Saturday, October 19:

ENGLAND vs AUSTRALIA – Oita Stadium – Historically there is very little to choose between these sides with Australia edging the head-to-head score 25-24 with one draw in 50 previous meetings.

Recently though it’s been all England. The Red Roses have won the previous six encounters going back to 2016. The last time Australia won was in the Pool phase at RWC 2015 in England, where they beat the hosts 33-13. England were later dumped out of the tournament in the group phase after losing Wales.

That home humiliation prompted the Rugby Football Union (RFU) fire the 2015 coaching staff and lure Eddie Jones. In one of the great managerial swoops in rugby, the RFU signed Jones just a week after he was unveiled as the new coach of Cape Town-based Super Rugby franchise the Stormers. It was a move that had positive ramifications for England but negative ones for the Stormers.

Under Jones England have risen to No 1 in the world, albeit briefly, and have steadily been one of the top three teams in the world. Statistically only the All Blacks have a better record since the last World Cup than Jones’ side.

England have won 37 of 47 Tests under Jones with one draw, for a winning ratio of 79%. Australia by contrast, have been limping along under beleaguered coach Michael Cheika since making the final of RWC 2015.

The Wallabies have won only 23 of 51 Tests since then, losing 26 and drawing two. It’s remarkable that Cheika has lasted this long. All will be forgiven if the Wallabies can find a way to beat their old rivals in Oita this weekend. But the portents aren’t good.

The Wallabies laboured through the Pool phase in Japan, losing 29-25 to Wales while battling against Georgia and Fiji. England purred through the Pool, brushing aside Tonga, the USA and Argentina before the anticipated clash against France was called off due to Typhoon Hagibis.

England’s pack, spearheaded by lock Maro Itoje will edge the Wallabies. Behind dominating forwards England halfbacks Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell, with George Ford to come off the bench, should be able to dictate play.

Australia’s main hope lies in the deadly back row duo of Michael Hooper and David Pocock, collectively known as ‘Pooper’, finding a way to disrupt England possession.

Prediction: England by 10 points.

Kick-off 9:15am

England – 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (capt), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Reserves: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Kruis, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 George Ford, 23 Jonathan Joseph.

Australia – 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 9 Will Genia, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (capt), 6 David Pocock, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio.
Reserves: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 James O’Connor.

NEW ZEALAND vs IRELAND – Tokyo Stadium – Ireland have won two of the last three meetings between the sides, but New Zealand have won their last 17 RWC matches in row going back to 2007. That 20-18 quarterfinal defeat to France was also the only time the All Blacks have failed to make the semi-finals in eight previous tournaments.

Since their last meeting in Dublin last November where Ireland won 16-9, Ireland have struggled. Key players such as flyhalf Jonny Sexton battled with injury earlier in the year and it had an unsettling impact on the team.

It feels as if the Irish team is one year too old and 12 months past its peak. Had the World Cup happened this time last year, they might have won it but right now they are on a downward curve. Losing to Japan in group play was another warning sign coming after a heavy 57-15 loss to England in a pre-tournament warm-up.

Ireland have played in six previous RWC quarterfinals and lost every time, adding to the burden the 2019 squad has to carry into the match.

The All Blacks, despite some issues of their own in terms of form after losing against the Wallabies and drawing with the Boks during the 2019 Rugby Championship, appear to be timing their run to peak condition perfectly.

Their opening 23-13 win over the Springboks in Yokohama was a massive statement that their demise had been greatly overstated.

Coach Steve Hansen’s decision to move Beauden Barrett to fullback to accommodate Richie Mo’unga at flyhalf, looked like a gamble gone wrong earlier this year. But the ploy has sparked to life at RWC 2019, just as Hansen intended. Any team that can leave Ben Smith out of its match-day squad has envious depth and belief.

The All Black pack is bolstered with lock Brodie Retallick’s return while flank Ardie Savea is a devastating carrier and link player. Even though the All Blacks might not be quite as good as the 2015 vintage, there is hardly a chink in their armour.

Prediction: NZ by 13 points.

Kick-off 12:15pm

New Zealand – 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (capt), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody.
Reserves: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Sonny Bill Williams, 23 Jordie Barrett.

Ireland – 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (capt), 1 Cain Healy.
Reserves: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jordan Larmour.

Sunday, October 20

WALES vs FRANCE, Oita Stadium – Wales won the Six Nations Grand Slam earlier this year and have won all four RWC 2019 matches so far. They lost a couple of tournament warm-up matches to England, but in games that have meant something in the past year, Wales have won everything.

The current French team are, in the most Gallic tradition, erratic. They dominated Argentina for 40 minutes in their opening Pool match and then went to sleep before stirring from their slumber to win the match with a dramatic drop-goal from flyhalf Cami Lopez.

They then cruised past the USA 33-9, before giving another disinterested performance against Tonga. They scraped through winning 23-21.

But they are good enough to beat Wales. If they turn up and play for 80 minutes because Wales are limited but tenacious.

Coach Warren Gatland has been at the helm for 12 years and Wales have evolved from free scoring romantics, happy to lose gloriously, into hard-edged, cutthroat winners.

There is nothing pretty about Wales’ play, but they are efficient. They defend brutally, have a strong pack, very good set pieces and a well-honed kicking game. They might come unstuck against a moment of brilliance but to beat them over the course of a match requires a similar professionalism and mentality. France doesn’t appear to have those tools.

Prediction: Wales by 8 points.

Kick-off 9.15am

Wales –15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tom Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones.
Reserves: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin.

France –15 Maxime Medard, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Wenceslas Lauret 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (capt), 1 Jefferson Poirot.
Reserves: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Vincent Rattez.

JAPAN vs SOUTH AFRICA – Tokyo Stadium – This is the most unexpected and most talked about quarterfinal of the four thanks to Japan’s sensational efforts at their home tournament.

Japan deservedly topped Pool A, which set up a return clash against the Springboks four years after the Miracle of Brighton. In case you’ve blocked the memory that was when the Brave Blossoms beat the Springboks 34-32 at RWC 2015.

While that was an outlier result at the time, in 2019 Japan’s wins over Ireland and Scotland felt like a new normal. Their high-octane, offloading game troubled the northern hemisphere teams.

The Springboks are a different test though. The current Boks have the best lineout in the world, having won 100% of their own put-ins at RWC 2019 while their scrum is peerless.

The Boks are physical but also creative. In Cheslin Kolbe they have a game-breaker and match winner and tactically they are astute.

Coach Rassie Erasmus won’t let his team fall into the trap of trying to beat Japan at their own game – as Scotland did. It’s a sure way to come unstuck. The Bok pack will grind away, big Bok runners will put Japan’s defence under pressure and the Boks will kick for territory at almost every opportunity.

Japan are fantastic ball players, but even the best runners don’t want to be attacking from deep inside their own territory all the time. That’s exactly what the Boks will ask Japan to do and then try and mop up on mistakes and turnovers.

Prediction: South Africa by 15 points.

Kick-Off 12.15pm

Japan – 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch (capt), 5 James Moore, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Jiwon Koo, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki.
Reserves: 16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Wimpie van der Walt, 20 Amanaki Mafi, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Lomano Lemeki.

South Africa – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Reserves: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Francois Louw, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Frans Steyn. DM