Scotland vs Romania LIVE: Rugby World Cup result and reaction as Darcy Graham stars in thrashing

Darcy Graham climbed from sixth to joint-second on Scotland’s all-time try-scorer list with four touchdowns in a resounding 84-0 victory over Romania which sets up a mouth-watering Rugby World Cup shootout with Ireland next weekend.

The Scots ran in six tries in each half in Lille to inflict another demoralising defeat on their opponents, who were similarly outclassed by both Ireland and South Africa in their first two matches in Pool B.

Graham, who started the evening on 20 international tries, wreaked the most damage on the eastern European minnows as his first-half hat-trick and another after the break took him ahead of both Duhan van der Merwe and Chris Paterson and up to 24.

Duane Vermeulen watched South Africa’s defeat to Ireland from the coaching box but will be back on the field in a less familiar flanker role when they play Tonga in a must-win Rugby World Cup Pool B clash in Marseille on Sunday.

The Springbok number eight is 37 years old and winding down his international career but will hope it does not end on the French south coast with South Africa potentially needing a bonus-point victory to stay on course for a quarter-final place.

He moves from the back of the scrum to the side to bring added physicality to a loose trio that also includes Jasper Wiese and Siya Kolisi against the powerful Tongan pack.

England recorded a 29-12 victory to do the double over Canada at the StoneX Stadium.

The visitors had to play over an hour with 14 players after Gabrielle Senft was sent off for a high tackle on Hannah Botterman in the 17th minute.

They trailed 10-0 at that point as Marlie Packer and Ellie Kildunne had scored tries in the opening 13 minutes for England.

Canada made a fight of it despite their numerical disadvantage but further tries from Maud Muir, Amber Reed and Jess Breach secured victory for the Red Roses.

Waisea Nayacalevu and Vinaya Habosi scored second-half tries to steer Fiji to a gritty 17-12 victory over Georgia in the Rugby World Cup Pool C on Saturday, taking the Pacific Islanders a step closer to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2007.

It was a poor game in Bordeaux between a Fijian side who made countless basic errors and a Georgian team who defended bravely but offered little in attack.

Fiji got the job done, however, as they moved to 10 points, four behind leaders Wales but four ahead of Australia with a game against Portugal to come in Toulouse on Oct. 8 in which they need one point to make sure of a knockout place.

Nicolas Sanchez celebrated his 100th cap in style with a try and a flawless kicking performance as Argentina set up a World Cup Pool D decider against Japan with a brutal 59-5 demolition of Chile on Saturday.

Flyhalf Sanchez scored five and kicked 15 points to become his country’s top scorer at a World Cup, adding to tries by Juan Martin Gonzalez (2), Agustin Creevy, Martin Bogado, Rodrigo Isgro, Ignacio Ruiz and Santiago Carreras to put Argentina in second place on nine points.

Argentina lead third-placed Japan on points difference ahead of their meeting next week with a quarter-final place at stake while Chile exit the tournament bottom of the group with zero points despite scoring a late try through Tomas Dussaillant.

France captain Antoine Dupont has been cleared to return to action following surgery on his facial fracture.

Scrum-half Dupont became a doubt for the remainder of his country’s home Rugby World Cup after suffering the injury during a 96-0 win over Namibia on September 21.

The French Rugby Federation announced the 26-year-old was back with Fabien Galthie’s squad at their base in Aix-en-Provence.

The Rugby World Cup is hotting up as teams seek to secure their places in the quarter-finals.

The top two nations from each of the four pools will progress to the last eight, with the quarter-finals to be played on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October in Marseille and Paris.

In the event of a two-way tie, the nation that won the encounter between the two teams will progress; in the event of a three-way tie, the nation that finishes with the best points difference will finish on top, followed by the team that won the fixture between the two remaining teams.

Teams receive four points for a win, with a bonus point available for scoring four tries or more. A losing bonus point is received if you finish within seven points of your opponents; a draw is worth two points.

The third spot in each pool is crucial, too – while this will not allow teams further involvement at this year’s World Cup, it will secure automatic qualification for the next tournament in Australia in 2027.

Darcy Graham climbed from sixth to joint-second on Scotland’s all-time try-scorer list with four touchdowns in a resounding 84-0 victory over Romania which sets up a mouth-watering Rugby World Cup shootout with Ireland next weekend.

The Scots ran in six tries in each half in Lille to inflict another demoralising defeat on their opponents, who were similarly outclassed by both Ireland and South Africa in their first two matches in Pool B.

Graham, who started the evening on 20 international tries, wreaked the most damage on the eastern European minnows as his first-half hat-trick and another after the break took him ahead of both Duhan van der Merwe and Chris Paterson and up to 24.

The prolific Edinburgh wing is now level with Tony Stanger and Ian Smith, and just three shy of record-holder and fellow Hawick native Stuart Hogg, who recently ended his career on 27.

Scotland record their third-largest win ever

The score of 84-0 is the third-greatest margin that Scotland have ever won by. It narrowly missed out on second place, which came with a 89-0 over the Ivory Coast in the 1995 World Cup.

Their biggest ever margin was a 92-point win in a 100-8 result against Japan in 2004.

Graham runs up scoring charts

With his single second-half try, Darcy Graham pulls up to joint-second in the list of Scotland’s all-time top try-scorers.

He has 24 in 38 caps, and needs four more to gain the record outright. Something tells me he won’t get four against Ireland next week, but who knows?