Heinrich Brussow's attacking prowess has made him the complete flanker.

Heinrich Brussow's attacking prowess has made him the complete flanker. Photo: AP

Ireland's upset win against the Wallabies and the impressive Welsh means they both have added their names to the list of contenders who could win this tournament. The Wallabies now have it all to do after a weekend in which the big boys flexed their muscle. With South Africa their most likely quarter-final opponents, lets start with the world champions.

The Australia analysis was published yesterday.

South Africa

A wonderful performance of verve, ambition, power and imagination. Where on earth did that come from?

There were too many highlights in South Africa's 49-3 evisceration to fit in, but a few are worth a mention. Three long-range breakouts from inside their own 22 within the first 33 minutes. Both props, Jannie du Plessis and Gurthro Steenkamp, running like centres. JP Pietersen beating would-be tacklers with his mixture of speed and grace. Danie Rossouw putting in the tight-five performance of the World Cup so far, which included burning off Fijians for pace on the outside, a no-look pass and a try.

Morne Steyn unveiling a midfield show-and-go to split the defence and set up another try. Heinrich Brussow executing a perfect chip kick to set up a Frans Steyn try.

The South Africans looked like they were having fun in expressing themselves.

But for all the champagne moments, the Springboks didn't neglect areas of traditional strength. Frans Steyn, outstanding at No.12 as the crash-and-bash merchant, thrashed over a penalty from 55 metres without a second thought. His namesake in the No.10 jersey dropped bombs on the opposition back three with laser-like precision, one leading directly to a Jaque Fourie try in the 34th minute after a hash was made of the catch and du Plessis took off on a charge. The scrum was almighty. The defence was bruising. And the breakdown was one-sided.

Naturally, Brussow had something to do with the latter, but to concentrate solely on this part of his game is to do a disservice to the role he plays on attack. He is the man chosen to carry the ball at the tail of their lineout drives and makes the decision when to go or when to keep it in tight. He carries the ball with gusto and produced a superb offload while falling to ground in just the second minute. As an all-round proposition he might have nudged himself ahead of David Pocock among those who like to rank these individuals.

Off the bench, too, South Africa were awesome. Willem Alberts came on for Bakkies Botha at half-time and there was no drop in physicality. Bismarck du Plessis was only on the field for four minutes before Fiji's replacement halfback, Vitori Buatava was dismissed with a palm-off. Beast Mtawarira picked up a try.

Australia have beaten South Africa in five of their past six encounters, but on this evidence this side is suddenly shaping up to be a completely different animal. Perhaps we now know what all those injured players were doing when they should have been in Australia and New Zealand.

Why they can win it: They are adding finesse to all that power.

Why they can't win it: Ireland have done them no favours. The Wallabies in the quarter-finals is fraught with danger.

New Zealand

Forget the backs and the Sonny Bill Williams cameo, the only thing that can be taken out of the win against a poor Japan outfit was the sight of loose-head Tony Woodcock pursuing Japanese right winger Takehisa Usuzuki across the field after the 80 minutes were up.

As has been made clear, a good scrum might not be enough to win a World Cup, but a bad one makes the road so much tougher. Woodcock has had his injury problems going into the World Cup, but All Blacks need him fit and firing, in the short-term against France and for the rest of the tournament. There remains the suspicion that the older Franks brother, Ben, lacks the bulk to really mix it with the top scrums, while John Afoa is normally a tight-head and normally associated with athleticism rather than horsepower.

Besides, if there is a book in which all of the tricks of the propping trade are listed, Woodcock has read it from cover to cover. Woodcock does the 'butter wouldn't melt' look as well as any prop but refereeing him remains an exacting test. He has a high-profile critic in Bob Dwyer, who doubts the legality of his technique, but there is no doubt that at his best he is one of the most destructive loose-heads around. In the 39th minute he powered straight over the Japanese scrum and elicited a happy grin from Graham Henry in the coaching box. Of course, the opponent was suspect but Henry must have been glad to see him move forward. He is so vital to securing the quality set-piece possession from which the All Blacks launch their backs.

The mail is that Mils Muliaina will not be restored at No.15 against the French, with Israel Dagg at fullback and Richard Kahui-Cory Jane on the wings. Whatever the configuration it is likely to leave them without a specialist winger, not that it seems to bother the selectors. They are building a team based on straight-line running and inside balls. Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu already offer directness but Dan Carter always seem to have the option of dropping it off to a No.11 or No.14 coming from the wing. Hosea Gear was omitted because he hugs the touchline and didn't do enough to fit the model. Kahui, Jane and Isaia Toeava are accustomed to hitting the line and operating in traffic.

Opportunistic hookers are almost just as likely to be finishing moves out wider as the wingers. There were 11 different try scorers against Japan, including Keven Mealamu and Andre Hore.

The selectors have placed a staggering amount of faith in Williams' ability to cover a number of positions if he is the sole utility player on the bench. You could throw Scott Higginbotham on the wing against a tiring Japan and presumably he would run amok. It does not mean you have created a Test winger. But at least Williams played with a smile on his face and made the most of his opportunities. Those who displayed tension and a lack of enjoyment saw their games suffer. Former All Blacks captain Taine Randell wrote that Colin Slade performed so nervously that Piri Weepu was now the best five-eighth option behind Dan Carter. But as the best halfback, is he in the physical condition to start at No.9 and then close out a game at five-eighth should Carter get injured? The pieces have not yet fallen into place.

Why they can win it: They run the best support lines in the competition.

Why they can't win it: By the end of the Japan game only three backs - Smith, Nonu and Jimmy Cowan - were playing in their normal roles. Echoes of Leon MacDonald and Mils Muliaina in No.13?


Not much became clearer about this French side after a 46-19 win against Canada in extremely tough conditions in Napier, but what we do know is this - they're unlikely to be beaten in a kicking contest.

After Dimitri Yachvili excelled in the role in the opening game against Japan, Morgan Parra - he of the equally sweet left foot - assumed responsibility on a sodden pitch and in heavy rain and made light of the elements. Parra collected a personal tally of 23 points from five penalties and four conversions. You show poor discipline at your peril against this French side.

Parra's skill off the boot was not restricted to the kicking tee - twice in the first half he launched inch-perfect box kicks from the base of the scrum to get his side into safer territory. The All Blacks wingers can expect to be tested.

In addition, the French have a fullback in Damien Traille who is the equal of Frans Steyn in terms of distance off the boot. He can break forwards' hearts with his 50m touchfinders.

There was a mix of madness and method when Parra was named at No.10 against the All Blacks with Yachvili coming in at No.9. But although the set-up looks unbalanced, Parra has played there before and the tactical decision-making in France often lies with the No.9. Besides, Francois Trinh-Duc was patchy at five-eighth and the French finished the game with the Yachvili-Parra combination, scoring two late tries with them both on the field. If Dan Carter starts but does not finish, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that there will be four halfbacks on the field at the same time during the New Zealand-France game.

Satisfyingly for France, they look well equipped at the back of the scrum. Toulouse No.8 Louis Picamoles had a strong game against Canada, mixing some powerful runs with nice awareness of support runners. Given the chance to occupy the open spaces, he runs with the ball held out in front of him in both hands. It sounds minor, but it keeps the defence guessing. But he was virtually unassisted in straightening the line of attack as France laboured in the wet. There were not many putting their hand up for the hard yards.

In fact, the late tries gave the scoreline a more one-sided appearance than the contest suggested - it was only 25-19 to the French at the 64-minute mark when Traille ran a nice line from fullback to break the Canadians' stoic resistance. Only then did the French backs start creating angles and apprehension.

Previously, Traille looked as uncomfortable under the well-judged bomb as the North Americans, flapping hopelessly under his own posts from an Ander Monro sky-finder to let the Canadians in for their try.

After an early wobble the scrum was authoritative, especially when Fabien Barcella came on. He starts on the bench against the All Blacks but fans are not likely to be denied seeing him up against Owen Franks at some stage. William Servat, rated Europe's best hooker by some, also begins in the reserves and the retention of Luc Ducalcon at tight-head instead of Nicolas Mas, who has a slight injury problem, suggests coach Marc Lievremont might be keeping some of his powder dry. Nonetheless, if this French pack can ask some uncomfortable questions of the New Zealand set-piece, which has not been completely convincing so far, there is a hint of an upset in the air. The quick feet of Vincent Clerc and Maxime Medard can cause anybody problems and the All Blacks are in cruise control.

Why they can win it: World Cups are won by the boot and strong set-pieces.

Why they can't win it: Parra's slight frame in the No.10 jersey causes defensive difficulties. And Trinh-Duc is not much better.

Tomorrow: Ireland, Wales and England