The Pool of death.

Scotland ramped up the pressure in Pool A at the World Cup this morning with a massive 61-0 bonus-point win over Russia at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa.

Tries from Adam Hastings (13′, 17′), George Horne (21′, 44′, 58′), George Turner (50′), Tommy Seymour (55′), John Barclay (74′), Stuart McInally (77′) ensured a convincing win for Gregor Townsend’s men.

Scotland are now on 10 points, just one point behind Ireland and three points behind their opponents on Sunday, Japan. So what does that mean in terms of qualification for the knockout stages?

Ireland are up first on Saturday against Samoa and now must get a bonus-point win if they are to guarantee themselves a quarter-final spot. There are multiple scenarios that can go down but this one is important.

If Ireland fail to get a bonus-point win they finish on 15 points. If Scotland pick up a try-bonus win over Japan and the hosts get a losing BP, they would also finish on 15 points.

This means all three teams could finish on level points with Scotland likely topping due to a superior points difference. Second place would then be decided by head-to-head – knocking Ireland out.

Now as I said – Ireland could go through in a number of instances (especially if Scotland lose) but just to make sure – a BP win is all that guarantees it.