Peter Jackson: Fourth week falls flat thanks to Rugby World Cup scheduling

Some of the game's big hitters sat out the weekend action. 

ROUT: Dane Coles of New Zealand scores a try against Italy in a non-event of a contest.  Picture: INPHO/Photosport/Andrew Cornaga

Maybe it had something to do with the golfing summit on the other side of the Alps, almost as if rugby wanted to prove it could find as many bunkers in one weekend as Team USA.

Getting into them is all too easy; getting out is liable to cost a fortune or, worse still, the opportunity of a lifetime. Bad enough that the fourth week of the World Cup meant no France, no Ireland, no England, no Wales; their collective absence leaving fans of the four best-supported contenders in the tournament without a team to support.