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Despite the top three Southern Hemisphere nations usually providing two of the top three teams in global rankings – and frequently all of the top three – those ‘up north’ have often decried their abilities and style of play as ‘fancy’ or ‘powder-puff’ rugby.
This argument is often closely followed by one that ridicules the lack of credible competition with the best of their players coming to ply their trade in Europe. The fourth-best team, Argentina, have been perennial whipping boys.
Think again. For the first time in history the final four placings in the World Cup will consist exclusively of teams from south of the equator and rightly so. Both Scotland and Wales came agonisingly close to disrupting the flow yet ultimately came up short.
The top four point-scoring teams are in the semi finals. So are the four teams with the best defensive records. Argentina’s presence in the top eight-ranking teams is the reason that Wales (ranked ninth when the draw occurred) were drawn against England and Australia. The tournament is better for it.
Having made their way quietly through their group, losing to New Zealand and winning comfortably against sides they were expected to beat, Argentina suddenly proved what they can do with an outstanding performance that ended Ireland’s dream under a Millennium Stadium roof that possibly experienced the most noise it has ever done.
The strong Irish support was nearly quiet, however, as remarkably the Pumas looked to have the game won after 22 minutes when they led 20-3, but Ireland hauled themselves back into contention, sparking the fans back into life, to trail by just three points early in the second half. However, late tries from full-back Joaquin Tuculet and wing Juan Imhoff – his second of the match – rounded off a stunning victory for Daniel Hourcade’s exciting young team. Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez was imperious with the boot, kicking 23 points and was rightly named man-of-the-match.
Argentina’s rise is also a strong message to other sports (such as cricket) with relatively few top-ranking nations that they must persist with tournaments that allow the minnows the opportunity to develop by playing against the best. Some of these teams will emerge after initially being hammered. Short-term pain (of which there is plenty in rugby) for long-term gain.
The weekend had started when Wales and South Africa served up one of the all-time epic quarter-finals that had spectators of both sides biting nails while hearts were pumping.
There was an irony to the Welsh defeat in that so much of this loss mirrored circumstances that led to their victory over England in the group stage.
On that occasion they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after English substitutions appeared to alter the flow of the game and on this occasion, having held firm defensively, the removal of Dan Biggar for an head-injury assessment and Gareth Davies left some chinks in a rear-guard defiance that had held out against the collective Springbok battering ram until the final minutes.
As expected, the match was an intensely physical encounter that featured two contrasting styles of play, with South Africa attacking largely through their powerful forwards while Wales tried to move the ball wide with their backs as often as possible.
Welsh indiscipline helped South Africa to an early 9-3 lead courtesy of three penalties from Pollard, but in the 18th minute Biggar’s brilliance gave Wales their only try.
The fly-half put up a high kick on the half-way line, raced ahead and caught it on the Springbok 22-metre line, before squeezing a brilliant pass to Davies on his right to score near the posts. After a fourth Pollard penalty restored the Springboks’ advantage, a long-range drop goal from Biggar secured Wales a one-point lead at the break.
The Springboks applied all the pressure in the third quarter of the match, running multi-phase attacks through their pack. However, Wales defended superbly and South Africa’s only reward for a dominant period of play was a Pollard drop-goal. Wales made a massive 189 tackles with the leading five defenders all wearing red, the ever-present Dan Lydiate making the most.
South Africa captain Fourie du Preez snatched the Springboks a 23-19 quarter-final victory over Wales with a try five minutes before the end which his coach Heyneke Meyer described as ‘pure genius’. With Wales leading 19-18 and poised for only their third victory against the Springboks in 109 years, number eight Duane Vermeulen broke away blindside from a scrum near the Welsh 22-metre line and threw an audacious pass behind his back to scrum-half du Preez, who sprinted to the corner to touch down.
The clever move, which the Springboks had been rehearsing all week on the training field, secured South Africa a place in the semi-final against New Zealand.
The Welsh could point to legs that visibly tired, possibly following the exertions in the ‘Group of Death’, which may be telling as we now enter the business end of the tournament.
South Africa who created their own difficult group after an ignominious defeat to the unheralded Japanese Blossoms, may face similar challenges in the semi-final where they encounter a New Zealand side that are as fresh as daisies!
In their first match of the tournament that was supposed to represent a challenge, Julian Savea helped himself to a hat-trick, his second of the world cup, at the Millennium Stadium as New Zealand eased into the semi-finals of Rugby World Cup 2015 with a nine-try crushing of France, taking their tally of consecutive cup victories to 12, equalling the record.
Having had to denounce accusations of infighting prior to the match, French coach, Philippe Saint-Andre faced the guillotine immediately after one of his country’s most humiliating defeats in history.
In producing the biggest margin of victory ever in a Rugby World Cup knockout match, the tournament favourites were not only clinical with ball in hand, but succeeded in destabilising Saint-Andre’s side with a defensive effort that bordered on perfection.
The New Zealand coach, Steve Hansen, was happy to lavish praise on the world champions after watching them run in nine tries in a one-sided quarter-final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
But with the countdown to next weekend’s first semi-final against South Africa already under way, Hansen was quick to temper his team’s celebrations, warning that ‘we haven’t won the thing, so we can’t get too excited’.
The best match of the weekend was the last as Scotland were on the verge of an historic win before Australian fly-half Bernard Foley dashed their dream in a Twickenham quarter-final brimming with tries, drama and controversy.
With his team trailing 34-32 after an interception try from Scotland centre Mark Bennett in the 73rd minute, Foley snatched victory with a controversial penalty just 30 seconds from the end for the Wallabies who scored five tries to Scotland’s three.
The game ended in dubious circumstances with South African referee Craig Joubert awarding the decisive penalty for offside in open play, with TV replays, available to the crowd but crucially not the referee (who was technically correct in not referring his decision) suggesting it may have been the wrong call.
The Wallabies moved towards the last four after the most dramatic game of the tournament with two tries from wing Drew Mitchell and touchdowns from Adam Ashley-Cooper, flanker Michael Hooper and centre Tevita Kuridrani. Foley missed three conversions but still put over 10 points with the boot.
Abu’s prediction: I have seen nothing to re-evaluate my original suggestion that New Zealand will win! South Africa are battle-hardened after a bruising quarter-final victory over Wales but the All Blacks appear to have too much variety for the one-dimensional Springboks, who have beaten New Zealand only twice in their last 12 meetings. The second semi-final is an intriguing encounter although I fear that Argentina have just played their own mini-final. However, Australia will welcome back several of their best players who, now rested for various reasons, should inspire the Wallabies to victory.
