Victory over Samoa puts Ireland in quarter-finals

Ireland overcame a first-half red card to centre Bundee Aki to chalk up a 47-5 victory over Samoa in their final pool match and ensure a quarter-final place.

Who they will face in the last eight is still to be determined as they could be overtaken by Japan at the head of the standings. As pool winners they would face South Africa but if they are pushed down to second spot, two-time champions New Zealand will stand in the way of their bid to reach their first semi-final.

If Sunday morning’s match between Japan and Scotland is called off, Japan will finish on top, level with Ireland on 16 points but having won the pool clash between the two.

Ireland were targeting a bonus-point victory and had two tries on the board in the first ten minutes through forwards Rory Best and Tadhg Furlong.

Fly-half Johnny Sexton added two more tries in the first half either side of Aki's red card for a dangerous tackle. Jordan Larmour, CJ Stander and Andrew Conway registered further second-half scores. Aki is likely to face a ban for the knockout stage.

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