“I’m so happy just to do this for Suzann, for Spain, I’m just so proud,” Ciganda told Sky Sports.
“When I saw Suzann on 16 she told me a couple of things and I was like, ‘I’m just going to do this for her’, because I love her and she deserves this. I love my team, I love Europe, I love Spain, I love Solheim Cups.
“It’s been a great week and I’m just so happy to be here right now.”
Go Athletico could line up in next weekend’s Prix de l’Abbaye after opening his Group-race account in Ireland with a battling victory in the Westgrove Hotel Renaissance Stakes at the Curragh.
A Listed winner at Cork on his stable debut for Ado McGuinness in mid-June, the high-class French recruit had since filled the runner-up berth in both the Group Two Sapphire Stakes and the Group Three Phoenix Sprint.
The five-year-old was a 7-2 shot for this Group Three assignment under Ronan Whelan and he showed plenty of tenacity go with his undoubted talent to get the better of a sustained duel with Big Gossey by half a length.
Aesop’s Fables was a further five and a half lengths behind in third, with the heavily supported 6-5 favourite Ocean Quest only fourth.
Of the winner, McGuinness said: “He’s in the Abbaye next week. We ran him here because it was giving it to be quite a dry week. He might travel but if it is dry, we won’t run him.
“I have to speak to Barry (Irwin, racing manager for part-owners Team Valor) first. There is a big possibility that he goes as there isn’t a whole pile left for him (this year).
“He deserved to get it today, he’s been very consistent. He’s been a great horse for me, he’s only had four runs and hit the ground running. I’m very lucky and privileged to have him.
“There’s been very little between him and Ken Condon’s horse (Moss Tucker) all year and if he’s fancied for the Abbaye next week, we won’t be too far behind him. Fingers crossed, he could go there.”
Noel Meade appears to have a potential Classic contender on his hands after Caught U Looking powered home to secure top honours in the Weld Park Stakes at the Curragh.
Sixth on her debut at the track in late June, the daughter of Harzand showed the benefit of that initial experience when bolting up by six lengths on her second start at Leopardstown.
The youngster had not been seen since that runaway victory two months ago, but proved her worth stepped up to Group Three level in the hands of Ben Coen.
Always travelling well on the outside of the field, Caught U Looking went through the gears quickly when asked for her effort to pick up 9-4 favourite Sakti and prevail by half a length.
Paddy Power gave the winner an introductory quote of 33-1 for next year’s 1000 Guineas.
Meade said: “That’s super. Obviously after she won so easy in Leopardstown there was plenty of interest in her. Tony O’Callaghan and Peter (Kelly), who bred her, own her and despite all the horses he has, Tony wasn’t for selling. He just wanted to keep her and said to roll the dice and see how she goes.
“Obviously there is a little bit of pressure on when you do that. Peter was happy enough to do that as well.
“She’s a good filly and she’s a filly that will improve because she’s a Harzand. She’s going to be better next year, and is probably a mile-and-a-half filly.”
He added: “I hope we can keep her. You keep hoping she can get up to the top, I know she only just won but obviously Ger (Lyons, trainer of Sakti) thinks quite a lot of his and you are always running against something decent from Ballydoyle. It’s hard to win a stakes race in Ireland.
“Everything is open now and we can dream a bit now. I put her in the Guineas the other day and we’ll enter her in the Oaks as well.
“She’s in the Fillies’ Mile next month but I wouldn’t imagine that will happen now, we’ll wait and let her mature.”
Aidan O’Brien raised the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster as a potential next port of call for Gasper De Lemos after the promising colt ground out a first career victory at the Curragh.
The son of Justify shaped with promise when fourth on his racecourse debut at Leopardstown behind stablemate Chief Little Rock, who on Saturday finished second in the Group Two Beresford Stakes.
On the strength of that form Gasper De Lemos was the 9-4 favourite on his second start in the Pat “The Duke” Leavy Irish EBF Maiden, with Ryan Moore taking the ride having hurried back from Australia.
Ridden positively from the off, the youngster came under pressure with over two furlongs still to run, but kept pulling out more and was well on top as he passed the post three lengths clear of Taraj.
O’Brien said: “He had a lovely run the first time. Obviously he’ll be very happy going back up to a mile and he’ll be a middle-distance horse next year.
“It’s tough out there and they have to stay to get it.
“He’s probably a Futurity Trophy horse more than a Dewhurst horse. He’ll get further, he’s like all those Justifys, when they go up in distance they grow a leg.
“He’s a very good mover so I’m surprised he handles the ground. He’s a lovely actioned horse.”
Gibbs Island opened his account at the third attempt with a narrow victory in the Irish EBF Median Sires Series Maiden.
Sixth and fourth in his first two races at Fairyhouse and Roscommon respectively, Andrew Oliver’s youngster raised his game to come out on top in a nip-and-tuck finish by a head from from Mo Ghille Mar, with Marty The Party and Slaney Swagger right on their heels in behind.
“He did it well. He had to grind it out,” said Oliver.
“He’s a full-brother to a good horse that Godolphin owns (Live Your Dream). I trained the half-brother Dream Tale so I know the family a bit.
“He had a nice run at Roscommon and we knew that stepping up in trip should be in his favour. He stayed every yard of the mile and it was a likeable performance.
“I was just saying to Billy (Lee, jockey) that we might look at the Eyrefield Stakes at the end of the year, it’s nine furlongs at Leopardstown. We’ll make a decision in the next week or two.”
Aidan O’Brien has confirmed his St Leger hero Continuous is set to be supplemented for next week’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The son of Heart’s Cry was beaten in his first three starts of the year, but has raised his game significantly in the second half of the campaign to register impressive wins in the Great Voltigeur at York and the season’s final Classic at Doncaster.
Continuous does not hold an entry in the Arc, but O’Brien did raise the possibility of supplementing the three-year-old at a cost of €120,000 in the immediate aftermath of his Doncaster triumph and the Ballydoyle handler is now preparing to add him to the field on Wednesday.
Asked about his Arc plans at the Curragh on Sunday, O’Brien said: “It’s all about Continuous I’d say. Everything looks good with him at the moment and if it is good up until Wednesday, he’ll probably be supplemented by the sound of what the lads are saying.
“Fast or heavy ground, it doesn’t matter to him – he has form on all ground.”
O’Brien confirmed Continuous would be his sole runner in this year’s Arc, but he is set to be well represented in the supporting races at ParisLongchamp.
He added: “Emily Dickinson will go to the Cadran. Unquestionable, who reared up in the stalls here last time, will go for the two-year-old race over seven (Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere) and something might go with him.
“Opera Singer will go to the fillies’ race (Prix Marcel Boussac). Jackie Oh, who was second to Joseph’s filly (Lumiere Rock) here last time, will go to the Prix de l’Opera.
“Kyprios won’t go, it will be too quick for him and we’ll give him time and go back to Ascot.”
Ireland emerged from a blockbuster win over South Africa with a clean bill of health but wary there are “big tests on the horizon” at the Rugby World Cup.
Andy Farrell’s men took control of Pool B with a stirring 13-8 defeat of the Springboks in Paris to put themselves on the brink of the quarter-finals.
Players will go their separate ways to enjoy a few days off following an unforgettable evening at a raucous Stade de France before reconvening to prepare to finish the job against Scotland on October 7.
Aside from some bruised bodies – and possibly a few sore heads – scrum coach John Fogarty confirmed the squad came through an intense contest relatively unscathed.
“We managed to come out of what was a really physical game with a full bill of health,” he said on Sunday.
“There’s medicals on now, but at this moment in time there’s no obvious injuries.”
Ireland saluted a phenomenal defensive effort with a lap of honour in front of tens of thousands of Irish fans in the French capital.
Asked about the subsequent celebrations, Fogarty said: “It is important to make sure we’re aware that that was a big win and we’re obviously delighted with it.
“We took time with each other, enjoyed company. Nothing too mad at all.
“The dressing room is generally the best craic, you’re there all together, there’s no outside distractions. We enjoyed that time together.
“It’s a late kick-off, we got back to the hotel around 1am so we didn’t do the dog on it, but we enjoyed each other’s company.”
Ireland backed up thumping bonus-point victories over Romania and Tonga by downing the defending champions to retain top spot in the world rankings.
But reaching the knockout stages and a probable showdown with either hosts France or three-time winners New Zealand is not yet guaranteed.
“We’re very proud of the result, we’re very proud of the performance,” continued Fogarty.
“But we’re very, very aware that that’s a pool game, we’ve got Scotland next and we’ve got big tests on the horizon.
“We’ve got a few days with family which is so important. I can’t wait to see my wife and kids. I’m sick of looking at the boys at this stage!
“We’ll certainly look at things we need to improve on but we need to get the recovery in now because Scotland are going to be coming.”
Back-rower Jack Conan, who suffered a foot injury in the warm-up win over Italy on August 5, versatile back Jimmy O’Brien and centre Stuart McCloskey are the only members of Farrell’s 33-man squad yet to feature in France.
The trio are in contention to take on Scotland.
“Jack had a brilliant week and took part in training,” said Fogarty.
“We’ve been very, very lucky with the health of the squad.
“Right now we look like we’ll be training with a full deck when we return, which is great.”
Eve Johnson Houghton is readying both Indian Run and Juniper Berries for Group One assignments at Newmarket in the coming weeks.
The Didcot handler is enjoying another excellent season with her two-year-olds and is looking forward to being represented in two of biggest juvenile races of the campaign on the Rowley Mile.
Having recorded a narrow victory in the Group Three Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury, Juniper Berries will get her shot at top-level honours in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes on Saturday.
The daughter of Expert Eye has plenty on her plate as she looks to turn the tables on the William Haggas-trained Relief Rally, who has already beaten her on two occasions, but Johnson Houghton feels she merits her place in the Cheveley Park field.
“We’re definitely going to have a crack at the Cheveley Park and we’re looking forward to it,” said the Didcot-based trainer.
“She’s a huge price. It will be really hard to turn the form around with Relief Rally, I get that, but she’s won her Group Three and where else do you go with her?
“She doesn’t seem to be too ground dependent to be fair.”
Two weeks after Juniper Berries is due to strut her stuff, stablemate Indian Run is set to contest the Dewhurst.
A promising third on his Newbury debut, the Sioux Nation colt has since won a valuable maiden at Ascot and the Group Three Acomb Stakes at York and Johnson Houghton is hopeful there is more to come.
She added: “He’s in good form. He’s had a bit of a chill-out time, but now we’re back working hard and going really well.”
Westover enjoyed a trip to the beach on Friday as his bid for glory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe looms ever closer.
Last season’s Irish Derby hero was not beaten far into sixth place in Europe’s premier middle-distance contest last season and will return to Paris next weekend following an excellent campaign so far.
Second to Japanese ace Equinox in Dubai earlier in the year, Ralph Beckett’s four-year-old has since finished chased home Emily Upjohn in the Coronation Cup and won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud before going down by a head to Hukum in a pulsating renewal of the King George at Ascot.
The son of Frankel has been kept fresh since that late July outing and is reported to be in rude health following a racecourse gallop at his trainer’s local track and a spin on the sand.
“Westover went to Salisbury last Friday and to Hayling Island beach this Friday and both exercises went well,” said Beckett.
“It suited him to just take the edge off him ahead of Longchamp and he’s shown he can handle any ground between the extremes.”
Also set to be in Group One action next weekend for Beckett and Westover’s owners Juddmonte is the regally-bred juvenile Task Force.
By Frankel and out of another Guineas winner in Special Duty, the youngster has looked the part so far in winning a Salisbury maiden and a Listed race at Ripon, earning him a shot at the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
Beckett added: “Task Force will go for the Middle Park. I was really pleased with him (on Saturday) morning.”
His accent is as American as his caddie, but Sepp Straka believes he has gone the extra mile – thousands of them in fact – to prove his dedication to Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Straka was asked to compete in the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi in January, a team event between Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland which it was felt necessary to revive in the wake of 2021’s record Ryder Cup defeat.
The only problem was that the Austrian was contesting the Sentry Tournament of Champions the week beforehand in Hawaii, which meant undertaking an epic journey across 14 time zones.
“Francesco (Molinari, captain of Continental Europe) was the first person to talk to me about the trip,” Straka told the PA news agency.
“My first reaction was that I don’t know if I’ll make it because I don’t think that I can get there.
“Then I looked into the flights a little deeper and realised that I could make it for the Tuesday and it didn’t start until the Friday.
“Once I realised I could get there in time to prepare then I wanted to make the trip because it was huge in terms of getting to Rome and also getting comfortable playing team golf. I think that is something we don’t get to do a lot.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of it. I kind of put myself in a place last year for consideration for the team and I knew that would show my commitment.
“From there on, I could focus on just trying to play my best golf and put my name out there.”
Straka won two points from his four matches in the Hero Cup, including a foursomes victory over Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton, but then missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Dubai Desert Classic.
However, he claimed his second PGA Tour title in the John Deere Classic in July and two weeks later finished joint second in the Open at Royal Liverpool, his second top 10 in a major in 2023.
Such performances meant Europe captain Luke Donald felt he “couldn’t leave” Straka off his team and duly gave him a wild card, making Straka the second Austrian after Bernd Wiesberger to play in the contest.
“It’s been an incredible ride,” said Straka, whose family moved from Vienna to Georgia when he was 14 – he went on to play on the University of Georgia with twin brother Sam.
“Kind of all started by winning the Honda (Classic) last season and thankfully I was able to ride that and gain confidence and just keep improving my golf game.
“I feel like it’s in a place where I give myself a lot more chances now than did I early in my career and yeah, it’s been an incredible ride the last few years.”
As for having a southern accent and an American caddie in Duane “Dewey” Bock, Straka joked: “I was thinking about maybe getting a translator. Maybe my brother can translate for me for the week just so we don’t have to hear it.
“Dewey is a great caddie. He’s been awesome to have on the bag and it’s helped me so much over the last few months.
“He is definitely red, white and blue. A bunch of the European caddies have been giving him crap about having a US yardage book cover but he’s already changed that. We’re working on him.
“He’s a professional. He’ll do his best job that he can and it will be great.”
Ed Crisford is excited to see Vandeek bid for a second Group One success in the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
The Havana Grey colt has won each of his three starts to date, with a successful debut at Nottingham followed by big-race wins in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood and the Prix Morny at Deauville.
Crisford, who trains Vandeek in partnership with his father Simon, is well aware the youngster will have his mettle tested on the Rowley Mile next weekend but is relishing the challenge.
He said: “The Middle Park is a proper championship race and if he was able to win a Group One at Newmarket it would be huge – not just for us but for the owner and the horse himself. It would put him on the board as one of the top two-year-olds in Europe.
“It will be a proper race against proper horses and there will be some new horses coming in that we haven’t faced yet. It is going to be a very good race, but he has gone and won a Group One so he goes there with every chance.
“He is the first Group One winner that me and dad have had and he just has that natural talent. We’ve had some good older horses come through our hands like Century Dream, but Vandeek has that real quality as a two-year-old and that means he should be an exciting three-year-old.”
Vandeek’s top-level win in France came at the expense of Christopher Head’s exciting filly Ramatuelle, who had shown her quality by winning a Group Three and a Group Two.
“Looking at the Morny, it was the championship two-year-old race at the time and a proper Group One – you needed to be on your A game to win it,” Crisford added.
“He got caught in a pocket a bit and the French filly Ramatuelle went for it and I thought we might not catch her, but he put his head down and for him to grind her down was a good performance.
“He is still learning his trade and the Morny was the first time he had to race, as up until then he had done it on ability.”
While Vandeek’s wins at Goodwood and Deauville have both come on testing conditions, Crisford is confident a faster surface will not be a problem.
He said: “I think good ground, or just on the quick side of that would be fine as Havana Grey’s (progeny) tend to go on that. To be honest, running him on the soft ground has just been the way it has happened.
“The way he moves and covers the ground, I wouldn’t be too worried on better ground and I think he could be a better horse on it as you would see that turn of foot come to the fore.
“For a breeze-up horse he is unbelievable. He is so relaxed and that will put him in good stead for these big events. He doesn’t waste any energy.”
James Doyle will take over in the saddle aboard Vandeek from Andrea Atzeni following the Italian’s recent move to Hong Kong.
Should all go well in the Middle Park, Crisford will consider stepping his exciting colt up to seven furlong for the first time for a crack at the Dewhurst Stakes back at Newmarket a fortnight later.
He added: “He hit the line strong in France and I think he would stay seven (furlongs) standing on his head. He is a big, tall scopey horse who covers a lot of ground.
“We have to take one race at a time and the Middle Park is his next target. If he wins and looks like he is in great order, who is to say he is not going to have a crack at the Dewhurst as well?”
Marcus Smith could be retained at full-back as England progress deeper into the World Cup after excelling in his first start in the position against Chile.
Smith overcame an edgy opening to help orchestrate an 11-try rout at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, offering the team a new dimension with the ball in hand, which he underscored with a personal two-try haul – albeit against opponents ranked 22 in the world.
England must now decide whether to give him another chance to adapt to 15 in their final group match against Samoa on October 7 or revert to the ultra-dependable Freddie Steward, their first choice in the position for over two years.
Richard Wigglesworth has been a central figure in Smith’s transition from fly-half and the attack coach has seen enough to know the 24-year-old is ready for the bigger tests that lie ahead.
“Marcus has given us food for thought at full-back throughout pre-season because that’s the standard he operates at,” Wigglesworth said.
“It was a bigger talking point than we felt it was because we just see a great rugby player there. We were really impressed by him against Chile.
“We all thought it was coming before the game and were really confident that he was going to produce that sort of performance. He looked great, didn’t he?
“He’s definitely a viable option (to start) because he’s a top, top international, so when you have that level of ability like he’s got, executing the way he is, then he’s always a viable option.”
Whether Smith faces Samoa, reprises the bench role that worked well over the four Tests before Chile were overwhelmed or England perform a positional sleight of hand by squeezing him and Steward into the same back line, one of the game’s most exciting talents has a role to play at the World Cup.
With Owen Farrell and George Ford blocking the path at 10, the Harlequins magician has adjusted quickly after defence coach Kevin Sinfield first raised the prospect of him switching positions during the summer.
“Marcus is a fly-half who can play full-back and what’s so impressive about him is that he has just ripped into that role,” Wigglesworth said.
“He gets training time at both, but he’s ripped into this like, ‘I want to get a shot, I want to have an impact at a World Cup’. And what an attitude for someone to have.
“There hasn’t been a hint of, ‘Oh, this isn’t quite my preferred position or the one that I’ve played and played very successfully for my whole career’.
“He’s not done that, he has just gone, ‘Let me make an impact on this team, on the players around me’. And he has been first class.”
England, who are on the brink of reaching the quarter-finals, have resolved to let Smith forge his own identity in the role.
“We’ve let Marcus do it the Marcus way because, from the first moment he has done it, he has looked pretty comfortable there,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s done extra high-ball work and understanding the back-field roles in that, and he’s really grabbed that.
“He’s a smart, smart rugby player, so he retains that information and then commands other people around him straight away.
“He’s grabbed it himself and we want Marcus Smith to look like Marcus Smith at full-back, no one else.”
Christian Horner knew Max Verstappen was ready to return to winning ways from his aggression in a game of padel tennis as the Dutchman moved to the brink of a third world title with victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen was imperious around the high-speed corner circuit at Suzuka, beating McLaren’s Lando Norris by over 19 seconds as Red Bull sealed the constructors’ championship with a record six races to spare.
The 25-year-old’s record 10-race winning run and Red Bull’s unbeaten season was ended in Singapore a week ago, but he hit back in style.
Verstappen is now within touching distance of a hat-trick of world titles, extending his lead over team-mate Sergio Perez to 177 points, and could even win it in the Saturday Qatar sprint race in two weeks’ time.
“I played padel tennis with Max on Wednesday and he was properly fired up and made it clear ‘I want to win the race by 20 seconds’ and in fairness he came within 0.7 of a second of achieving that,” team principal Horner said.
“You could tell from the very first lap in practice one that he was totally focused on this event.
“It is a circuit that he loves and enjoys. It was an outstanding performance. His laps in qualifying yesterday, particularly that final lap has to be up there with one of the best laps of all-time in qualifying.
“Max is absolutely at the top of his game, he is the best driver in F1 at this point in time.
“He’s just got this inner hunger, determination and huge ability. He doesn’t get distracted by the trappings of F1. He is an out-and-out racer. If he is not racing in the real world he is racing in the virtual world.
“He’s a winner and he loves winning. You’ve seen that competitive spirit at its utmost this weekend.”
Red Bull are the first team in Formula One history to win the team championship with six races to spare as Verstappen’s victory moved the Milton Keynes-based team 318 points clear of second-placed Mercedes in the standings. It is Red Bull’s sixth constructors’ title since their debut season in F1 in 2005.
They clinched it at the track owned by their engine supplier Honda, with Horner paying tribute to the entire team.
“To achieve this sixth constructors’ championship is beyond our wildest dreams. Coming into the season I don’t think we could have ever dreamt of having a year like this,” Horner added.
“Last year was a very strong year for us but to have kept that momentum rolling through the year that we have had is testimony to all the men and women in the team that have worked tirelessly.
“To repeat a season like this, to do better than we are doing is impossible. We are riding a wave and we want to ride that wave as long as we can.
“It is very fitting that we have won the championship here on the 75th anniversary of Honda at their circuit at Suzuka.”
While Verstappen coasted to the win, it was a tough day for Perez, who broke two front wings and was handed two penalties before retiring on lap 15.
He then came back into the race briefly on lap 40 before retiring again, with the team keen for him to serve his outstanding penalty rather than suffer in Qatar.
“It was just a disastrous weekend,” Perez said.
McLaren showed further signs of their progress by comfortably beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to seal second and third – with Oscar Piastri picking up his first F1 podium.
“Another amazing day for us. A P2 and P3, so we couldn’t have asked for anymore,” Norris said.
“We are pushing, we are getting there. The progress we’ve made is pretty outstanding.”
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