Australia

Australia crushed Russia 68-22 to reach the quarter-finals but the victory was overshadowed by a hamstring injury to the wing Drew Mitchell that may have ended his tournament. The Wallabies will be pleased with the sharpness shown in the first half as Berrick Barnes and Quade Cooper cut holes in some feeble Russian defending to send their runners away while James O'Connor converted nine of the 10 tries.

Mitchell scored two tries but then pulled up when going for what would have been his third. Russia's second-half performance was an improvement after trailing 47-5 at the break. Reuters

New Zealand

New Zealand suffered a double injury blow when Richie McCaw (foot) and Dan Carter (groin) pulled out of this morning's Pool A game against Canada. Carter, who was due to face further medical assessment, was reported by the TV channel 3 News to be "absolutely" in doubt to play any further role in the World Cup. Reuters

Samoa

Samoa's Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu has reopened the debate about World Cup scheduling before his side flew home yesterday. "I hope that in future we get the respect we deserve," said the Gloucester centre. "I am sick and tired of people calling us minnows and treating us as if we are.

"We have an outstanding team, but a number of the boys were playing their fourth match in 17 days and that is absolutely pathetic. If we had had the same turnarounds as South Africa and Wales, I can guarantee we would have made the semi-finals, if not the final We have shown what we can do." Paul Rees