Today's fixtures

Australia v Fiji
Montpellier, 1.30pm
ITV1 from 1pm

Scotland v New Zealand
Murrayfield, 4pm
ITV1 from 3.30pm

Talking point
Scotland are keeping their powder dry for the crucial match with Italy next Saturday which will decide who progresses as the runner-up in Pool C behind New Zealand. So what have they decided to do? Rest the bulk of their first-choice side for a match with the All Blacks, the best team in the world, a decision that former front-row great Sean Fitzpatrick believes merits them being beaten by 80 points or more. Even the Scotland fans cannot get enthused by this one and, hard as it is to believe, Murrayfield will not be packed to the rafters.

Clash of the game
Scott Murray (Scotland) v Reuben Thorne (New Zealand)
In a game featuring a shadow Scotland squad, it is difficult to find a meaningful match-up anywhere on the pitch, but the one between this pair of locks is more intriguing than most. Murray will be captaining his country for the first time in three years in the absence of rested flanker Jason White, while Thorne, normally a flanker, has shifted to the second row to replace the injured Keith Robinson.

What's in the blog
Mark Souster reports on the soap opera that is the Ireland camp.

Editor's rugby choice
South Africa were almost made to pay for fielding an understrength side against Tonga, having to bring on a bench full of first-choice players to ultimately clinch victory. England should be warned ahead of next Friday's encounter in Paris.

Quote of the day
"We definitely fancied our chances of winning the game then. We blew it." - Samoa coach Michael Jones after his side twice came within inches of scoring tries late on that would have given his side the lead against a rattled England side before eventually being beaten 44-22 in Nantes.