England, fresh from their hard-fought 26-23 victory in the bronze final against Argentina, made significant gains in points. Nevertheless, they remained in fifth place, with a gap of 2.27 points separating them from fourth-placed France.
Global rugby participation is on the rise, with a remarkable 11 percent increase in 2023, reaching 8.46 million players, as the sport stages a remarkable comeback following the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was upsets galore this week as the race for Rugby World Cup 2023 in African qualifying saw an understrength Namibia suffer a shock defeat to Ivory Coast, whilst Kenya, ranked 32nd in the world lost out to Senegal.
Reigning World Cup champions Australia lost to England in the 1995 quarter-finals, Rob Andrew's late drop-goal eliminating them.
Israel Folau will learn his future with Rugby Australia as his code of conduct hearing takes place this weekend, but should Australia's governing body use the proceeding to make peace with their star player?