GOOD DAY
For those who have shown the way to the emerging teams at this tournament by having previously forced their way into the big annual tournaments in either hemisphere.
Pressure is growing for more opportunities to be granted to allow what are referred to as the Tiet Two nations to play competitively against the top teams and in their different ways the progress of Italy and Argentina have shown why it is vital.
For Italy, the team that turned the Five Nations closed shop into Six at the turn of the Millennium, a place at the next tournament was secured, sparing them what could have been a tricky qualifying campaign, when they saw off Romania - one of the teams that would have made life difficult for them and showed why with two fine tries in the closing stages - in their final Pool D match.
However Argentina, the new boys in the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship, a place in the quarter-finals was already secure, allowing them to make 11 changes as they showed their strength in depth and gave fringe players a chance to put pressure on their front-liners.
Having already demonstrated that they are far less forward reliant than of old, this increasingly looks like a formidable Pumas squad which is capable of matching the heroics of their 2007 side which won the third place play-off.
BAD DAY
For Paul O’Connell as a magnificent international career ended in agony.
It was when he initially attempted to get back to his feet after being originally felled, that it became clear he was in trouble and after spells of treatment two subsequent attempts to leave the pitch under his own steam ended with a single step.
“It doesn’t look great for Paul. It looks like his upper hamstring,” said Joe Schmidt, their coach, who said he was slightly more optimistic about Jonny Sexton (chest) and Peter O’Mahony (lower leg), but that all three will undergo scans today once the swelling goes down.
If there was any consolation for a man Thierry Dusatoir, the French captain and his long-time adversary afterwards described as “a great warrior” it was not just that Ireland went on to win without him, as well as their play-maker and the rugged flanker who replaced him as Munster captain, but that they did so the way they did (see Scouting Report).
It was also a tough day for one of Wales’ outstanding players of 2015 as it was confirmed that Liam Williams is the latest of their backs to be ruled out of the rest of the tournament, joining Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny, Rhys Webb, Scott Williams, Hallam Amos and Corey Allan on the sidelines, but for the full-back/winger there are likely to be many other Test matches to look forward to.
Given O’Connell’s toughness it impossible to see how he will play another one given that he announced before this tournament that it would be his last in an Ireland jersey.
Results: Scotland 36 Samoa 33; Australia 15 Wales 6; England 60 Uruguay 3; Argentina 64 Namibia 19; Italy 32 Romania 22; France 9 Ireland 24; Japan 28 USA 18
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