South Africa finished third at the World Cup as they eased past Argentina.

A JP Pietersen try and Handre Pollard's boot gave South Africa a 16-0 half-time lead before Nicolas Sanchez finally got the Pumas on the scoreboard.

But Eben Etzebeth's try put the Boks out of sight and Juan Pablo Orlandi's late reply was little consolation.

The only disappointment for the Boks was that Bryan Habana was unable to claim the all-time World Cup try scoring record on his own.

The 32-year-old winger came within inches of scoring in the first half, only to be denied by the fingertips of Argentina full-back Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino as they both chased a kick.

But with the record on his mind - he entered the game tied on 15 World Cup tries with New Zealand legend Jonah Lomu - he had a mixed game, and several spilled passes suggested it was not to be his night before he was taken off to a rapturous farewell from a packed Olympic Stadium with 15 minutes remaining.

South Africa fielded a near first-choice XV and the power of their pack ultimately told in east London.

Argentina enjoyed the majority of the possession but they ran into an unbreachable wall, with giant lock Etzebeth adding a game-high 20 tackles to his try and fellow second row Victor Matfield - captaining the Boks in his last-ever Test - weighing in with 16 in his hour on the pitch.

With open-side flanker Francois Louw winning a remarkable five turnovers on his own, to add to a dozen tackles, Argentina were never able to reproduce their attacking fizz from earlier in the tournament.

The Pumas, seeking to match their third-place finish in 2007, made nine changes as a result of injury and exhaustion, and they were unable to match the sheer physicality of the Boks.

They enjoyed the better of both territory and possession but with their pack out-gunned up front, dangerous runners such as Santiago Cordero and Horacio Agulla were never given a sniff of the Springbok tryline.

They made an impressive 564 metres as a team with ball in hand but were forced to attack from deep and every time they approached the South Africa 22 a thumping tackle or classy steal saw them repelled.

(BBC)

Australia will play New Zealand in the World Cup final after they held off an inspired Argentina fightback to win another thriller of a semi-final.

A three-try first-half blitz, including two from Adam Ashley-Cooper, helped the Wallabies into a 13-point lead.

Argentina refused to yield and Nicolas Sanchez's flawless boot - he kicked five penalties in all - saw them trail by seven points with 26 minutes to go.

But Ashley-Cooper completed a hat-trick of tries late on to secure victory.

Roared on by a passionate support that included football World Cup winner Diego Maradona, Argentina had chances in the second half as they took control up front and utilised their explosive runners.

But they lacked the composure to exploit several possible overlaps and Australia will now face neighbours New Zealand in the final.

The two great Antipodean rivals have never met before in a World Cup final, and a tournament that has been blessed with so many epic contests may yet have one more.

(BBC)

Reigning champions New Zealand are into their fourth World Cup final after slogging past South Africa in another Twickenham epic.

The All Blacks were five points behind at half-time with a man in the sin-bin as four penalties from Handre Pollard cancelled out Jerome Kaino's early try.

A Dan Carter drop-goal and a Beauden Barrett try put the champions ahead.

South Africa replied with two penalties but a Carter effort in between secured victory despite ferocious Bok defence.

It was seldom pretty but once again in this World Cup there was a gripping finale, the All Blacks holding that two-point lead for the last 12 minutes as their opponents finally tired.

(BBC)

Scotland suffered a devastating loss as Australia won a thrilling quarter-final with a controversial late penalty.

In a pulsating eight-try match Mark Bennett's interception try with seven minutes to go seemed to have sealed one of the great World Cup upsets.

But with time running out referee Craig Joubert called a deliberate offside when replays seemed to indicate the ball had come off a Wallaby player.

Bernard Foley stroked over the three points to steal the game away.

At the final whistle Joubert ran for the tunnel to a deafening chorus of boos, Scotland's players and vast support shattered by the cruel finale.

(BBC)

Argentina's early scoring blitz helped them dash Ireland's hopes of earning a first World Cup semi-final spot.

Brilliant tries from Matias Moroni and Juan Imhoff saw the Pumas take a 17-0 lead over the under-strength Irish by the 13th minute.

Luke Fitzgerald's terrific score helped cut the margin to 20-10 by the break.

A Jordi Murphy touchdown reduced the gap to three points but late tries from Joaquin Tuculet and Imhoff sealed a deserved Argentina win.

The victory sets up a semi-final for the Pumas against Australia at Twickenham next Sunday, with all the remaining teams in the competition from the southern hemisphere.

(BBC)

Ireland beat France to avoid a quarter-final encounter with New Zealand, but suffered injuries to Johnny Sexton, Paul O'Connell and Peter O'Mahony.

Sexton suffered a suspected groin injury, before O'Connell was carried off at the end of the first half.

Leading 9-6 at half-time, Rob Kearney's try increased Ireland's lead before O'Mahony had to be taken off.

Conor Murray added a further late try as the gutsy Irish set up a quarter-final with Argentina next Sunday.

(BBC)

Japan made unwelcome history as the first team to exit the World Cup having won three matches after they beat the United States.

Tries from Kotaro Matsushima and Yoshikazu Fujita helped them into an 18-8 half-time lead, with Takudzwa Ngwenya crossing for the US.

Amanaki Mafi burst through for Japan's third try before Chris Wyles crossed to give the United States hope.

But Goromaru's third penalty late in the game gave Japan a clear lead.

After their thrilling opening win against South Africa, Japan went on to add the scalps of Samoa and the US, but their heavy defeat by Scotland left them third in the group, and they miss out on a place in the last eight.

The Eagles finish having lost all four of their matches.

(BBC)

Australia weathered a Welsh storm to win World Cup Pool A with a 15-6 victory at Twickenham.

Wales paid a high price for failing to make their extra numbers count when the Wallabies were reduced to 13 men for seven minutes in the second half.

Fly-half Bernard Foley kicked all Australia's points, with Dan Bigger twice on target for Wales.

Australia now face Scotland in the quarter-final on 18 October, with Wales against South Africa the day before.

It was Wales' 11th consecutive defeat against the Australians, a run going back to 2008.

(BBC)

Ireland booked their quarter-final place at the World Cup but only after having to withstand a strong challenge from a Sergio Parisse-inspired Italy.

Keith Earls's 19th-minute try helped Ireland lead 10-3 but a second Tommaso Allan penalty cut the margin to four.

Ireland needed a last-ditch Peter O'Mahony tackle on Josh Furno to stay ahead after the break.

Allan's third penalty reduced Ireland's lead to the minimum before two relieving Johnny Sexton kicks in reply.

Better line-out work from the Italians could have seen them earn a shock victory with the Irish making three vital steals during the contest.

Ireland needed another heroic performance from lock Iain Henderson as his series of carries were in marked contrast to the largely ineffective efforts of the Ireland back row.

Scrum-half Conor Murray had an afternoon to forget as many of the struggles of Ireland's warm-up matches re-emerged.

(BBC)

Argentina stood firm against a powerful Tonga in Pool C to take a giant stride towards the World Cup quarter-finals.

A ferocious early Tonga onslaught laid the platform for Kurt Morath's try.

But Joaquin Tuculet and Juan Imhoff crossed as Argentina established a 20-13 half-time lead.

Soane Tonga'uiha's try reduced the gap to seven points but Nicolas Sanchez, who also kicked 20 points, darted over and Julian Montoya and Santiago Cordero tries rounded things off.

The Pumas have won two of their three group games and sit in second place behind New Zealand.

(BBC)