Key Reasons for South Africa's Victory

The dust has settled from South Africa's victory in the World Cup final, in doing so becoming the first team to win the Rugby Championship (or previous incarnation the Tri-Nations) and the World Cup in the same year. The game has been analysed from every avenue by professional and amateur pundits alike. So there is probably nothing left to say about it really. Which means it's the perfect time for this blog to get its views on the result on the web. Keep reading to find the three takeaways from the final.

In a World Cup Final victory is decided by small margins, like opening strategies, physical size, or tiny halfbacks.

RWC 2019: Team of the Tournament

What a World Cup it was, with twists and turns all the way through. It seems like years ago that we witnessed Uruguay overturn the Flying Fijians. The fanfare for the success of the Japan team still echos around the globe. And the glorious rampant victory for England over the All Blacks will live long in the memory. But in the end, it was the mighty Springboks who lifted the Webb Ellis trophy for the third time in their history. The sight of Siya Kolisi holding aloft the ultimate prize in rugby will stand through time, up there with Francios Pienaar's jubilant celebrations from 1995.

With the dust settled it's time to discuss the Team of the Tournament.

History was made in Japan this year, a tournament which will be remembered for many reasons.

Quick Tap: Wales 13 - 16 South Africa Takeaways

A day after England crusaded through the All Blacks, we witnessed a much tenser affair as Wales took on South Africa. The game was billed to be an arm wrestle between two similar teams, and so it proved from the outset. A game dominated by kicks (73 in all) and physical defence, where each team was looking to prey off the opponent's mistakes. In the end, it came down to a single two minute period of play, to just about put the Springboks into the final. So how did that come about, here are the takeaways from South Africa's victory.

South Africa claimed a hard earned victory, de Allende scored their only try of the game in a
wonderful solo effort.

Quick Tap: England 19-7 New Zealand Takeaways

I honestly didn't see this result coming. I had an inkling that England might pull off something, but I didn't expect it to be that convincing. As, arguably, the two best teams in the tournament met in the semi-finals it was always going to be a monumental game. Right from the start you could tell England were up for this, from the anthem, to the response to the Haka (which if England get fined for is a total travesty), and into the opening moments of the game. England are known for fast starts, this was another level, and they never let up till the final whistle. But what were the takeaways from the game, where was it won and lost?

England set the tone early, with their response to the All Black's Haka. It will be remembered along with
the victory for a long time.

Wales v South Africa Preview

Semi-finals are tough, knowing that if you win you've got a chance for glory, lose and you're playing in a game which is pointless and painful. We've covered New Zealand v England (read that here), now it's time for the other side of the draw. Wales and South Africa meet in the knockout stages for the second consecutive World Cup. Last time South Africa stole victory against an injured ravaged Welsh side with a last-minute try. Wales have not lost to the Springboks since that fateful day at Twickenham, with four consecutive victories against various forms of the green shirted giants. But friendly games in November don't matter for much when it comes to the added pressure of knockout rugby, so what are the talking points before Sunday's do or die game?

Du Preez's late try in the corner knocked Wales out last time these two met in a World Cup.

England v New Zealand Preview

It's semi-final time, and the final four can sleep knowing they will make it to the last weekend in Japan. Doesn't mean they will be able to sleep as the pressure mounts further, 80 minutes away from the glory of a World Cup final can keep a man up at night. First up, on Saturday, is the current champions versus the home of the sport. Neither team had fully demonstrated their ability in the groups, but both utterly blew away their opponents in the quarters. This game promises to be full of blood, thunder, and no smaller amount of skill too. So what are the key points to consider ahead of kick-off?

Last time the two met England were robbed of the victory but a contenious offside decision. A moment
like that could swing the semi-final too.

The State of Play

Japan has been eventful, hasn't it? The pool stages were extraordinary, filled with dozens of memorable moments, a couple of amazing victories, and its fair share of controversy. For me personally, this has been the best World Cup I've watched in my lifetime, from the attitude of the host nation to the moments of ridiculous skill, to the performances of the likes of Uruguay, Japan, and the Tongans.

It's been a historic World Cup from every angle, from the hosts to the number of red cards, to the weather, and much more besides. To that end, it seems highly appropriate that all four of the quarter-final match-ups have plenty of history to go with them. England and Australia is a feud as old as time; New Zealand v Ireland is a more modern titanic rivalry; Wales want revenge after the events of 2011; lastly, Japan and South Africa engage in a rematch of the "Brighton Miracle".

So who's going in on a roll, who's under prepared, and crucially who's going to make the semis?

There's plenty of history in the quarter-finals, an opportunity for teams to lay deamons to rest,
or for others to make fresh memories of victory.

Quick Tap: Uruguay, High Tackles, and Fitness

The World Cup is well and truely underway, many results have gone exactly as you'd expect, we've had a couple of thrillers, and another which will go down in history. Here are my three main talking points so far from the events in Japan.

Week One in Japan will live long in the memory for many people.

RWC Pool D: Toughest of the lot

And we finally reach the best pool of the lot (not biased I swear), with just over a week to go till it all kicks off. This has the look of a traditional Rugby World Cup pool. There are two front runners who will be pushing each other for top seed, along with a couple of Tier Two sides who will have eyes on causing a significant upset, and then finally a minnow to make up the numbers. A number of games could go any which way in this pool, but who will come out on top?

Wales and Australia have gone toe-to-toe for years, Wales finally got a win last November.

RWC Pool C: More banana skins than Mario Kart

We're at the halfway stage of the World Cup Pool reviews, time for number three. When the pools were drawn, many said this looked like the "Pool of Death". However come 2019 the top slot looks like a foregone conclusion, while France and Argentina will be slogging it out to reach the quarter-finals. Not to mention two Pacific Nations Cup sides who are looking to make a statement this year.

Four years ago England crashed out after losing against two Tier One nations in the groups.
Could it happen again, or will they rise to the challenge of Japan?

RWC Pool B: Decided in Game One

In the second of our summaries of the World Cup groups, we see the current champions faced with a hard fight to top their pool. This group will more than likely be decided in Game One of the pool, on Day Two of the Championship, when New Zealand and South Africa face off in Yokohama. Elsewhere Italy look most likely to gain automatic qualification for 2023, while Canada and Namibia will duke it out to avoid the dishonour of last place. So what are the key points for each team ahead of Japan?

Four years ago New Zealand completed the first-ever back-to-back championship.
They're under more pressure than ever this time around.

RWC Pool A: This could go anywhere

The World Cup is just around the corner, which means it's time to review the Pools. First up we've got Pool A, containing two age-old 6 Nations rivals, the home nation, and one of the most physical teams in the tournament. With recent results, this pool looks closer than ever between the main four. We could see some complicated pool stage mathematics being pulled out to figure out who qualifies.

Japan made history four years ago, now they are the host nation, can they go further, and reach the quarter finals?

Offside Opinion: All Blacks won't make the Semi's

Time for another knee-jerk reaction, I guess, following on from the last Offside Opinion, where I stated Wales would be capable of beating the All Blacks (that aged well didn't it...), now I propose that the events in Cardiff 2007 will repeat themselves and the Kiwi's won't make it past the Quarter Finals of the World Cup.

The All Black's air of invulnerability is well and truly gone by now, it's probably the worst build-up to a World
Cup for New Zealand ever.

Quick Tap: Wales' Back Row Woes

Four years ago, Wales went through an injury crisis rarely seen in international rugby. Watching backline players litter the hospital ward was painful, despite the unbelievable run to the quarter-finals. Well with another World Cup on the horizon, it's happening all over again. Although this time a bit earlier, and in the back row, rather than the back-three.

The Welsh back row was a real strength in the Six Nations, but will they make it to the World Cup in one piece?

It wasn't too long ago, a couple of months to be honest, that the Welsh media were debating which stellar players would be left behind in the back row. With only room for - probably - five players, and Gatland stating he would plan to take the main four from the Six Nations with him to Japan. That left a single place on the plan, most likely to be snapped up by the world-class, test Lion, Taulupe Faletau. Leaving the likes of James Davies, Aaron Shingler, Ellis Jenkins, and more behind in the rainy valleys of home.

Faletau in the hospital again, not the best
image for a world-class player

Well within one week that's all changed. Faletau suffered his third injury of the year, ruling him out of the tournament. The news wasn't better when it came to Ellis Jenkins who is continuing his battle with recovery after his nightmare injury in the Autumn, and struggling to progress at the speed the coaches had hoped. James Davies and Josh Navidi, both, are recovering from injuries of their own and yet to train fully. The previously deep well of the back row has been cracked by an injury earthquake of unreal scale.

It is likely that Gatland will look to call up a replacement to Faletau before too long, with Thomas Young a strong contender. Thanks to his versatility since he is another who can - if required - cover the No. 8 hole left by Faletau. More than anything, Gatland will be desperate that Ross Moriarty remains injury-free through the next couple of months. As the only true No. 8 left in Wales he has become more important to the national side than many thought he would four years ago, and without him, the Welsh back row looks a little small compared to the Georgians and Fijians they'll be facing come Japan.

It's not the best start to Wales' World Cup preparations, but they have overcome these problems before, and will not panic any time soon, but the coaching staff, pundits, journalists, and fans will all be crossing their fingers no more injuries creep out of the woodwork.

6 Nations: Fight for Positions

The Six Nations is always important, but in a World Cup year it takes on a new level of significance. The head coaches have to weigh up the desire to win games and gain momentum for Japan, as well as fine-tuning any elements that require it and giving form players opportunity to stake a claim for September. By now most national teams should know their first choice team and simply be tweaking the game plan a little. However that is never the case, and below I discuss the primary position each Six Nations team needs to sort out before the end of March.

There's a lot riding on this tournament for the head coaches, the will to win, but also to prepare for the World Cup.

Rest for the Summer?

The season is coming to a close in Europe, which means the Summer Tours are only a few weeks away. Each team knows where they stand after the ferociously close Six Nations, and know what they need to work on. The biggest question facing all the top coaches was the choice between taking your top players or resting them ahead of the World Cup cycle which starts in September. Once the season starts again at the end of the year the international players will get no rest for nigh on twenty-one months. Just let that sink in. A physically exhausting, high impact sport with no rest for nearly two years. No one-month recuperation to let your body fix itself, instead, your summer will most likely be spent in the baking heat or in extreme altitude pushing yourself beyond your limit to try and make that 30 man squad come September.

To that end some coaches have opted to leave behind their best players this summer, allowing those who played in the Lions series, and those who they know what they can do, to get a longer rest and decent pre-season. Others have decided the opposite, a chance to build some momentum against the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights, a chance to right the wrongs that appeared in February and March. So which is the better option?

Stander and Murray probably thanking Joe Schmidt for a break this summer after their heroics last summer.

Developing Nations - Focus on 2019

Having witnessed the much talked about test match in Chicago, between the United States and New Zealand, I do believe there is hope for the so called "Tier 3" nations of the world with five years to go until the Rugby World Cup takes place in Japan. There are many things in the way of these teams progression on the international stage before they'll pose a continuous threat to the likes of Wales, Ireland and France, but the first signs are there.

The teams looking at challenging for group stage qualification will be the likes of: United States, Samoa, Japan, Fiji and Canada. A few of these teams have been renowned names (for various reasons) in world rugby for a few years now, Samoa for brutal tackling, Fiji for unbelievable ball handling skills and Japan in recent years have scored some fantastic tries with pace and power. What has to be looked at now is how to bring these teams on from not only consistently qualifying for the World Cup group stages but winning games in those pools and causing teams troubles.

Firstly it has got to be getting their players more game time at the top level, be that a club or the international stage. Both hemispheres are guilty of preventing the "minnows" into their club game. It took years for Argentina to get into the (at the time) Tri-Nations even after a third place finish at a World Cup. We need to see Japanese and Pacific Island players competing in the Super 15 and American/Canadian players making themselves known either in European competitions or a competitive league must be formed on the continent. We've already seen a few players build a cult following at top level clubs in the British Isles: Manoa (USA) at Northampton Saints, Blaine Scully (USA) at Leicester Tigers and Jeff Hassler (Canada) at Ospreys. With performances like this from Tier 3 players I would find it hard to believe that professional clubs aren't scouting the deep pool that is sitting across the pond.

Speaking of the pool of players, if we looked closely at America it's obvious to see purely on a population level and the law of averages there must be some serious talent in multiple positions for the Eagles. The problem is that the young men/boys, that have natural talent that could excite the rugby world, face the general pressure to play American Football. While it is the primary sport in the nation, you can't help feeling that many players are left by the way side as coaches select who gets scholarships for college. The players who are left behind still posses extreme physical ability and obvious ball skills that could be easily transferred to a rugby pitch: Linebackers - Backrow; Quarter-backs - Fly-halves; Wide-Receivers - Wingers. And while there will obviously be a lot less funding for rugby compared to the "national sport", even a cursory glance at the levels of funding across all major sports in America will show that there is money - and lots of it - to be found for sport in America. There must be some private investor who would back a college; a professional team; or even a league.

Obviously discussions of club level development is important to develop home grown talent for the international team, but if the international team have no reason to meet up and train together on a regular basis then they'll never compete at Test level. To fix this the governing bodies of the game need to push the top teams to play more games against the developing teams, to get clubs to release the players for those games and to potentially set up a consistent competitive tournament. Seeing the "Big 3" take on the Pacific Islanders and Japan as a warm up for the Autumn Tests in Europe or for the Rugby Championship will greatly increase crowd size and interest in the sport in the nations (see 61,000 in Chicago yesterday). If the European teams faced the likes of America - and smaller cousins Canada - as their small game for the Autumn Internationals or as their warm up game for their summer tours the same result could be achieved. But perhaps a greater idea is to get these teams to make use of one another. Surely it couldn't be too difficult to set up a Pacific Rim League, between six teams: USA, Canada, Japan, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Time-zones could play a major hiccup but it hasn't affected the induction of Argentina to the Rugby Championship. So why can't six teams who obviously want more international exposure accommodate the International Date Line.

There a multiple reasons why none of these suggestions have happened yet: funding, player quality and IRB Test windows. Yet from the quality shown in recent years and indeed yesterday by a gusty American team way out of their depth against the world champions, it's obvious that a global sport is possible and a completely competitive World Cup is possible.