World Cup 2023 semi-finals: who will qualify?
Oct 14 (Reuters) - The semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup will take place on Oct. 20-21 in France. The following is a look at the teams who have qualified for the matches, schedule and betting odds:
Argentina became the first team to qualify after beating Wales 29-17 on Saturday.
Argentina were second in Pool D after beating Japan 39-27 in a winner-takes-all shootout on Oct. 8. They began the World Cup with a loss against England but recovered with wins over Samoa and Chile.
In the semi-finals, Argentina will play on Friday Oct. 20 against New Zealand, who beat Ireland in the second quarter-final.
Team performance:
England 27-10 Argentina
Argentina 19-10 Samoa
Argentina 59-5 Chile
Japan 27-39 Argentina
Wales 17-29 Argentina
William Hill odds to win tournament: 33/1
NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals by beating Ireland 28-24 on Saturday.
In the group phase, the All Blacks bounced back from a defeat by France in the first match, with bonus-point wins over Namibia, Italy and Uruguay.
In the semi-finals New Zealand will play on Friday Oct. 20 against Argentina, who beat Wales in the first quarter-final.
Team performance:
France 27-13 New Zealand
New Zealand 71-3 Namibia
New Zealand 96-17 Italy
New Zealand 73-0 Uruguay
Ireland 24-28 New Zealand
William Hill odds to win tournament 4/1
WHAT HAPPENS IN CASE OF A DRAW?
In case of a draw at the end of 80 minutes, two periods of extra time of 10 minutes each will be played.
If scores are still tied after extra time a further 10 minutes of golden-point extra time will be played. During this period the first team to score any points wins.
If scores are still tied after golden-point extra time, a kicking competition will be played. Five players from each team will kick from three different position with the team converting most kicks winning. If that still fails to separate the teams, the kicking competition will continue in a sudden-death format until a winner is decided.
The three kicking positions, all on the 22 metre line, are as follows:
Position 1: directly in front of the posts;
Position 2: on the 15 metre line on the left-hand side of the posts;
Position 3: on the 15 metre line on the right-hand side of the posts.
Reporting by Camilla Borri, Alberto Chiumento, Luca Fratangelo and Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Mitch Phillips, Peter Rutherford, Ed Osmond, Ken Ferris and Toby Davis
