Sports After Dark

The Rugby World Cup began a little over three weeks ago and has treated fans to some wonderful rugby so far, but the festival atmosphere and high scoring games are about to come to an end as the tournament shifts gear into the knockout phase.

There have been some wonderful memories from the group stage of this tournament, the friendly rivalry between English and South African supporters at Stad de France, the colour and passion of the Portuguese supporters and the fairy tale run of Fiji. But as always are about to become things of the past as only eight teams remain, every game becomes a do-or-die affair and three more wins will bring one team the Webb Ellis trohpy.

The end of the group stage also means that the tournament is over for some of the more fancied teams. Wales were meant to claim the runner up spot in Pool B, but instead they narrowly lost their final game to Fiji and find themselves winging their way home. In this year’s Six Nations Ireland missed out on the title by the slimmest of margins, but a poor showing in Pool D sees them out of the knockout phase.

It is interesting to note that all four groups were won by teams from the Southern Hemisphere, and teams from south of the equator claimed five of the eight quarterfinal spots.

The festival atmosphere is enjoyable for fans and players alike. The impromptu football game between the All Blacks and Portugal after their Pool C match was a great example of players and fans having a good time. Those who remained in the stadium thoroughly enjoyed what they saw.

But the pressure of the knockout stage touches the fans as well as the players. There will be less laughter from the stands and more shouts of encouragement, no longer will fans remain respectfully silent when the opposition takes a shot at goal and polite applause will be a thing of the past.

The players too know that they must shift gears mentally, and some may not have another chance to play without injuries to team-mates.  In fact it is likely that the World Cup will be won by the team which handles the pressure the best.

The festival rugby is an important part of the World Cup, it provides a flavour and a feel which international rugby is lacking too often. But now that it is over, fans are treated to something else they only get to see every four years: Do-or-die rugby in an arena where heroes and legends are created.

Why do people remember that one drop goal that Jonny Wilkinson kicked in 2003? Or the try Jonah Lomu scored in 1995? Because they took place on rugby’s grandest stage, and the stage for 2007 is set. It just needs players.

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• All Blacks ready for revenge against France in Cardiff
• The contenders’ keys to victory: France
• Keys to victory: The dark horses
• U17 Women’s World Cup: Pure football, pure enjoyment

The The festival is over, time for the serious rugby to begin by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.