Now the Tri Nations will have to scrap it out amongst themelves to decide who gets to the final, and although home advantage would lead most to think that the All Blacks should be there, the hosts' fragility in a semi final against either Australia or the Boks should make for compulsive viewing.
Meanwhile, the northerners will be assured of a finalist - assuming the remaining pool fixtures go to plan. A big if, however. That slightly unpredictable ball, allied to the vagaries of the NZ weather, is making it difficult to close matches down, and is creating perfect conditions for playing underdog rugby.
If the Irish can continue to improve, they will be very difficult to beat. If Wales can keep 15 front line players fit after going through the Horror Show that is their Pool experience, if France can play theway they did in the last quarter against Canada, if England can focus on playing rugby rather than perfecting their dwarf tossing techniques...
As I said, a lot of ifs...
