The Pool stages of RWC 2023 ended with a bang, instead of the usual whimper.
Portugal won their first-ever World Cup match with a splendid display against Fiji, which should galvanise World Rugby (WR) into creating a credible competition for Tier 2 nations. Don’t hold your breath.
With the knockout stages upon us, WR will double down on traditional rivalries and conveniently forget the sometimes-dazzling rugby produced by Tonga, Uruguay, Samoa and Portugal.
The quarter-finals are certain to produce some superb contests and that will help with WR’s selective amnesia.
There are two quarter-finals in Marseilles and two in Paris. The Springboks will be regretting the fact that theirs is the last of the four, kicking off at 9 pm SA time at the Stade de France.
By then they will have been preparing for two weeks and the coaching staff will hope their team has successfully walked the tightrope between anticipation and boredom.
Saturday’s game at the National Stadium will produce a similar problem. A month after they lost the opening game to France, New Zealand has coasted through a trio of no-contests. Are they fresh, or are they dwelling in cloud cuckoo land?
Will Ireland’s decision to pick their key players for all four Pool games find them sore at precisely the wrong time? Certainly, a handful of Irish injuries sustained against Scotland should give the All Blacks hope.
The other side of the draw will produce cannon fodder for the Paris-based sides. Wales have found their mojo at precisely the right time and will fancy their chances against an Argentinean side that has failed to fire in France. But the Pumas finished third the last time the World Cup came to France and should never be written off.
England has been underwhelming and would have lost to Samoa without a ridiculous TMO decision to overturn a first-half try.
Nevertheless, in order to progress, Fiji needed to become the ruthless side that put Australia to the sword, rather than the rabbit-in-the-headlights outfit that lost against Portugal.