York thrillers and underdog moments - World Cup talking points

Based on pre-tournament seedings, South Africa will play New Zealand in the quarter-finals

England, Scotland and Ireland all secured their spots in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, but Wales bowed out.

Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and France also qualified for the last eight, while the second round of fixtures also featured two thrilling games in York, a historic try for Brazil and a memorable moment for Samoan rugby.

Here are five talking points from an action-packed weekend.

York delivers the missing thrillers

The Women's World Cup was dominated by one-sided scorelines in the opening round of games and was crying out for an edge-of-your seat classic.

And just like buses, two came along at York Community Stadium.

First, on Saturday evening, Australia and the United States traded the lead in a thrilling 31-31 draw that kept both sides' knockout hopes alive.

Wallaroos prop Eva Karpani's try looked to have snatched a dramatic victory, but Samantha Wood missed a relatively simple conversion attempt to win the match.

"We're changing the game here and even just by these crowds," said USA centre Ilona Maher.

"This is a game - not between two of the bigger rugby nations - but people are loving us, they came out to support and we gave them a really entertaining piece of rugby."

The same venue nearly witnessed another thrilling draw on Sunday, but South Africa scored late to snatch a historic 29-24 win over Italy to secure their first ever quarter-final spot.

"This is unreal. It is so emotional. We have never made the quarters, we have never beaten Italy," said South Africa head coach Swys de Bruin.

"To score five tries in a game like this, I am so proud of my management, the doctors, everyone. I am so proud I can be part of it and it's just amazing."

Scotland finally reach quarter-finals again

Scotland defeated a spirited Fiji side 29-15 in Salford on Saturday to become the first team to reach the quarter-finals.

Having backed up an impressive opening-round win over Wales, the reward is a place in the knockout stages for the first time since 2002.

Flying wing Francesca McGhie scored twice to take her World Cup try tally to five, but it was not all straightforward as vintage Fijian flair and power kept the contest interesting.

"We have to celebrate the fact Scotland have qualified for the quarter-final of the World Cup for the first time since 2002," former Scotland forward Deborah McCormack told BBC Sport.

"That was before some of these players were born. It is a massive achievement and is a legacy for the players that went before and the ones that are going to come through.

"The performance wasn't the complete polished article but they worked back into a strong position. They can really compete with the best."

One of the best comes on Saturday in the form of world number two side Canada, with the loser of that game finishing second in Pool B and likely to face hosts England in the knockout stage.

"The big thing is to avoid England as that gives you a chance of reaching a semi-final," former England captain Katy Daley-Mclean told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

Underdogs have their moment

Samoa fly-half Harmony Vatau kicked a penalty to make the score 47-3 during the second half against England

Trailing 47-0 to England in Northampton, Samoa gleefully got on the board by registering their first points of this World Cup through the boot of Harmony Vatau.

Having not scored any points in a World Cup game since 2014, that successful penalty was followed by huge celebrations from their players and supporters.

Ramsey Tomokino's side may have ended up shipping 92 points - a record Red Roses win in a World Cup - but Vatau's score brought a smile to the Samoa head coach, who admitted his side wanted to avoid "that zero".

Samoa, whose part-time players have had to crowdfund to take their place in the tournament, are ranked 15th in the world and have players taking unpaid leave to play at the World Cup.

Bianca Silva celebrates with fans after scoring Brazil's first ever World Cup try

In Exeter, the only side ranked below Samoa in the world rankings, Brazil, had their own underdog moment.

With France 72-0 up and cruising in Exeter, Yaras sevens captain Bianca Silva, who was picked out from the Brazilian favelas to play rugby as part of a charity project, dummied and raced over half the pitch to score a remarkable individual score.

It marked a first ever try for Brazil in their debut Women's Rugby World Cup, with Silva willed on by a loud Sandy Park before being mobbed by her team-mates.

"I am very proud of the girls," said head coach Emiliano Caffera.

"I hope it [Silva's try] is going to be a point of growth for rugby in Brazil, because all of our players are from sevens and 15s is growing a lot in Brazil."

Wales show signs of progress as tournament ends

Wales knew that the opening game against Scotland would likely decide their World Cup fate.

A disappointing 38-8 defeat left an uphill task to qualify for the knockout stages, and a win on Saturday over the world's number two ranked side Canada was required.

Sean Lynn, who took over as Wales head coach before this year's Women's Six Nations, made seven changes to his starting XV.

Wales' front row had average age of just 20, with back rower Branwen Metcalfe, 18, also making her Test debut from the bench.

Despite falling to a 42-0 defeat by one of the World Cup favourites, Lynn's youthful side showed plenty of green shoots to work with moving forward.

"I am glad the Wales women showed their respect for the jersey and the effort they are willing to put in," former Wales captain Philippa Tuttiett told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"If you bring that to Sean Lynn with his coaching prowess then he will be able to move forward with that team."

However, Wales must first keep an eye on the emerging nations behind them, with Fiji, who are ranked four places below them in 14th, likely to offer a tough final pool game on Saturday in Exeter.

Spain, ranked 13th, suffered a 43-27 defeat by Ireland on Sunday and are another side that are showing signs of progress.

"Let's put Spain in the Six Nations," former England captain Maggie Alphonsi told BBC Sport.

Ireland's depth steps up before world champions

If Wales need any inspiration, then they should look at Ireland, who have scored 85 points in their first two games against Japan and Spain.

This is Ireland's first appearance at a World Cup since 2017 as they continue to improve under Scott Bemand.

Star number eight Aoife Wafer, who was voted the best player in this year's Women's Six Nations, is yet to feature this tournament and will hope to be back for the pool decider against New Zealand on Sunday in Brighton.

Grace Moore ably filled Wafer's shoes against Spain, scoring two tries and making 14 tackles in an all-round powerful display.

"It is great to see there is so much depth in that Ireland back row," Alphonsi said.

"It looks like Wafer could be back for the next game as she was warming up against Spain.

"There are other players pushing. Brittany Hogan has also been good after Sam Monaghan's injury."

Bemand's side produced a shock win over the world champions at WXV1 last year to give them belief of securing top spot in Pool C and likely avoiding England in the semi-finals.

However, the Black Ferns, who are famous for peaking when it matters, have also been convincing and cruised past Japan in Exeter on Sunday.