Rugby World Cup 2015 Quarterfinal results, match highlights: Australia escape Scotland as Argentina upset Ireland

Australia and Argentina have booked a semifinal clash against each other after coming up victorious in their respective quarterfinal round matchups at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Australia vs Scotland

The Wallabies escaped Scotland at Twickenham Stadium on Monday, thanks to Bernard Foley’s successful penalty goal that gave Australia a thrilling 35-34 victory. Foley missed his first three kicks of the night, but nailed the shot that Australia needed to progress into the last four round of the quadrennial tournament, setting up an RWC fixture with Argentina.

Australia was awarded an offside penalty in the 79th minute by referee Craig Joubert after James Slipper gave Scotland the chance for the match-winner with a horror interception. However, the Wallabies’ close win has been put to debate with lack of Television Match Official for the crucial call. Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw said Joubert should have gone to the TMO because it was a “big decision” in determining the campaign of both nations in the RWC tournament.

The Wallabies had the chance to head into the second period of the game with a comfortable lead after scoring three of their five tries, but Foley missed all three conversions while Australia’s errors turned into Scotland’s opportunity. However, the Wallabies were able to take control of the game after the interval before a try from Mark Bennett and Laidlaw’s conversion put the Scots ahead 34-32.

Coach Michael Cheika was happy about Australia’s triumph, describing it as “a pretty good escape.” However, Cheika feels Scotland should live with referees’ decisions and deal with the calls they could get in a game. "You have to live with the ones you get and the ones you don't. It is what it is and you just deal with it,” Cheika said, reports Sky Sports .

Nevertheless, Australia survived another day at the RWC with a possible matchup against New Zealand or South Africa if they get past Argentina. The Wallabies were able to defeat all three nations in July to claim the Rugby Championship title.

Argentina vs Ireland

Argentina ended Ireland’s 2015 Rugby World Cup dream after the Pumas staged a 43-20 upset at the Millennium Stadium on Monday. The quarterfinal RWC result gave Argentina a date with world No. 2 Australia in the semifinal round of the tournament.

Sitting at No. 3 in the world rankings, Ireland was the heavy favourite to move into the next round and reach grab their first semifinal round appearance. However, injuries and missing personnel had taken their toll on Ireland as Argentina played with new maturity.

Ireland coach John Schmidt said he has no complaints on his side’s losing effort. "It's pretty hard not to respect the performance that Argentina put on. Their combination of power and pace made it very difficult to win collisions either side of the ball,” Schmidt said, reports World Rugby .

The Pumas started strong, scoring 17 points as early as the 13th minute mark and led by 20-10 at halftime. Ireland got close to Argentina after Ian Madigan’s penalty kick, but it was the closest the Irishmen have gotten as the Pumas pulled away with the ticket to the last four round.

Courtesy: YouTube/World Rugby