The flying Fijians magical run
In the lead-up to the World Cup, Fiji made it known in their beatdown of England that they were a contender for the knockout stages. After losing heartbreakingly to Wales in possibly the best game of the tournament so far, the Fijians responded and convincingly took care of Australia, before edging a scrappy Georgian team. They nearly blew their chances by losing in a heartbreaker to Portugal by one point. Tied with Australia on 11 competition points, Fiji went through by virtue of beating Australia earlier in the tournament. Thanks to Portugal, Fiji have had a timely wake up call ahead of their quarterfinal showdown with England.
The defending champs lose a thriller
One of the significant stories in Pool B was the matchup between Ireland and South Africa. The number one team in the world versus the defending champions. The defence on either side was unwavering, with little separating the teams on the scoreboard. What did swing the game was the goal-kicking of the defending champions. With sharpshooter Handré Poland still not to fit to play, Manie Libbok and Faf de Klerk were given the kicking duties and missed four crucial penalties and a conversion that, if kicked, would have tied or even won the game. However, thanks to Bundee Aki and a penalty that went Ireland's way in the final minute, Ireland came out on top. Now, South Africa must play hosts France in a quarterfinal. Can South Africa find their grove? We shall see.
Uruguay gives France a scare
This moment deserved more attention and discussion. During the initial stages of pool play, France made the mistake of underestimating their opponent, Uruguay. They thought they could afford to rest some players, assuming it would be an easy victory. What happened was that Uruguay took this opportunity and played like it was their last dance. Uruguay scored within the first five minutes and put the hosts on the back foot. France did hit back; however, Uruguay cut France down to one point in the early stages of the second half with another try. However, France managed to respond, scoring a try only moments later and ending it with a try in the 75th minute to all but end the hopes of Uruguay. "We were fighting against France, one of the best teams in the world, playing on their home ground - this is only the beginning for us," said the Uruguay captain post-match. Although Los Teros didn't come away with the result, they showed why you can't relax during a World Cup against any opponent.
Mr 150: Sam Whitelock becomes the most capped All-Black ever
Eight years after the great Richie McCaw hung up the boots for the last time, the 148-cap mark for caps was considered an unbreakable record. One of the most consistent rugby players of the last decade, Sam Whitelock, has broken that record and will have this record for a long time. He was the last remaining player from the 2011 World Cup and has hardly missed any games since then. When leaving the field during the game against Italy, the crowd gave him a standing ovation for reaching the 150 milestone. The crowd stood as one and gave Sam the recognition he deserved.
The Pumas incredible form reversal
In their opening game, Argentina was completely dismantled by a 14-man England team 27-10. With Japan and Samoa yet to play, the Pumas quarterfinal chances weren’t looking flash. The Pumas overcame a valiant Samoa 19-10 to breathe life into their final eight aspirations. They banked a bonus point win over Chile 59-5 to set up a sudden death clash with Japan. In one of the most exciting matches of the group phase, Argentina and Japan traded tries before the Pumas took control to win 39-27 and book a quarterfinal against Wales.
Now that the pool stage is behind us, it's time for the top teams to rise for the challenge.
Will it be France? Will it be Ireland? Or will the championship mettle of the All Blacks give them the edge they need to win? We shall find out over the next few weeks.
