RWC adventure continues for Socino & Welsh
The culmination of the pool stages of the 2015 Rugby World Cup saw two Newcastle Falcons players advance to the quarter final stages, as Juan Pablo Socino’s Argentina and Jon Welsh’s Scotland qualified for the last eight.
Welsh was the first of the club’s men to make the business end of the competition, as Scotland edged out Samoa in one of the games of the tournament so far at St James’ Park, taking the second Pool B quarter final spot with a 33-36 win.
24 hours later, Socino’s first start of the World Cup saw the Falcons centre bag four conversions as he and a youthful Argentina side, blew Namibia away 64-19 in the highest scoring game of the competition to date.
Meanwhile, the end of the pool stages allows the Falcons to welcome back a number of players who have shown what Falcons fans can look forward to seeing at Kingston Park this coming season.
Tongan duo Nili Latu and Tane Takulua completed their Rugby World Cup in Newcastle as they faced New Zealand at St James’ Park.
Following the impressive spectacle of the teams performing their respective Sipi Tau and Haka, Tonga and New Zealand delivered a game filled with grit and entertainment, with Latu showing the edge and commitment that is a hall mark of his game.
Takulua also impressed with neat, quick distribution from scrum half, as he had done all tournament, but in the end, the All Blacks made sure of their progress with a comfortable win.
Welsh’s joy on Saturday was pain for Kane Thompson and Alesana Tuilagi with Samoa’s exit, although Tuilagi himself did receive some good news, with the reduction of his five week ban to two on appeal.
Following Argentina’s progression, Italian’s Josh Furno and Giamba Venditti showed well against Romania, as the Azzuri made sure of qualification for Japan 2019 by sealing up third place in pool D before Eric Fry’s USA gave a spirited performance against Japan at Gloucester, in which “Two Try” showed prominently around the breakdown.
With the returning players now making their way back to Kingston Park, it will not be long until some of the World Cup magic is on show on the club’s home field.
