KEY POINTS:
Someone call a doctor - Northern Hemisphere rugby is horribly sick and the prognosis is not good.
Only three sides from north of the equator have managed to squeeze into the quarter-finals - the worst World Cup return ever - and even that took a monumental effort.
As a sign of how desperate things have become, England, the defending champions and for so long the dominant force of the Six Nations, were convinced they had achieved something spectacular by beating Tonga, who were ranked No 12 in the world coming into the tournament.
That's not to denigrate the Tongans; they were a revelation at this World Cup, bright, organised, committed, but England are a rugby heavyweight and something is wrong when the traditional powers are toiling against middleweights.
Ireland and Wales are perhaps the biggest concern, although no one should be fooled into thinking the situation in Scotland is anything other than bleak just because they bored Italy into submission.
In the do-or-die clash with Argentina, Ireland offered just one priceless moment of genius from skipper Brian O'Driscoll when he drifted away from the pass to get outside his man.
For the remaining 79 minutes and 59 seconds, they played with the authority of lost tourists, wandering aimlessly in the hope a familiar landmark might materialise to guide them.
The Argentineans knew they didn't have to kick for touch as Irish fullback Geordan Murphy seemed to be auditioning for a part in River Dance, jigging frantically without the first idea of where he was going.
Wales at least built some phases against Fiji, ran into space and offloaded out of contact. It didn't come to much, though, because their forwards barely mounted enough aggression to ruffle feathers at the Mt Eden Bowls Club.
All Black assistant coach Steve Hansen, who was in charge of Wales at the last World, said: "Obviously something hasn't clicked for Ireland because they have performed a lot better than that over the years and that's for them to debrief and come up with the answers.
"Wales on the day lost to a Fiji side that played pretty good rugby - it wasn't as if they got beaten playing poorly."
Hansen's former allegiance might be behind his generous assessment of Wales and the looming quarter-final clash in Cardiff is the reason the All Black coaches are talking France up.
Hansen reiterated the All Black line that France are potential winners of the World Cup, a side gaining in confidence with danger lurking in every jersey.
But that sounds more like a man observing pre-match verbal etiquette. France have stuttered all tournament. The flow of old has gone, only to be replaced by something more prosaic, a kick and rush game that has been blighted so far by poor execution.
The truth is Six Nations rugby is in chaos and only people who have to be given plastic cutlery for their own safety would bet on any of the Northern Hemisphere representatives making it past this weekend.
