This article reproduced with permission of the author, Simon Poidevin.
It’s hard to remember a set of Rugby World Cup quarter-finals that have reached the heights we have seen this weekend. Four matches that were all close until the end, and three absolute classics that would be worthy of the final.
Given the much-talked about stacking of the world’s four best teams in one half of the draw, hosts France and top-ranked Ireland are going home. They will be missed.
From an Australian point of view, the rugby on show this weekend is a marker of the level the Wallabies need to reach in the next four years, and that won’t be easy. In the meantime, we look forward to some mouth-watering semi-finals, and this is how the teams got there.
Argentina 29 – Wales 17
Warren Gatland, Wales Kiwi coach, had never lost to Argentina in six contests, but that all ended in quarter-final one in Marseille, with Michael Cheika’s Pumas coming back from a 10 point deficit for a dramatic 29-17 win.
A brilliant intercept by 34-year-old replacement flyhalf Nicholas Sanchez in the last five minutes sealed the victory for Argentina. Late in the game, Welsh veteran Dan Biggar had suffered an injury and was replaced by rookie Sam Costelow at 10. Sanchez beautifully read an inside pass from Costelow and 45 metres later scored under the posts.
Argentina’s scrum achieved parity with the well-credentialed Welsh pack but it was the lineout contest where the men in scarlet imploded. Time after time, overthrows or pressure from the Puma eight saw the ball turned over at critical moments.
Late in the first quarter, referee Jaco Peyper injured his calf and had to be replaced by English referee Karl Dickson, who did a fine job in the experienced Peyper’s absence.
At 51 minutes Cheika made changes en masse – including Sanchez – turning the momentum to Argentina and suddenly the passionate Pumas supporters went into overdrive. One of the replacements, Matias Moroni, pulled off the tackle of the tournament, stopping Welsh super-star winger Louis Rees-Zammit from scoring a crucial try.
Argentina now face New Zealand in semi-final one in Paris this coming Friday. The All Blacks will be red-hot favourites but Michael Cheika will be driving self- belief in his brave team, who in August last year beat the All Blacks 25-18 in Christchurch, their first win on New Zealand soil.
Ireland 28 – New Zealand 24
The Ireland versus All Blacks quarter-final at a thundering Stade de France was worthy of a Rugby World Cup final, with the All Blacks prevailing 28 to 24 in an absolute epic.
The massive Irish army of supporters screamed, sang and effectively drowned out the New Zealand Haka immediately before kick-off, but it was the All Blacks who silenced the emerald green crowd. There was no Cranberries’ Zombie being blasted across the stadium at full-time, as Ireland’s quarter-final curse hit for the eight time in World Cup history.
The skill set of both teams was extraordinary but it was the superior All Black pressure at the breakdown, lineout and scrum that earned them a semifinal showdown with Argentina. That comes despite having two fully justified yellow- cards awarded against the Kiwis by English referee Wayne Barnes, effectively reducing them to 14 men for a quarter of the game.
All Black scrum coach Jason Ryan fixed the serious problems that contributed to the tournament opening game loss against France and three scrum penalties to New Zealand were crucial in such a dramatic contest.
Ardie Savea made an enormous contribution in a man-of-the-match performance but the real hero was Jordie Barrett, whose wrestling skills prevented a match- winning try by the Irish with two minutes to go.
We’ve written about how effective Irish rugby has been at finding and developing talent from beyond their own shores, and it’s worth noting that all of the match’s five tries were scored by Kiwis, with Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park proudly going over in the green of the Irish.
England 30 – Fiji 24
As Rugby World Cup quarter-finals go, they don’t get much better than the mesmerising clash between England and Fiji in Marseille. England won 30 to 24 but the result was not clear until the final whistle.
England’s defensive effort was enormous, built around line speed with shoulders on Fijians moving like missiles – Owen Farrell and Tom Curry lead the charge.
Fiji reciprocated with multiple body shaking hits on big English bodies with a dual hit on Courtney Lawes a feature. England gained ascendancy in the lineout, cleverly sacking three Fijian wins that starved Fiji of valuable possession.
The influence of Farrell on the result was significant. Farrell was a controversial selection to start at flyhalf ahead of George Ford and his name was booed when it was announced before kick-off. But his 20 points through five penalties, one try conversion and a vital field goal ultimately made the difference for England.
We said that Fiji needed to play the attacking rugby [https://www.afr.com/link/follow- 20180101-p5ebxt] that is in their DNA if they were to have a chance of winning, and when they threw caution to the wind late in the game that paid off. First Peni Ravai and then Vilimoni Botitu ran in two great tries to tie the match up at 24-24 with ten to go. But a penalty and drop-goal by Farrell proved too much.
Sadly the amazing Fijians exit Rugby World Cup 23 after proving themselves at the top level of the game.
England have earned a semi-final berth through astute game management and doing the basics well. Whether that will be enough against South Africa, the team that beat them in the 2019 final, is open to debate.
South Africa 29 – France 28
South Africa have shattered the dreams of host nation France with a heartbreaking 29-28 win over Les Bleus in Paris in a match that was pulsating from the start. Both teams crossed three times in a first 30 minutes that was played at an intensity and pace that was breathtaking.
There was no braver player on the field than French captain Antoine Dupont, who returned to the team after fracturing his cheekbone in the pool-stage against Namibia. He was truly influential but was dead on his feet by the 80th minute.
French coach Fabien Galthie erred in not replacing Dupont with Maxime Lucu earlier in the game, especially as Faf de Klerk came on for South Africa in the 50th minute and played like a wild man, creating havoc around the base of scrums and rucks.
Tactically the Springboks kicked more often than they have this tournament, and on two occasions came away with tries to Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe.
The French backline was constantly troubled by the Springbok rush defence, struggling to get their talented back three into space. It was no surprise the three Les Bleus tries were scored by members of the front-row.
Winger Kolbe, the smallest and fastest man on the field, pulled off a rare feat when he raced almost 30 metres to charge down the attempted conversion of one of Cyril Baillie’s two tries. These two points would ultimately prove the difference.
South Africa return to Stade de France next Saturday to face England in the second semi-final. When these two teams played the 2019 final in Tokyo, South Africa belted England 32-12. South Africa always step up in this tournament, and they are thirsting to reach a fourth final – a stage on which they have never been beaten.
