Ireland swept aside Scotland 27-3 in a key Pool A encounter on day three of the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

will still struggle to advance as heavyweights New Zealand, the back-to-back defending champions, and South

Africa are also in the group.The All Blacks opened their title defence with victory over the Springboks

has secured a place at the Olympic Games for the first time in history after winning the Tokyo 2020 Africa

Needing to beat South Africa at the World Baseball Softball Confederation event, they earned an 11-1

which will make its historic Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games, as the top team across Europe and Africa

Hosts Rwanda will meet Egypt in the final of the Men's ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Championships

targeting another podium place in Japan next year.Algeria will meet Kenya for bronze tomorrow with South

Africa taking on Morocco for fifth place.Rwanda won the women's event, and claimed a place at Tokyo

chance to secure a place at Tokyo 2020 with a 7-4 victory at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Africa

loss record as European champions the Netherlands, who boosted their hopes with a 7-1 thrashing of South

Africa.It will be between Israel, who conclude their campaign against South Africa, and the Netherlands

A host of Olympians are set to take the field at the Rugby World Cup in Japan, helping to enhance the reputation of the contracted form of the game.

England and Wales, respectively, in Japan, and bronze medallists Chelsin Kolbe and Kwagga Smith from South

Africa complete the line-up of Olympic medal winners.Also on the roster of Olympians is New Zealand’

day two, rounded off by a bruising Pool B 23-13 victory for tournament favourites New Zealand over South

Africa.

 The two big guns didn't disappoint at International Stadium Yokahama, with South Africa starting

 Handré Pollard kicked South Africa into an early 3-0 lead, before the turning point on 20 minutes.The

 South Africa were hugely competitive but will rue missed opportunities ©Getty ImagesWithin eight

 The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with South Africa applying early pressure

 South Africa play Namibia next Saturday (September 28), while the All Blacks have to wait 11 days

securing a place at Tokyo 2020, after stunning hosts Italy at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Africa

champions the Netherlands, will be assured of an Olympic berth if they overcome Czech Republic and South

Africa this weekend.??????

(@WBSC) September 20, 2019Italy began the day by defeating South Africa in a match suspended from Wednesday

Tokyo 2020.The Netherlands, third in the standings, ousted Spain 6-2, while the Czech Republic hammered South

Africa 11-1 in the other matches played today.The tournament continues tomorrow.

It was a perfect start for Japan at their home Rugby World Cup, defeating Russia 30-10 in the first game of the tournament in Pool A.

talented Fijians, France playing Argentina, and the undoubted game of the weekend, New Zealand versus South

Africa.

Hosts Rwanda began their Men's ParaVolley Africa Sitting Volleyball Championships campaign with a five-set

encounter at Petit Stade Amahoro.The home side and Kenya are joined in the group by Morocco.Egypt beat South

Africa in straight sets in the other match played on the opening day of the tournament.Full Results#

pic.twitter.com/Ct4PlXMirx— Rwanda Paralympics (@npcrwanda) September 19, 2019The Egyptians overcame South

Africa 25-9, 25-10, 25-12 in Pool B.The winners of the tournament will qualify for next year's Paralympic

South Africa's hopes of participating in the baseball competition at Tokyo 2020 suffered a major setback

after a convincing defeat to Spain in the Africa/Europe qualification event in Bologna.

The South African team are the only chance for the continent to have representation in the baseball event

/Europe qualifier in Italy.South Africa are hoping to qualify for the Olympic baseball tournament for

say the match will resume tomorrow, prior to the third round of group matches.Spain's victory over South

Africa gave their team a much-needed boost after losing to Israel yesterday.??????

South Africa falls to 0-1 in the WBSC @Baseball Europe/Africa Qualifier #RoadToTokyo pic.twitter.com

The ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup starts tomorrow in Japan, with organisers promising a glittering Opening Ceremony followed by the host nation's opening fixture against Russia.

high against minnows Russia.The hosts caused the biggest shock in World Cup history in 2015, defeating South

Africa in the pool phase.They will hope to reach the knockout stage for the first time by finishing

Africa in the biggest match of the opening weekend ©Getty ImagesTheir pursuit of a third-straight title

starts with a mouth-watering fixture against world number four-ranked South Africa on Saturday (September

20).The All Blacks and South Africa are the clear favourites to progress from Pool B, which also contains

The Netherlands made a winning start to the Africa/Europe qualification event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic

earned a 4-1 victory.Italy began their campaign in the same venue in the evening fixture.The hosts faced South

Africa, who won the African Championships in May.With the match tied at 4-4, officials were forced to

Rwanda booked their place at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics by winning the Women's ParaVolley Africa Sitting

event will now be held in Kigali between September 19 and 22.The hosts will be joined by Egypt, Kenya, South

Africa, Morocco and Algeria.

World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont is confident that the 2019 Rugby World Cup will be one of the great editions on every level, with more than 96 per cent of tickets for the event now sold.

tournament set to begin in Japan on Friday (September 20), open training sessions by Wales, New Zealand and South

Africa have attracted more than 27,000 fans.Latest research demonstrates that 100.8 million people in

Netherlands will hope to build on their European Baseball Championship success by winning the crucial Africa

title on Sunday (September 15) by overcoming Italy at Bonn in Germany.Attention has now turned to the Africa

Republic, Israel and Spain at the qualifier, who made up the top five at the European Championships.South Africa

with matches held in Parma and Bologna.Each team will play five matches in a round-robin format.South Africa

open up with a match against the Czech Republic tomorrow at Nino Cavalli in Parma.Hosts Italy face South

Africa at the same venue later in the day.Israel play Spain at the Gianni Falchi venue in Bologna.The