‘Great eight’ look set for knockout phase

THE last eight of the World Cup is becoming more apparent following the weekend series of games.

Ireland, Australia and England yesterday joined New Zealand, Wales and France in the quarter-finals after two pulsating games.

England's laboured victory over the combative Samoans ensured the cup co-favourites were into the last eight and all but guaranteed they will top the group with just minnows Uruguay to come.

They will almost certainly go up against Wales in Brisbane on November 9 with the All Blacks taking on either South Africa or Samoa in Melbourne the previous day.

Following the Irish win against Argentina, Eddie O'Sullivan's men will meet Australia to contest top position in Pool A at Melbourne on Saturday with the winner getting an easier quarter-final against either Scotland or Fiji in Brisbane on November 8.

The loser will take on high-flying France in Melbourne the following day.

The two games were a timely tonic for the World Cup which has laboured through 16 days of mismatches culminating in the sad sight of Namibia being humiliated 142-0 by a second-string Australian XV in Adelaide on Saturday.

Even the France v Scotland clash which drew a huge 80,000 crowd to Sydney's Olympic Stadium failed to live up to expectations, with the French running away with the match from late in the first half.

Despite their loss to England, the Samoans are still in with a shout of reaching the quarter-finals for the third time after 1991 and 1995, but they will have to produce another stirring performance against South Africa in Brisbane next Saturday.

New Zealand started the canter into the quarters, walloping Tonga 91-7 on Friday, while Wales cemented their spot with a 27-15 victory over Italy to reach the quarters for the third time in five attempts.

The two teams meet next Sunday in Sydney to determine who tops pool D with Welsh coach Steve Hansen relieved his team held out against a side fighting for its Cup survival. "It's a big win under the circumstances of where we are in Welsh rugby," said Hansen.

"There's been a lot of negative things happening. The national side hasn't come here under great raps, we struggled for some time because of the changes in the regional structures."

In Sydney, France flogged an outclassed Scotland 51-9 to top pool B, leaving Fiji and the Scots to fight for the final spot in Sydney next Saturday.

The Wallabies, playing the first rugby international at the Adelaide Oval cricket ground, won 142-0 in the biggest ever World Cup margin.

Scotland have never failed to make the final eight, but French five-eighth Frederic Michalak says the Scots may struggle against the Fijians, who the Tricolours found toughest of the two.

Australia names its team to play Ireland on Wednesday with the task of whittling down a side which ran in a record 22 tries on Saturday.

With the competition into its third week the injuries were piling up and three more players Xavier Garbajosa of France, Duncan Jones of Wales and Alan Quinlan of Ireland were ruled out yesterday.

The pace relents today with just the Pool B wooden-spoon match between Japan and United States in Gosford.