Yeah I think Italy, Namibia and Uruguay will be too strong for the ABs.

What an unusual squad make up. Obviously injuries have forced a few omissions but four half backs seems wild by any standards, yet only two hookers?! Theoretically they’re playing every game? One recognised 10. Very odd. The one area you never have to question the Boks, especially defending world champions is in the forwards, but I see that backline more unsettled than they’d like to be. But there is experience throughout the squad – especially for those big moments in big games.

A very settled ABs team going into the World Cup. Weber is unlucky. But his fate was sealed when they didn’t pick him for the Rugby Championship. Same with Stevenson. Christie hasn’t really set the world alight, but he’s a good player with Super Rugby form and realistically he’s going to be a bench player and playing the soft games in the pool. Jacobson is the cover for all three positions in the loose forward trio. At least they won’t be doing anything crazy like playing Scott Barrett at 6. Taking cover for Sam Cane is important. Whereas someone like Aaron Smith almost never gets injured. Retallick being the only big injury is not so bad when you can have old man Sam starting until Guzzler is ready. There are players like Finau and Stevenson who are unlucky to miss out, but I don’t think either of them are vital especially with their lack of international experience.

Strangely you could hold onto the hope with that game. Looking at the stats, the second half performance and the overall discipline…really the wallabies should have lost that game and the fact they were within 2 minutes of sneaking a victory says if they click – even for 40 minutes – they could win a game or two in the WC.

Traditionally…yes. In the 80s and 90s certainly. But not in the past 20 years. The Wallabies have never won a game of real significance against the ABs since 2003 aside from the 2011 Tri Nations and 2015 Rugby Championships. And they’re largely forgotten because both times they were soundly beaten by the ABs in the World Cups that occurred in those years. And they’ve barely threatened the Bledisloe in that time – even with that vintage 2011 wallabies side. Probably the last time they were truly fearsome. Since 2003 WC Australia have won 9 games and All Blacks have won 44. The odd game may go their way against the ABs but rarely is it an important game and the wallabies players don’t have the consistency to threaten domination over anyone anymore. The ABs players and management always respect them and won’t want one of those losses to happen again in WC year…although it maybe a good omen for them?

It was an entertaining game to watch as a neutral. France dominated the first 20 minutes. The goal from Tchouaméni was world class, and difficult to blame any of the English defenders for that. Similarly Greizman’s cross for Giroud was perfection. Two brilliant moments, that England never matched. Bellingham’s shot was good and Maguire’s header close. Saka played very well, Mbappe was kept quiet by his standards, but I think people saying he was outplayed by Walker need to look at the number of times Mbappe outpaced him, he constantly drew two or three defenders down that left side. France’s wide defenders are fragile and both the penalties were mind bending in their stupidity (similar to Argentina’s awful concession of the free kick at the end of their game against Netherlands).

Many will argue that England were the better team, if that’s the case, then they bottled it. That’s what a superior side losing to a lesser one usually means doesn’t it? Kane’s miss was singularly down to folding under pressure. It happens to the best players, there’s not shame in it. But it was an opportunity to draw level, not win the game. They still had ET and possibly penalties to navigate. Kane is one of the best penalty takers in the world. All these people saying he should have handed over the penalty to another player is madness. Can you imagine if that had happened and that person had missed?! Southgate and Kane would have been absolutely crucified.

I thought Harry Kane was a little anonymous in the box, but he actually did quite a good job in the second half of setting up other players. I think Southgate should have kept Saka on and brought Grealish on a lot earlier. Grealish is one of the most fouled players in the EPL and the sloppy way France were defending he would have definitely drawn a few free kicks if not a penalty.

It’s another missed opportunity for England. They have a good chance at the next Euros with largely the same squad, but I think they should be brave and get another coach. Southgate has been better in this World Cup than the last two tournaments, but this crop of players is special and with a tactically more adventurous coach they could rip through some teams and perhaps convert those moments like Kane’s missed penalty.

Before the tournament began I said Argentina would win. But to be honest, they haven’t impressed in any game. I’d love to see a Croatia – Morocco final. Overall I think Morocco have a very good chance against a shaky French defence, which is their biggest weakness.

This was always coming for Liverpool since the first game of the season. They’ve been defensively sketchy. The Man Utd game was a blueprint on how to attack Liverpool, and throw in the fact they muddled a nil-all draw against a very weak Everton team, this performance was on the cards. And Napoli have a youthful team who played this particular game at a relentless pace and with precision. Kvaratskhelia has been on fire in the Serie A, probably the standout player of the entire competition so far, so I wasn’t a surprise to see him eviscerate Liverpool on the left flank. He’ll probably get poached by one of the big clubs like Juventus.

Another of these ‘backs to the wall’ turnarounds from the All Blacks. It’s infuriating to be honest and will be the legacy of Foster’s tenure as All Black coach. A first test loss to Argentina followed by back to back losses on the end of year tour, followed by a first Irish series loss on home soil, followed by being totally dominated in South Africa, followed by a first home test loss to Argentina. Punctuated only by single dominant victories over SA, Ireland and Argentina. I predicted the ABs would lose one game to Argentina and I expect they’ll lose at least one of their games to Australia. While I’ve never been a fan of Foster, I do think we have to accept that there are too many holes in the team that are occupied by solid but unremarkable international players and people like Taylor and Retallick who have dropped from their previous heights. Foster’s team will never win the World Cup, in fact I think Foster will be the first AB coach to lose a WC pool game when they play France in France, so I’m just waiting for him to lose that tournament and hopefully Robertson will take the reins. The NZRFU deserve to be questioned, they didn’t have the courage of their convictions. They would have fired him if not for that victory at Ellis Park and then their bizarre stalling before backing him again.

I think the ABs team still has big problems for sustained victories. I think they still have world class players in Savea, Mo’unga, Beauden and Whitelock. With a few players who used to be the best in the world who have dropped off – Smith, Retallick. And then there is someone like Reiko Ioane who has actually delivered good performances despite awful results. But I think there are too many players who are very good super rugby players and capable international players but not near the best in their position – Havili, Tupea, De Groot, Bower. About 4th or 5th in the world rankings feels about right for this AB team. And yet they can still find a way to beat the Boks in Ellis Park but I expect a drop off from the ABs again. I’ll also say that we don’t need to hear about Ellis Park being a fortress anymore – it certainly isn’t for the ABs – they won there five times since 94 and three times in the last nine years alone. Since 92 the ABs have won more tests at Ellis Park than they’ve lost.

The Argentina backline looked so fast and well drilled even well into the second half and no surprise to see two reserve backs combine to score after the full time whistle. On that form a win in NZ against an inconsistent ABs is on the cards.

What is it about being a Chiefs fan that makes me not want their coaches anywhere near the top job? Years of watching them oscillate inconsistently between genius and ghastly I suspect…I think Rennie would be ok, but I’ve never wanted Foster or Gatland as the head AB coach. I think Foster knows he is on a tight schedule. Hansen was a WC winning coach so he had had four years to do what ever he liked. Even if results had gone against him he’d have kept that top job until 2019. But I suspect Foster was given two years, and Robertson told, hang on for two years, stay in NZ don’t take another international coaching position. If Foster gets resigned in 2022 watch Robertson leave NZ (this would be under normal non-covid conditions).

I’ve been saying all year that ABs would lose to England in the semi final. Even have the workplace pool to prove it. And I’ve thought, and stated on this site, that this AB team reminded me of the 2003 team. Blow teams away, but as soon as the heat comes on, they go missing. The crunch games in 2003 – England at home and Wallabies in Semi-final – lost them both. This team – Lions game 3 and Irish 2018 and now the World Cup semi. History repeats.

Great attitude Fionn. And the appropriate one.

While the Wallabies going out in the quarter finals was poor, it was inevitable. And most importantly Australian Rugby fans should be grateful that the pain is over.

They are out of an abusive relationship with their head coach.

Never again will you have to endure Cheika’s petulant press conference rantings, siege mentality, maddeningly schizophrenic selections and his game plan consisting of ‘go out there and smash em!’ His behaviour would have been more tolerable if he’d achieved results – but he hasn’t. And he’s refused to accept things that virtually everyone else can see are not working. He even took shots at his bosses on the way out.

I believe the Wallabies will be better for a new coach who is happy to learn from other teams and even other sports. Who has fresh ideas, multiple game plans and will stay consistent with selections and pick on form. Good luck to him.

Nicely written Harry. I’d like to see Japan go deep in the tournament but I think one of their greatest advantages in the pools was not playing against a team who plays their style. It would be foolish to write off this Japanese team, but cash on the table I’d say the Boks will do them and I hope for the sake of the tournament they do. I want an AB-Bok final. (Although my betting at work was for an England- Bok final).

I remember the first time I saw Pollard in a Springbok journey I always thought he was going to cause headaches for the ABs for a decade but then he went missing for a few years (I assume to injury and then Jantjies leap frogged him with his Lions form) so it’s good to Pollard back. Although he was fairly quiet against the ABs in the opening match. I saw an interview with Kolisi which was pretty inspiring, he speaks really well, is a strong player and seems like a genuine guy.

The Boks have had some great victories recently, but they still haven’t been forged in fire yet so it will be interesting to see how they fare in consecutive knock out games. Still think the top two inches and a plan b are where they might be struggling when the heat is on. But against this Japanese side’s style I think the Boks will be more comfortable than any of the host nation’s previous opposition.

But that’s ignoring context. The third game was ultimately meaningless. The wallabies could have won that game by a thousand points and they still wouldn’t have won the Bledisloe back. And Foley missing a tackle on Fekitoa certainly didn’t lose the cup.

The same applies for them. Like I said, imagine it was the team you support. I think it’s a catastrophe and the organisers have turned the goodwill created by the Japanese nation embracing of the sport and the national team’s dream run on its head. Now it’s threats of legal wranglings, coaches sniping at other nations they’re not even playing against and people ready to line up an asterisk next to any Quarter finalist and most likely the eventual winner. This will be known as the Typhoon World Cup. It’s different for a game like cricket in which weather is an accepted risk and part of the strategy. Rugby is almost never cancelled. Let alone WC matches. They played a super rugby final in fog where the players couldn’t see five metres in front of their face.

I think Scotland have a legitimate gripe here. They had also improved in attitude, performance and results since their first Ireland game and I think they were in a good frame of mind to take on Japan.

Don’t discount that four year build up. The fact they won’t get a chance for another four years as well is heartbreaking for the team especially (and their fans).

Imagine if it was the team you support. It seems wasteful to just shrug your shoulders and say ‘no contingency, even though we’ve had years of preparation?’

Also, would the knockout games not be rescheduled either if they were struck by a typhoon? Could the final be decided by where the finalists ended up in their pool points?

If Ireland beat All Blacks in a quarter then they’d pull a France in 2007 and surrender in the semi final against what I’m expecting to be Sngland.

Mackenzie’s team was never within a shout of winning the Bledisloe Cup back. The Wallabies drew the first game, got hammered by 30 points in the next at Eden Park and then nearly, and probably should have won the third, when Fekitoa scored. But for all intents and purposes, as a cup decider, that game was a dead rubber.

A messy 23 missing their captain, first five, starting halfback and fullback. Playing Retallick back from injury, Jordie Barrett at first five, props copping yellows and all against an unfancied team. I’m not surprised they failed to switch on.
I think the length of time between Boks and Canada games did them no favours, especially to rearrange your 23 within four days of each other.
It’s a long tournament and they’ve still convinced more than the 2015 team did in their pool matches. Remember the Namibia and Georgia games that WC? The Georgian captain got Man of the Match!
Everyone knows the real test is the QF, whoever that maybe, so they ABs are gearing up for that. It’s a whole different tournament then.

I think his point is that on the field, in the heat of the moment, Polynesian players are being penalised and binned during play by refs. Whereas Hodge and Francis had to have their actions cited afterwards by the opposing teams submitting a complaint.

The Boks two issues – a one-note game plan (Faf overplayed his box kicking) and they still lack experienced nous to deal with pressure cooker situations. I know they’ve edged the ABs in NZ and that is an accomplishment but they don’t have the Lions and Bledisloe do-or-die experiences that the ABs have had to weather (and sometimes had to learn from).

ABs – again another poor start against strong opposition. Ragged and reckless occasionally. Reece was a live wire doing some amazing things but also some heart in mouth stuff. They were ignited by that Bridge try, but that S Barrett try was poor from the Springboks. As was losing the ball after Kolbe’s great break in the 75th minute.

It was nice of Pollard to remind us he was on the field by dropping a goal. Not sure if Faf and Pollard were really gelling. 23 missed tackles in the first half is criminal though.

There’s plenty for both teams to work on. I hope the Boks can find another gear for Ireland. It’ll be a torrid game

While these lists are not going to please everyone I’ve found most of the rationale behind the picks fairly sound. I agree there should be more Puma players, the big surprise for me is that more French players haven’t made the list. That 1987 team was fantastic. That backline was pure, unadulterated class – Serge Blanco, Denis Chavert, Cambarbero, Lagisquet and of course one of the great centres – Phillipe Sella. That semi final games against Australia was one of the great World Cup games of all time. A real see-sawing event.

I think this Australian team’s biggest obstacle is inconsistency. They can’t seem to string together wins or even consecutively sound performances. And while Cheika’s strength appears to be motivating them for WCs, this team has failed to show up for vital games – almost every match against England since the last WC and crucial Bledisloes. When the furnace has been turned on, have they ever walked through it and been forged in fire? Or have they melted? Yes, they’ve fought valiantly in the Irish series and bledisloe game in Dunedin, both times cruelly cut down in the final moments. But too many other times they’ve just completely disintegrated when pressure is applied. Having said that, win the Wales game and anything is possible. Lose it and England will be waiting.

As a Chiefs fan I must say that Rennie may be a good choice for the Wallabies. I wouldn’t expect him to turn the Wallabies into world beaters over night but he will improve results. He’s certainly better than continuing with Cheika after his performances post-2015. And I would expect Rennie to achieve a higher winning percentage with less of the galling losses like Argentina and Scotland at home. Although I do wonder whether Joe Schmidt or Scott Robertson would have been the ultimate choices (obviously neither are available – and Robertson’s idiosyncratic management style could go either way in a different country. Although Eddie Jones’ authoritarian style has worked in England).

By the way Geoff, Maximus wasn’t named Aurelius – that was the Emperor Marcus. Pedantic, I know…