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Ireland 35 - 0 Russia
80min - Full time, that's it, Ireland are back to winning way now at the RWC, stay tuned for the match wrap.
79min - Close to another one for Ireland, Ringrose scores but it's called back for a knock on.
76min - TRY - Ireland, try of the night for Ireland, Jordan Larmour and Keith Earls are both involved in the lead up but it's Garry Ringrose who scores. Kick is good. Ireland 35 - 0 Russia.
73min - Most of the play is in the middle of the field at the moment, Ireland win a lineout.
69min - So close from Ireland, Stander does well and goes close himself, a knock on costs the Irish.
67min - Joe Schmidt will be happy with the bonus point win, but boy they have been less than convincing, need to take it up a notch if they are to beat NZ/South Africa
62min - TRY - Ireland, out of the blue for Ireland, finally they have their bonus point try - Jack Carty puts the chip kick over and it bounces to Earls who finds Conway who scores. Kick is good. Ireland 28 - 0 Russia.
60min - Ever since that opening 13 minutes, Ireland have been average - Russia could put some real pressure on if they score soon.
56min - Big work at the breakdown from Russia, they win a penalty, about 40 metres out. They take the shot at goal and it's to the left.
55min - Another knock on from Ireland, from the high kick and Jordan Larmour cant hold it.
52min - Russia win another penalty, a little bit sloppy now from Ireland, just making a few handling errors now.
51min - Another yellow card, a dangerous tackle - Andrey Ostrikov.
50min - Great work from Ireland as they win the penalty and clear.
48min - Russia win a penalty and work the ball into the 22.
43min - Ireland go close through Ringrose, he makes the break but can't link with anyone - Russia clear.
41 min - Back underway for the second half.
41min - Knock on from Aki and that's half time.
40min - Sexton makes a little dart down the left, under advantage and they come back for a penalty. They kick for touch, final attack of the half coming up.
38min - Russia try a drop goal, it's short and Earls clears.
35min - TRY - Ireland, against 14 men, Ireland keep the ball and use the big men to chip away, they score through Rhys Ruddock. Kick is good. Ireland 21 - 0 Russia.
33min - Offside, slowing down the play and the third penalty and Bogdan Fedotko will go to the bin. Scrum called from Ireland.
33min - Under advantage, Sexton throws a wide cut out pass that would've seen Andrew Conway score, but it's called a forward pass.
31min - Penalty won! They will kick for the corner and try the rolling maul again.
31min - Driving maul from Ireland, and they roll about 20 metres.
30min - Knock on from Russia, intentional but it's given a penalty - no card.
29min - Lovely kick from Ramil Gaisin, it finds touch and he forces Ireland back.
27min - Ireland keep throwing the ball around and Russia are doing really well to make their tackles early on.
24min - Very nice from Sexton as he puts a grubber into touch and force a lineout.
23min - Great work at the breakdown from Russia and they turn the ball over before Conway kicks the ball out.
21min - Ireland go from the maul here and Russia do really well to defend it and they win the penalty.
20min - Ireland win the penalty and will kick for the corner.
19min - Ireland on attack once again, inside the 22 now.
17min - Another cracking kick from Sexton who goes close to setting up Earles with a cross-field kick, very close, Russia scrum.
15min - Offside called against Russia and Ireland will kick down field.
15min - Little break in the game, injury here - Kirill Golosnitskiy smashes into the post in the tackle, back underway now.
13min - TRY - Ireland, perfect once again from Ireland, Sexton spots nobody home at the back and he puts through a grubber, it's Peter O'Mahony who gets onto it first and scores. Kick is good. Genius from Sexton. Ireland 14 - 0 Russia
12min - Big scrum from Ireland and they win the penalty at scrum time.
9min - Big mistake from Evgeny Matveev, the lineout isn't straight.
9min - Mistake at the back from Kearney and he does well to get the ball but Russia have a lineout 5 metres out.
9min - Russia win the penalty and work the ball up to the 22, big chance here.
8min - Ireland with the ball looking for more points, before they kick deep in Russia's half.
5min - Good passage from Russia and they work the ball forward but Ireland win a lineout which goes the way of Russia.
2min - TRY - Ireland, the perfect start for Ireland, off the lineout and Luke McGrath works with Sexton and Kearney and it's Rob Kearney who scores. Kick is good. Ireland 7 - 0 Russia.
1min - Kick off here in Kobe, we are underway!
11:15pm - Both anthems are done and we are moments away from kick off.
11:10pm - Both sides coming onto the field now.
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Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Rugby World Cup match between Ireland and Russia from Kobe Stadium.
TAB Odds: Ireland $1.001 Russia $81
Ireland: 15-Rob Kearney, 14-Andrew Conway, 13-Garry Ringrose, 12-Bundee Aki, 11-Keith Earls, 10-Jonathan Sexton (captain), 9-Luke McGrath; 8-Jordi Murphy, 7-Peter O'Mahony, 6-Rhys Ruddock, 5-Jean Kleyn, 4-Tadhg Beirne, 3-John Ryan, 2-Niall Scannell, 1-Dave Kilcoyne.
Reserves: 16-Sean Cronin, 17-Andrew Porter, 18-Tadhg Furlong, 19-Iain Henderson, 20-CJ Stander, 21-Joey Carbery, 22-Jack Carty, 23-Jordan Larmour.
Russia: 15-Vasily Artemyev (captain), 14-German Davydov, 13-Igor Galinovskiy, 12-Kirill Golosnitskiy, 11-Denis Simplikevich, 10-Ramil Gaisin, 9-Dmitry Perov; 8-Viktor Gresev, 7-Tagir Gadzhiev, 6-Anton Sychev, 5-Bogdan Fedotko, 4-Andrey Garbuzov, 3-Kirill Gotovtsev, 2-Evgeny Matveev, 1-Andrei Polivalov.
Reserves: 16-Stanislav Selskii, 17-Valery Morozov, 18-Vladimir Podrezov, 19-Andrey Ostrikov, 20-Evgeny Elgin, 21-Sergey Ianiushkin, 22-Roman Khodin, 23-Vladimir Ostroushko.
Pre-match chat: Rugby World Cup 2019 Power Rankings: Japan's stocks rise after Irish ambush
OPINION: What a difference a few days can make in the sporting world…
Only last Friday, we were lauding Ireland's rise up the Newshub Rugby World Cup power rankings with their comprehensive opening victory over Scotland.
'Irish big movers after opening win' proclaimed our headline.
Four days later, they're again big movers - but downwards this time, after their stunning defeat by Japan on Saturday.
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Despite that result, it's probably a little too early to boost the home side into the top echelon just yet. Remember, they toppled South Africa at the last tournament and still could get out of pool play.
But that outcome has certainly captured the imagination of rugby fans in the host nation and makes Pool A must-see TV over the next two weeks.
Here's how we see the World Cup's top 10 on current form…
1.New Zealand
Last week: First (-)
This week: Beat Canada 63-0
Unlike many around them, the All Blacks haven't done anything to fall from their top rank and emerge from a 10-day break with fixtures against the tournament two weakest teams.
Next game: v Namibia, October 6
2. South Africa
Last week: Third (+1)
This week: Beat Namibia 57-3
Probably should have managed more against a team that would struggle to survive in their domestic competition. A steady-as-she goes result, but they will want their top team to put on an improved showing next up against the pool's potential spoilers.
Next game: v Italy, October 4
3. Wales
Last week: Fifth (+2)
This week: Beat Australia 29-25
Barring upsets, the Welsh virtually sealed top spot in Pool D with their controversial win over the Wallabies, who have taken the result with their usual diplomacy.
Now they have a loooong break, which could potentially stall their momentum, with a couple of tricky opponents still to come.
Next game: v Fiji, October 9
4. England
Last week: Fourth (+1)
This week: No game
Idle since their big win over the United States last Thursday, after facing the easiest opening draw of our top contenders, the English will need to show something more than they have against the dangerous Pumas in their next outing.
Next week: v Argentina, October 5
5. Ireland
Last week: Second (-3)
This week: Lost to Japan 19-12
No team has ever won the Rugby World Cup, after losing in pool play. Can Ireland be the first?
An opening win over Scotland still gives them inside running on a quarter-final spot, but unless there's a further twist to Pool A, their opponents there could be the two-time defending champions.
Next game: v Russia, October 3
6. Australia
Last week: Seventh (+1)
This week: Lost to Wales: 29-25
No dishonour in this defeat, but maybe in the bleating afterwards. Blamed their result on the only participants who couldn't defend themselves, instead of their own shortcomings, but that's Cheika's seige mentality at its glorious best.
Uruguay's win over Fiji - and then loss to Georgia - may have eliminated the biggest threats to Pool D's top dogs, but the Wallabies should still be nervous of another South American upset.
Next game: v Uruguay, October 5
7. Japan
Last week: 10th (+2)
This week: Beat Ireland 19-12
Fantastic result to topple the recent world No.1 team and really throw Pool A into disarray, but they'll need to ride that wave of euphoria to its very end to seal their first knockout appearance at a World Cup.
When they beat the Springboks four years ago, they lost to the US and could not progress. They still have two games that could very easily trip them up.
Next game: v Samoa, October 5
8. France
Last week: Sixth (-1)
This week: No game
Another team idle over the weekend, everyone will be intrigued to see which version of the French emerges from the 10-day lay-off, since a schizophrenic opening over Argentina.
Two relatively easy outings loom, although they'll be wary of the Tongans, who beat them in 2011 pool play.
Next game: v United States, October 2
9. Argentina
Last week: Eighth (-1)
This week: Beat Tonga 28-12
Weren't overly impressive against the Pacific Islanders, after showing glimpses of their ability in an opening loss to France.
Hopefully, they're saving their best for a tilt at upsetting England to throw this pool wide out too.
Next game: v England, October 5
10. Scotland
Last week: Ninth (-1)
This week: Beat Samoa 34-0
More than a week after their spineless opening loss to Ireland, they did the business over the Pacific Islanders, but slip another notch to Japan's shock result over the Irish.
Hopefully, they're back on track and if they can beat the home team, that pool may still come down to a messy three-way countback or bonus points, so a big win over their next opponents is crucial.
Next game: v Russia, October 9
