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World Cup: Eye on the Tiger

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Michele Rizzo became the first Leicester Tigers point-scorer at the 2015 Rugby World Cup when he crossed the line for Italy in their victory over Canada on Sunday.Tigers prop Rizzo scored Italy’s first try in their 23-18 win at Leeds on Sunday. The Azzurri, who were captained by Tigers hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini, moved to third in Pool D with their first win of the tournament.   They face group leaders Ireland at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday needing a victory to keep alive their qualification hopes.   Marcos Ayerza and Argentina, meanwhile, maintained their hopes of a quarter-final berth with a 54-9 win against Georgia at Gloucester on Friday.   Argentina ran in seven tries to secure a bonus-point win that moved them to second in Pool C. The Pumas return to action at Leicester on Sunday when they take on Tonga (kick-off 2.30pm).   All eight Leicester Tigers players with their national squads at the Rugby World Cup have now seen match action and you can follow their progress in our Eye On The Tiger spot on the club website. You can look out too for Tigers in World Cup action in our match photo galleries by clicking here.   Wednesday Australia v Fiji Vereniki Goneva retains his place in the No13 for Fiji as face play Australia just five days after their opening-round defeat by England. The Wallabies win 28-13 but miss out on a bonus point. Friday Argentina v Georgia Marcos Ayerza retains his place in the Pumas front row for their second fixture, against a Georgia team who opened with victory over Tonga. The Pumas win 54-9.   Saturday England v Wales Dan Cole, Tom Youngs and Ben Youngs all retain their starting places for England as Sam Burgess comes in for the injured Jonathan Joseph at centre and Owen Farrell replaces George Ford at fly-half. England lead 25-15 but Wales eventually take the honours, 28-25 in a breathless evening at Twickenham.   Italy v Canada Tigers front-rowers Michele Rizzo and Leonardo Ghiraldini start together for Italy in their Pool D game at Leeds on Saturday (2.30pm). Hooker Ghiraldini captains the Azzurri for the second time in the tournament while Rizzo makes his first start on the loosehead side. Rizzo claims the first Tigers points of the World Cup with a try as Italy win 23-18. Tuesday Tonga v Namibia Opeti Fonua, Leicester’s new No8, receives his first World Cup call-up as he is named among the replacements for Tonga in their second game. He is used after just 20 minutes as Tonga score a bonus-point 35-21 victory.   Thursday Wales v Fiji Vereniki Goneva will make his third appearance of the tournament, lining up in the 13 shirt for the vital match against Wales at the Millennium Stadium. WEEK ONE Friday: England v Fiji Dan Cole and Tom Youngs start in England front row, Ben Youngs starts at scrum-half and wins his 50th cap. Vereniki Goneva, the vice-captain, is at centre for Fiji. Tom is on the ball at a driving maul when the referee awards a penalty try in the opening quarter - the first try of the tournament. All three of Tigers' England men are replaced during the second half, Goneva plays all 80 minutes. Saturday: Tonga v Georgia No8 Opeti Fonua is not included in Tonga's matchday 23 for their tournament opener, but they lose 17-10 to Georgia in the first shock of the tournament. France v Italy Leonardo Ghiraldini is named as Italy captain for a 10th time in his career in the absence of Sergio Parisse and wins his 79th Test cap. He is part of the most-capped starting front row in Rugby World Cup history alongside Matias Aguero (36) and Martin Castrogiovanni (113). Their combined total of 227 Test appearances is 12 more than the previous best when Gurthro Steenkamp, John Smit and CJ van der Linde started South Africa's 87-0 win over Namibia during RWC 2011. Tigers front row colleague Michele Rizzo is used as a second-half replacement as France win 32-10. Sunday: New Zealand v Argentina Marcos Ayerza earns cap No61 as the Pumas run out at Wembley Stadium against the defending world champions at Wembley Stadium. Argentina lead 13-12 at half-time, before the All Blacks claim two second-half tries to take a 26-16 victory in the opening match of their title defence.