Rugby World Cup: How the quarter-finals could play out

Name: Rugby: England 'Aussie can win World Cup'
Uploaded: 2015-10-05T05:29:15+13:00
Duration: 304 s
Description: Witness the two faces of the Rugby World Cup, victory and despair as the coaches of England and Australia face the media post match after England has been bundled out of their own tournament in the pool stage.

By Cameron McMillan

Deputy Head of Sport·NZ Herald·

4 Oct, 2015 06:34 PM4 mins to read

Witness the two faces of the Rugby World Cup, victory and despair as the coaches of England and Australia face the media post match after England has been bundled out of their own tournament in the pool stage.

With several teams booking quarter-finals spots, and a notable nation eliminated, over the weekend, the Herald looks at the likely match-ups for the next round of the Rugby World Cup.

POOL A

Australia - Advanced
Wales - Advanced
England - Eliminated
Fiji - Eliminated
Uruguay - Eliminated

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
In case you missed it, Fiji are out of the World Cup after Friday's defeat to Wales, oh and so are hosts England after yesterday falling to Australia. The Wallabies and Wales play each other at Twickenham on Saturday with the winner earning a clash with the second team in pool B (either Scotland or Japan), while the loser will face South Africa in the quarters and will be on the same side of the draw as the All blacks - so still plenty to play for at Twickenham.

Remaining games:
Wednesday 8am, Fiji v Uruguay, Stadium MK
Saturday 4.45am, Australia v Wales, Twickenham
Saturday 8am, England v Uruguay, Manchester City Stadium

PREDICTION
First: Australia
Second: Wales

POOL B

South Africa - Still alive
Scotland - Still alive
Japan - Still alive
Samoa - Eliminated
USA - Eliminated

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The only group where a team has yet to qualify but it looks certain South Africa will finish top despite the opening defeat to Japan. The 'Boks play the winless USA in their final game. Scotland could still claim top spot if South Africa lose or fail to pick up a bonus point against USA, and Scotland pick up maximum points against Samoa. Despite having the same amount of wins as South Africa and Scotland, Japan need one of those teams to trip up for the Brave Blossoms to advance. The most likely scenario if Japan were to advance would be a win in their final game against USA and Samoa to beat Scotland.

Remaining games:
Thursday 4.45am, South Africa v USA, Olympic Stadium
Sunday 2.30am, Samoa v Scotland, St James' Park
Monday 8am, USA v Japan

PREDICTION
First: South Africa
Second: Scotland

POOL C

New Zealand - Advanced
Argentina - Still alive
Tonga - Still alive
Georgia - Eliminated
Namibia - Still alive

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The All Blacks are through and two miracle results would need to happen to stop Argentina advancing. Tonga are still alive but they need to win their final group game against the All Blacks (not going to happen) then would need Namibia to stun Argentina (also not going to happen). Funnily enough Namibia still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals - they just need to comprehensive bonus point wins in their final two matches against Georgia and Argentina. And by comprehensive we mean by 61 points in both games.

Remaining games:
Thursday 8am, Namibia v Georgia, Sandy Park
Saturday 8am, All Blacks v Tonga, St James' Park
Monday Midnight, Argentina v Namibia, Leicester City Stadium

PREDICTION
First: New Zealand
Second: Argentina

POOL D

France - Advanced
Ireland - Advanced
Italy - Eliminated
Canada - Eliminated
Romania - Eliminated

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Much like Group A, the top two teams have been decided but there is plenty to play for in the final group match between Ireland and France. The loser books a meeting with the All Blacks in Cardiff. It probably doesn't frighten the French as much as the Irish but a clash against Argentina is definitely the preferable option. The next two games in the group are all about the automatic qualification spot that is handed to the team that finishes third.

Remaining games
Wednesday 4.45am, Canada v Romania, Leicester City Stadium
Monday 2.30am, Italy v Romania, Sandy Park
Monday 4.45am, France v Ireland, Millennium Stadium

PREDICTION
First: France
Second: Ireland