Junior World Championship- NZ, Samoa & Australia march on

Defending champions New Zealand have one foot in the semi finals of the IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship 2009 after they battled past Ireland 17-0 in Pool A at the Mizuho Rugby Ground in Nagoya, their second win in this year's tournament.

But Argentina could still deny them if they prevail over New Zealand in their final pool match on Saturday. Argentina gained their second bonus point of the tournament as they defeated Uruguay 33-15.

It was another day of big crowds with 4,447 on hand in Nagoya, whilst 10,693 turned up for the Pool B matches in Tokyo.

England's match against Samoa on Saturday will be the Pool B decider after both teams recorded their second successive wins. England defeated Scotland 30-7 before Samoa disappointed the huge Tokyo crowd by edging past Japan 29-20.

South Africa sit atop Pool C after they defeated Italy 65-3 at the Hanazono Stadium in Osaka. They will face France in the pool decider on Saturday after the French recorded their second-bonus-point win, this time 48-25 over Fiji.

Pool D will also have a fitting climax on Saturday, with the top two - Australia and Wales - meeting to decide who goes through to vie for the IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship 2009 title. Australia defeated Tonga 40-6 at Best Amenity Stadium in Saga before Wales beat Canada 51-15.

The final round of pool matches at the IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship 2009 take place on Saturday 13 June.