Time for a rugby update following an amazing weekend of action in the world cup quarter-finals, as the competition draws to a conclusion…
Following my last post there have been a variety of matches going through the group phase with the top 2 from each group reaching the quarters.
The weekend saw the knockout stages kick-off and there was a feast of rugby to be had. As expected, 2 of the matches were worthy of the final and really delivered on their promise. To be fair, the other 2 were right up there too!
So what happened and what next?
We were left with England, Fiji, France, South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, Wales and Argentina. A couple of those may well have been a bit lucky to get through whereas the rest were more than expected.
Saturday saw Wales take on Argentina and that was always set to be a close encounter. Wales did well to get through to this stage and should be happy with that, but then again, a great opportunity facing one of the weakest of the 8 teams (not weak and quite handy on their day, but not one of the top teams). It was the Argentinians that took it and head through.
The evening match was New Zealand vs Ireland. The Irish being the number one in the world right now and this represented their best opportunity… perhaps ever. The All Blacks are a force however and never to be discounted. When it clicks they are as good and better than anyone. A close game but it was indeed the Kiwis that put in a sterling performance and won a true clash of the titans. No luck of the Irish this time and a farewell and no fairytale for fly-half Johnny Sexton.
On to Sunday and dear ol' England up against the Flying Fijians. It was never going to be easy and England have been nowhere near their best for some time. Meanwhile, Fiji have improved and actually beat England not too long ago. They've never made the semis and this looked like their best chance. Another close encounter, but the English just had that edge through the game and managed to close it out. You could say it's been a fortunate draw for England - and you would be right - but through to the semi-finals regardless!
That night staged another enthralling match between hosts France and South Africa. Another true clash of the strongest sides and lived up to the billing. Dupont was back for Les Bleus but they couldn't quite do it in front of their home crowd. As I mentioned in the first of these posts, those Springboks are strong and know how to grind out victory in this tournament. Could have gone either way of course but SA snuck through by one point…
On to the Semis
So that takes us to the semi-finals and just 2 games left to play of this enthralling competition. Each match has a strong favourite but by no means can we discount the challenge.
New Zealand should be too strong for Argentina, and similarly South Africa over England in a repeat of the final 4 years ago which went to the 'boks.
Make no mistake though, if you've got this far, then you're going to be going all out and are always in with a shout. This represents a major moment for Los Pumas on the world stage… and England a chance to reach another final and win their second trophy following their 2003 victory.
I can't quite see past a New Zealand/South Africa final but you never know. And in that case, then you can flip a coin. And if any of the remaining matches live up to what we saw in the quarters then we're in for a treat!
Gallagher Premiership Returns
In other rugby news, it would be remiss of me not to mention that the English Gallagher Premiership is also back in action. There were several fixtures and plenty going on there, but the highlight has to be Exeter Chiefs demolition of last year's champions, Saracens.
Exeter are going through a rebuilding process having lost a lot of players for one reason or another, and yes, Saracens were under strength as many players were on international duty… but anyway, a 65-10 victory at Sandy Park!
I am biased being from Devon but fun to watch. Obviously it's a long old season and there's much to come, but hey, we can enjoy it whilst it lasts…
Have you been watching and what do you make of it all?