Bunch of fives: Triumphs and troughs of the tournament so far

RUGBY UNION: World Cup

FIVE BEST PLAYERS

1 Joost van der Westhuizen (SA)

Hugely talented heartbeat of the

South African team

2 Josh Kronfeld (New Zealand)

Star back-row forward of World Cup:

fearless, ubiquitous, bald

3 Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)

Gargantuan bank officer, soon to be gargantuan professional sportsman

4 John Eales (Australia)

Highly co-ordinated lock forward

5 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)

Record points scorer in World Cup,

having a marvellous swansong

FIVE BEST TRIES

1 Sixth of Marc Ellis's touchdowns against Japan which was run from the All Blacks' try-line, almost every team member having a hand

2 Emile N'Tamack's last-minute try for France against Scotland. Not for its beauty, but for its importance

3 Josh Kronfeld's try against Ireland. Lomu thundered through five tackles and Kronfeld completed the job

4 Japanese fly-half Seiji Hirao's against Ireland; exemplary use of looping run

5 Tony Underwood against Italy. Rare example of England at their best

FIVE BLUNDERS

1 Floodlight failure at Port Elizabeth, seconds before the Canada-South Africa game. The lights went out for 30 minutes without public explanation

2 Locking-in of hundreds of supporters in hospitality suites at Ellis Park on night of New Zealand-Ireland match

3 Function for Irish team to meet the public in "Chariots of Fire" in Jo'burg. It turned out to be a strip club

4 Hotel-sharing for rival teams, especially the Aussies and Springboks

5 Aggravation of Kyran Bracken's heel injury on England paintballing caper

FIVE EXCESSES

1 Number of fists that flew at Port Elizabeth last weekend during Canada- South Africa game

2 Wales's persistence with long, unsuccessful drop-outs against Ireland

3 All Blacks' point-scoring against Japan. Do they have no pity?

4 Frequent use, on ITV commentary, of the name of Tongan prop Tu'akalau Fukofuka by our own Chris Rea. Bill McLaren opted for Christian name

5 Souvenir shopping of Japan team. Bloemfontein shops sold out of World Cup goods before tournament began

FIVE INJUSTICES

1 The sending home of Feleti Mahoni, the wrong Tongan, for misuse of boot against France

2 Failure of World Cup to cite Hennie Le Roux after Port Elizabeth fight

3 Allowing the Springboks to call up Chester Williams for suspended Hendriks

4 Wales finishing within one point of Ireland last Sunday. They barely deserved to get on scoreboard

5 Argentina's departure after three defeats despite having the best front row of the tournament