As the tournament moves into the quarter-final stage, Chris Hewett examines the strengths and the weaknesses of the countries who have made it, and pinpoints their likely match-winners
South Africa
Strengths
The Springboks’ intensity has been off the scale since the extraordinary events in Brighton in the first tranche of pool matches, when Japan outwitted, outlasted and ultimately outscored them. Never ones to take an insult lying down, they have reasserted themselves through their traditional calling card of high-end physicality.
Weaknesses
They can sail very close to the wind on the discipline front, especially when the ferocious flanker Schalk Burger is putting himself about in the loose. Is the outside-half Handre Pollard bombproof under pressure? Does the coach Heyneke Meyer always get it right on his bench calls?
Main man Eben Etzebeth (lock)
Wales
Strengths
Leaving aside the players who are broken, they are as fit as any side left in the competition. They also have some world-class talents – Alun Wyn Jones, Toby Faletau – performing at the peak of their powers. Also, the new half-back pairing of Gareth Davies and Dan Biggar is working for them.
Weaknesses
Leaving aside the fit blokes, they are broken almost beyond repair. Full-backs, wings, centres… they are down to the last scrapings, thanks to a horrible run of injuries. Up front, the scrummaging is suspect; out back, experienced hands are butchering opportunities. What’s more, Faletau is attracting too much attention from referees.
Main man Alun Wyn Jones (lock)
New Zealand
Strengths
Awash with attacking options – you know you’re in a good place when two of Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams and Malakai Fekitoa have to miss out – the champions are terribly difficult to subdue. Ben Smith’s form at full-back makes him the player of the tournament to date.
Weaknesses
They cannot scrummage – at least, not with any consistency. Also, it is not entirely clear that their breakdown work is as flawless as we have come to expect. Richie McCaw will put it right when necessary, no doubt, but every hint of frailty is manna from heaven to the opposition.
Main man Ben Smith (full-back)
France
Strengths
Probably the best scrummaging side in the game, they have what it takes to dominate all three southern hemisphere superpowers at close quarters. If they win some set-piece penalties, Scott Spedding will capitalise with his exceptional long-range kicking. They also have Thierry Dusautoir and Louis Picamoles in the back row.
Weaknesses
The loss of the wing Yoann Huget deprived Les Bleus of a significant attacking threat, and we have not seen enough of Wesley Fofana or Noa Nakaitaci in broken field play. Mathieu Bastareaud’s midfield game fell through the floor against Ireland, resuscitating the suspicion that he is a flat track bully.
Main man Louis Picamoles (No 8)
Ireland
Strengths
Like the Welsh, they know their way round their coach’s game-plan. Some people condemn it as too narrowly focused, but when it is executed with both passion and precision, as it was against France on Sunday, it takes some handling. They can also bank on ridiculous levels of travelling support.
Weaknesses
Brian O’Driscoll’s ghost continues to haunt the No 13 channel – if Keith Earls has done some nice things, he has also dropped a clanger or two – while the body count in the France game was heavy indeed. Will the goalkicking hold up if Jonny Sexton breaks down and what if Paul O’Connell has to pull out?
Main man Iain Henderson (lock)
Argentina
Strengths
They used to be found in one area and one only, but that is no longer the case. The Puma scrum still works like a dream, but there is also more craft and creativity away from the pack, thanks to their fly-half, Nicolas Sanchez, and some adventurous wings. They kick their goals, too.
Weaknesses
Too few for Ireland’s comfort. The South Americans’ biggest problem is one of discipline: they still find it too easy to put themselves on the wrong side of the referee, particularly around the tackle area. Often at a language disadvantage, they often suffer from a reputation that goes before them.
Main man Nicolas Sanchez (fly-half)
Australia
Strengths
Togetherness, for starters. Michael Cheika, head coach for less than a year, has worked wonders on the “band of brothers” front. They also have scope – their victories over England and Wales proved they can win every which way – and a good percentage of the tournament’s best players are dotted around their side.
Weaknesses
The set-piece work may be better than it was (which is not saying a fat lot), but it is still some way short of a Rolls-Royce operation. They are not in absolutely premium nick at scrum-half, either: both Will Genia and Nick Phipps have looked fragile at times.
Main man David Pocock (No 8)
Scotland
Strengths
Urgency is the key. The two southern hemisphere imports in the back row, John Hardie and Josh Strauss, have upped the ante in the loose – Hardie especially, with his predatory hunting instincts and his footballing brain. Working in close cahoots, Greig Laidlaw is a game manager of considerable quality.
Weaknesses
The back line is missing a beat here and there, and there are serious issues in defensive organisation on the evidence of their tight win over Samoa on Saturday. The Wallabies will make a rare old mess of the Scottish midfield unless those concerned beef up their tackling game.
Main man Greig Laidlaw (scrum-half)
Rugby World Cup country-by-country guide
Pool A: Australia
Captain Stephen Moore.
Coach Michael Cheika.
RWC record Winners 1991, 1999; 2nd 2003; 3rd 2011; 4th 1987; QF 1995, 2007.
Strengths Annual trips to Twickenham and Cardiff mean there’s no mystery to playing here. Coach Cheika has indicated an adventurous game plan with the selection of two openside flankers in David Pocock and Michael Hooper – wisely, given the talent behind them. A long run of narrow wins over Wales is a psychological advantage.
Concerns New prop Scott Sio ripped up the script about a wobbly scrum with a strong display against New Zealand in the summer, but a dewy evening facing England at Twickenham might be different.
Player to watch Israel Folau. So he doesn’t kick very often – but he can catch, run, feint and attack from anywhere.
Team song Let England Shake (PJ Harvey) GETTY IMAGESEngland
Captain Chris Robshaw.
Coach Stuart Lancaster.
RWC record Winners 2003; 2nd 1991, 2007; 4th 1995; QF 1987, 1999, 2011.
Strengths Home advantage, undoubtedly. And togetherness: boat-rockers such as Steffon Armitage have gone overboard and Lancaster has given debuts to 40 players – 21 have made it to this tournament. For Mike Brown, George Ford and Courtney Lawes, a great World Cup could rubber-stamp them as world-class.
Concerns It will be hard work to avoid mentally switching off. Robshaw must be tactically spot on in deciding whether to take points or territory. The scrums should go well, but not every match is dominated by them.
Player to watch Ben Youngs . Scrum-half with a sound mix of passing and handling. Can give the pack a kick up the backside.
Team song A Good Year for the Roses (Elvis Costello) ReutersFiji
Captain Akapusi Qera.
Coach John McKee.
RWC record QF 1987, 2007; QF play-off 1999; Pool 1991, 2003, 2011; DNQ 1995.
Strengths The aptly nicknamed “Flying Fijians” love to use the full width of the pitch and will aim to move the ball quickly to the wings Nemani Nadolo and Waisea Nayacalevu, guided by half-backs Nikola Matawalu and Josh Matavesi.
ConcernsThe scrum made mincemeat of Canada’s second string in Sunday’s warm-up but a World Cup opener against England is very different. The lavish offloads of second-row Leone Nakarawa can be counter-productive if they cough up possession.
Player to watch Opposing wings will suck up deep breaths before getting in the way of 19-stone Nadolo. As a kicker at the tee he is the most unusual sight since the Wallaby lock John Eales.
Team song Anarchy in the UK (Sex Pistols) GettyUruguay
Captain Santiago Vilaseca.
Coach Pablo Lemoine.
RWC record Pool 1999, 2003; DNQ 1995, 2007, 2011.
Strengths Fly-half Felipe Berchesi came through a test of goalkicking nerve with 15 out of 18 in the two legs of the repêchage win over Russia. Scrum-half Agustin Ormaechea maintains a pleasing family link with the grand man of Uruguay’s earlier World Cup exploits, his dad Diego.
Concerns Former Bristol prop Lemoine says Los Teros’ mainly amateur status makes them the “representatives of the majority of rugby players around the world” but that won’t help them in the pool of death.
Player to watch With 6ft 5in Castres lock Rodrigo Capo Ortega having mysteriously retired from international rugby this summer, Agustin Ormaechea – with his silky sevens skills – may now be Uruguay’s shining light.
Team song Livin’ la Vida Loca (Ricky Martin) Getty ImagesWales
Captain Sam Warburton.
Coach Warren Gatland.
RWC record 3rd 1987; 4th 2011; QF 1999, 2003; Pool 1991, 1995, 2007.
Strengths Big backs bash the ball up, manhandle opponents on the gainline, with centre Scott Williams adding subtlety. Gatland picked 10 Welshmen for the Lions’ victorious third Test in Australia in 2013, and the same crew, more or less, won two Six Nations.
Concerns As a fancied team who always fret over a lack of depth, last weekend’s injuries to world-class goalkicker Leigh Halfpenny and No 1 scrum-half Rhys Webb were a savage blow.
Player to watch Alun Wyn Jones. All of Wales awaits news of the second-row’s dodgy knee, so integral is his ability to find field position with power and intelligence. His maturity was accelerated as stand-in Lions captain in 2013.
Team song Another One Bites the Dust (Queen) GettyPool B: Japan
Captain Michael Leitch.
Coach Eddie Jones.
RWC record Pool 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011.
Strengths In a softly, softly fashion, Japan have been developing into a potential surprise package. Tricky scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka had a briefly productive spell with the Highlanders in New Zealand, and a nice balance of adopted sons such as back-rower Leitch alongside indigenous talent has addressed the age-old size problem in the pack.
Concerns The South Africa and Scotland matches four days apart raises a dilemma: drop one of them and risk a 90-point beating, or flog the first team for no ultimate reward?
Player to watch Ayumu Goromaru. The full-back made his debut at 19 in 2005 and after missing the World Cup in 2011, he has averaged more than 12 points per match.
Team song House of the Rising Sun (The Animals) Getty ImagesSamoa
Captain Ofisa Treviranus.
Coach Stephen Betham.
RWC record QF 1991, 1995; QF play-off 1999; Pool 2003, 2007, 2011.
Strengths Coach Betham has beaten Wales, Scotland and Italy, and had a close-run thing with New Zealand this summer. The flair in the backs of the three Pisis – fly-half Tusi, centre George and wing Ken – is helped by French-based forward grunt in the prop Zak Taulafo and Toulouse flanker Joe Tekori.
Concerns For all their popular support, Samoa have failed to reach the quarter-finals at the last three World Cups. Their trademark big tackles can leave them stranded in defence.
Player to watch Kahn Fotuali’i. The scrum-half took a while to show his best form after moving from Ospreys to Northampton, but his breaks around the fringes will be crucial.
Team song Mercy Mercy (Don Covay) Getty ImagesScotland
Captain Greig Laidlaw.
Coach Vern Cotter.
RWC record 4th 1991; QF 1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007; Pool 2011.
Strengths Glasgow backs and Edinburgh forwards offer settled combinations, with the South Africa-born “project player” WP Nel among the latter as the crucial tighthead prop. If the pack can deliver, Laidlaw, Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg will weave prettier patterns than most.
Concerns The old rucking game has gone, leaving Scotland prey to teams with greater power and belligerence. Can the second-row Gray brothers, Richie and Jonny, combine with David Denton to win the collisions?
Player to watch Tim Visser (above left). The big Edinburgh wing never seems to stop scoring. Two matches at St James’ Park should make him feel at home, as he played for nearby Falcons.
Team song Whistle While you Work (Seven Dwarfs) Getty ImagesSouth Africa
Captain Jean de Villiers.
Coach Heyneke Meyer.
RWC record Winners 1995, 2007; 3rd 1999; QF 2003, 2011.
Strengths Assuming Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira and the Du Plessis brothers have another tour of duty in them, the scrum will fancy a crack at any opposition. The back row must be in decent nick after leaving Heinrich Brussow at home. Full-back Willie le Roux is one of the best counter-attackers of all.
Concerns They can struggle to turn territorial domination into tries. Totemic centre Jean de Villiers beat expectations with his recovery from a knee reconstruction, only to break his jaw against Argentina. The Springboks often stutter without him.
Player to watch Francois Louw. Surgeon of the breakdown, he mixes exquisite timing with technique to prise ball from opponents.
Team song Trampled Under Foot (Led Zeppelin) Getty ImagesUnited States
Captain Chris Wyles.
Coach Mike Tolkin.
RWC record Pool 1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011; DNQ 1995.
Strengths Recent wins over Georgia, Russia and Romania nudged them up the rankings, and we can expect the best of Northampton’s San Francisco hard-man lock/No 8 Samu Manoa and the blindingly quick Zimbabwe-born wing Takudzwa Ngwenya.
Concerns Who’s been bashed about most is likely to decide the key battle within the war, the last pool match against Japan. Forward Cam Dolan, who never had a first-team look-in at Northampton, will be keen to strut his stuff.
Player to watch Chris Wyles. The definition of “utility back”, he has been a winger for Saracens lately but is equally adept at full-back or centre. A crossover talent who would surely have thrived 30 years ago.
Team song No Particular Place to Go (Chuck Berry) Getty ImagesPool C: Argentina
Captain Agustin Creevy.
Coach Daniel Hourcade.
RWC record 3rd 2007; QF 1999, 2011; Pool 1987, 1991, 1995, 2003.
Strengths With ex-hooker Mario Ledesma schooling the Wallaby pack, only about a million scrummaging experts are left in Argentina. Entry to the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship in 2012 sharpened up the Pumas and, with everything bouncing their way, they had a famous win in Durban in August.
Concerns Creevy was tipped as one to watch by the great flanker Juan Fernandez Lobbe before the 2011 World Cup; the hooker must now learn to deal with his team being a pool favourite.
Player to watch Juan Martin Hernandez, aka the “Maradona of rugby”, has made a welcome return after long years of injury misery following his stunning 2007 World Cup.
Team song Tango Till They’re Sore (Tom Waits) Getty ImagesGeorgia
Captain Mamuka Gorgodze.
Coach Milton Haig.
RWC record Pool 2003, 2007, 2011; DNQ 1995, 1999.
Strengths Back-rower Gorgodze and fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili made it into my team of the World Cup in 2011, such was their contribution to England’s otherwise stodgy pool. Both are involved again: it will be a fourth World Cup for Georgia’s record points scorer Kvirikashvili.
Concerns If the pack is going backwards there’s not much strength elsewhere to reverse the flow. It will take all the New Zealand nous of Haig, one of seven Kiwi head coaches operating in the competition, to keep better attacking units at bay. Player to watch Davit Zirakashvili. If you want a blueprint for a tighthead prop, look no further. He is beloved of his crack French club Clermont Auvergne.
Team song The Devil Went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels Band) Getty ImagesNamibia
Captain Jacques Burger.
Coach Phil Davies.
RWC record Pool 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011; DNQ 1995.
Strengths English eyes are so accustomed to the curly mane of Saracens’ Burger hammering into tackles and rucks, it’s easy to forget the flanker spent two years out having his knee rearranged.
Concerns Rumours of racism among the old management on last autumn’s European tour were followed by the resignation of coach Danie Vermeulen, leaving Davies, the former Wales lock and Cardiff Blues and Leeds coach, to take charge. Even with ex-Wales wing Wayne “The Body” Proctor advising on fitness, a squad of mostly amateurs handling full-time pros is a tall order.
Player to watch Russell van Wyk. A wing or full-back, his stooping gait and searing foot speed bring to mind another hero of southern Africa, Bryan Habana.
Team song I Say a Little Prayer (Aretha Franklin) Getty ImagesNew Zealand
Captain Richie McCaw.
Coach Steve Hansen.
RWC record Winners 1987, 2011; 2nd 1995; 3rd 1991, 2003; 4th 1999; QF 2007.
Strengths Continuity, with 2011 assistant coach Hansen as head honcho now and the mighty McCaw and Kieran Read as near-enough co-captains. The All Blacks are the best at turning momentary opportunity into points with straight running, quick hands and tireless support.
Concerns Teams driving up the middle might make gaps in the strung-out defence. The All Blacks have never lost a pool match but in knockouts have lost six out of 19: two to France, two to Australia and two to South Africa.
Player to watch Conrad Smith. The masterly centre, 34 next month, has reached that sporting apotheosis of retaining his vision and distributive skills alongside a new calmness.
Team song Back to Black (Amy Winehouse) Getty ImagesTonga
Captain Nili Latu.
Coach Mana Otai.
RWC record Pool 1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011; DNQ 1991.
Strengths Latu was named among The Independent’s top 50 players in the world in 2008. Ten England-based players in the squad means there will be no culture shock. The traditional South Seas tactics of tackle hard, ask questions later, will be to the fore. And there’s some Aussie wisdom in the attack coach Jim McKay.
Concerns Will they stand tall against their illustrious neighbours the All Blacks? All that fire and brimstone has tended to peter out in the second half of World Cup matches, with the memorable exception of the shock defeat of France in Wellington last time round.
Player to watch Steve Mafi. The leggy back-rower or lock won a lot of friends in his time with Leicester Tigers, and is still only 25.
Team song Thunder Island (Jay Ferguson) Getty ImagesPool D: Canada
Captain Tyler Ardron.
Coach Kieran Crowley.
RWC record QF 1991; Pool 1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011.
Strengths Crowley is on his fifth World Cup – twice as Canada coach, twice as an All Black full-back, and once as a selector – and Ardron is a sparkling flanker. Their final pool game against Romania in Leicester is the big one.
Concerns Jamie Cudmore, Phil Mackenzie and DTH van der Merwe are stalwarts of European rugby, but most of the squad play for Canadian clubs such as Castaway Wanderers, Prairie Wolf Pack and Calgary Hornets. Sadly, professionalism has turned the country of Gareth Rees’s 1991 quarter-finalists into the land that time forgot.
Player to watch Jamie Cudmore – or “card more” as wags will have it, owing to the lock’s penchant for a punch-up. Or, a top man who keeps the opposition honest.
Team song It Ain’t Easy (David Bowie) Getty ImagesFrance
Captain Thierry Dusautoir
Coach Philippe Saint-André
RWC record 2nd 1987, 1999, 2011; 3rd 1995; 4th 2003, 2007; QF 1991.
Strengths The French have course-and-distance form dating back to the 2007 quarter-final win in Cardiff and 1999 semi-final win at Twickenham, both over New Zealand. The pack know their onions (ho ho), and the super-smooth Fiji-born wing Noa Nakaitaci could set the tournament alight.
Concerns As in 2011, France have a head coach serving his notice – Guy Novès will take over from Saint-André after the tournament. It could be uniting or disrupting.
Player to watch Mathieu Bastareaud. I’d tended to dismiss the oil-tanker of a centre as all muscle and no finesse but there have been signs of late of a Ma’a Nonu-style expansion of his range.
Team song Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan) Getty ImagesIreland
Captain Paul O’Connell
Coach Joe Schmidt
RWC record QF 1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2011; QF play-off 1999; Pool 2007.
Strengths O’Connell never gives an opposition pack a moment’s peace – he’s a Martin Johnson de nos jours. Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton may be the world’s best half-back combination and if Sexton is on the front foot, he implements Schmidt’s tactical ploys with precision kicking.
Concerns Palpitations over the scrum if loosehead prop Cian Healy is at less than full bore, or anything happens to tighthead Mike Ross.
Player to watch Robbie Henshaw. The era of Brian O’Driscoll is over; step forward Henshaw of Connacht, with his mix of heft and intricate handling. Schmidt has given him and Jared Payne every chance to forge a centre combination .
Team song Get On the Good Foot (James Brown) Getty ImagesItaly
Captain Sergio Parisse
Coach Jacques Brunel
RWC record Pool 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011.
Strengths For Veni, Vidi, Vici, read Parisse, Parisse, Parisse – the captain and contender as world’s greatest No. 8 has it all, with quick feet, hands and brain, and will patrol the back of a decent pack shrewdly overseen by Brunel and former prop Giampiero de Carli.
Concerns Italy have beaten their trans-Alpine foes France twice in Rome in recent years, but this is neutral ground and the Azzurri’s World Cup record is… lamentable.
Player to watch Josh Furno has inherited the second-row jersey of the long-serving Marco Bortolami, and can also do service on the blindside flank. Dean Richards signed him at Newcastle, which is a good recommendation.
Team song Arrivederci Roma (Mario Lanza) Getty ImagesRomania
Captain Mihai Macovei
Coach Lynn Howells
RWC record Pool 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011.
Strengths Howells, a one-time right-hand man to Graham Henry when the latter was Wales coach, will expect a sturdy pack performance based on a number of French-based forwards. The 32-year-old Paulica Ion does the anchoring job.
Concerns As with all the “Tier Two” nations, the Romanians take time to adjust to the quadrennial jousts with the big boys. Much will depend on new backs Michael Wiringi and Paula Kinikinilau.
Player to watch Catalin Fercu. Take care pronouncing the surname, but enjoy the full-back, an Anglo-Welsh Cup winner at Saracens last season, whose devil-may-care style is a throwback to the era before gym bunnies.
Team song Even the Losers (get lucky sometimes) (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) Getty ImagesKnockout details and the World Cup in numbers
Quarter-finals
Saturday:
South Africa v Wales, Twickenham, 4pm, ITV
New Zealand v France, Millennium Stadium, 8pm, ITV
Sunday:
Ireland v Argentina, Millennium Stadium, 1pm, ITV
Australia v Scotland, Twickenham, 4pm, ITV
Semi-finals
Saturday 24 October:
South Africa/Wales v New Zealand/France, Twickenham, 4pm, ITV
Sunday 25 October:
Ireland/Argentina v Australia/Scotland, Twickenham, 4pm, ITV
Bronze final
Friday 30 October:
Semi-final loser 1 v Semi-final loser 2, Olympic Stadium, 8pm, ITV
Final
Saturday 31 October:
Semi-final winner 1 v Semi-final winner 2, Twickenham, 4pm, ITV
World Cup in numbers
Most points
60 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
58 Ayumu Goromaru (Japan)
56 Bernard Foley (Australia)
51 Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina)
46 Handre Pollard (South Africa)
Most tries
5 Bryan Habana (South Africa); Julian Savea (New Zealand)
4 D T H van der Merwe (Canada); Gareth Davies (Wales); J P Pietersen (South Africa); Nehe Milner-Skudder (New Z)
Most penalties
13 Ayumu Goromaru (Japan)
12 Bernard Foley (Australia); Dan Biggar (Wales)
11 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
Most conversions
12 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
11 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
8 Handre Pollard (South Africa); Ian Madigan (Ireland); Nicolas Sanchez (Argentina); Owen Farrell (England)
Most yellow cards
2 Campese Ma’afu (Fiji)
Most red cards
1 Agustin Ormaechea (Uruguay)
Total tries scored
231
Total drop goals scored
3
Total attendance so far
1,881,023