The matter of qualification will long hang over this Rugby World Cup. That England did not make it out of Pool A will haunt the rugby fraternity of the host nation, the shroud that contrasts with the red carpets unrolled so welcomingly from Exeter to Newcastle, from Brighton to – it’s still weird – Cardiff. The generosity of the party-throwers, with the possible exception of that last host city, where England’s early exit did not trigger scenes of mass grief, was put to a stern test and the response was magnificent. Visitors were greeted from game one to match 48 with a smile that did not drop, with a warmth that did not cool.
There will presumably be a price to pay for keeping up appearances, for staying true to the spirit of keeping the show going. The external fortitude will be counterbalanced by the bitterness that goes with turning inwards to investigate what went wrong and find a culprit or three. There is the formal review, the Rugby Football Union’s own inquest, but others will be searching too. The scaffolding will come down; a scaffold may go up. England was the place to be over the past seven weeks but Twickenham may be a place to avoid for a longer while. It will not all be over by Christmas.
In those seven weeks the skies were blue, or at least white, and the rugby generally sparkled. This World Cup had threatened to be a health and safety nightmare, dominated by concussion protocol and by clogging the Chertsey Road, the artery that leads to and from Twickenham and that was shut to normal traffic on match days, with stretcher-bearing buggies. But no, Japan beat South Africa and the Springbok fans clapped the Japanese fans on to the London train.
There were, of course, injuries and the story of Wales at this tournament, dramatic on every front, had a central theme of multiple loss. Since this involved mostly three-quarters, Warren Gatland’s team were unable to expand on their wish to move beyond the abruptness and indelicacy of smashing over the advantage line as an unalterable prerequisite to a more daring style. Given the changing personnel outside him – the exception being Jamie Roberts, who was an unshakable rock – it was no small wonder that Dan Biggar had a campaign to savour, a rival to Dan Carter as the 10 of the tournament.
Ireland, too, had to cope with multiple injuries, and proved unable to do so. Paul O’Connell’s hamstring allowed him no great gallop to the finishing line of his international career. For their quarter-final against Argentina they were without Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony, too, and without their own maestro at 10, Johnny Sexton. It was no wonder at all they lost to the Pumas, who overwhelmed the Six Nations champions physically before dispatching them with a flourish that confirmed them as the happiest converts to the less constricted style of 2015.
For all that there was this outbreak of passing, the physical element remained as important as the expansion. Australia’s ascent under Michael Cheika in less than a year was based on a blend of the two: rediscovering collective values, most notably the scrum; and reintegrating the exiles of experience and brio, Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell. The balance between the more brutish aspects of rugby and its more beautiful was maintained but it shifted slightly in favour of attack over defence.
It was no coincidence that the two teams never to have strayed far from putting athleticism and an awareness of space ahead of power and contact made it to the final. And it was just as telling that both the All Blacks and Wallabies sent out first-choice teams on Saturday. They had to adjust for injuries along the way but both were at full strength for the showdown.
A notion had formed back home in Australia, before the Wallabies’ quarter-final against Scotland, about the toll taken by playing against Wales – not necessarily regarding the capacity to beat them but to recover in time for the next game. England played Wales and were flat against Australia. Australia played Wales; what might they be like against Scotland?
If there is such a price, it seems to apply as much to what Wales inflict upon themselves as their opponents. There is a sort of compliment in there somewhere but do Wales now not have to rethink their priorities? Where is rugby going after the World Cup?
There is absolutely no guarantee that a new rapprochement between club and country is going to emerge from the mess of England’s and France’s campaigns. The period of shock – the hand-wringing and telling protestations of innocence by nine of the 12 English Premiership clubs over salary-cap manipulation will be part of the process – is a vacuum to be filled with the designs of those who would carve out an even greater autonomy for the clubs at the expense of the national cause. Somebody else is going to have to decide on how international rugby in Europe is played. Wales and Ireland have a golden opportunity to lead the way. And Scotland, above all Scotland.
How would Australia play against them in the quarter-final? With great difficulty it turned out and extreme proximity to elimination. All the trends – the near-certainties of this World Cup – were thrown into confusion. The rain fell. Scotland would not yield before five-try Australia. And the referee took centre stage.
From the moment dropped balls were revealed in the replays of tries at opening matches at Twickenham, the TMO had been a centre of attention. Would rugby confuse the watching world in its attempt to be clearer? It had been a personal wish that referees be the “pleasant surprise” of the World Cup, the patient interpreters of law, but here they were, reversing decisions based on arty slo-mos rather than their own powers of observation and the powers of review bestowed on their helpers.
The crisis passed and the games were no more beset by grumbling about officialdom than has accompanied sport since time immemorial, until the moment Craig Joubert blew for a penalty against Scotland close to the end. In the furore that followed the Scottish nation was chided for failing to hide disappointment beneath a veil of good humour and Joubert was hung out to dry. He had made a mistake. It was official.
The mistake he made was to run from the field. Hold your ground. Be firm in adversity. The players would have forgiven him. Mistakes are part of the whole deal. But he ran. Qualification will dominate this World Cup. It was fabulous but it had moments that jarred.
Eddie’s XV of the tournament
Who would get into the starting team of the winners? Could they all play together? This is an imprecise science, that involves breaking up partnerships – this, for instance was the Rugby World Cup of grand second-row pairs – but it’s an imprecise sport. Even more so with Julian Savea swapping wings. Think he could manage …
15 Ben Smith (New Zealand)
14 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
13 Conrad Smith (New Zealand)
12 Matt Giteau (Australia)
11 Drew Mitchell (Australia)
10 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
9 Fourie du Preez (SA)
1 Scott Sio (Australia)
2 Dane Coles (New Zealand)
3 Sekopi Kepu (Australia)
4 Leone Nakarawa (Fiji)
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
6 Scott Fardy (Australia)
7 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
8 David Pocock (Australia)
Top three matches
1 Australia 35-34 Scotland The fairytale with a sting. What a way to head for the exit (both Scotland and Craig Joubert).
2 South Africa 32-34 Japan The penalty to the corner … the lineout; the try … the next World Cup is in Japan, where it’s going to be massive.
3 England 25-28 Wales The penalty to the corner; the lineout; the throw to the front … and before that, Lloyd Williams on the wing, Gareth Davies picking up off his toes …
Best try
Ayumu Goromaru for Japan v South Africa – not the winning try, but the set-piece move from a lineout that split South Africa apart.
Favourite moment
Diego Maradona and the Argentina fans, wherever he/they went. Will the money-making circus ever go to their land? Not at current ticket prices.
Player of the tournament
Dan Carter – scarred by memories of 2007, mindful of the injuries of 2011 and still feeling more recent ones in his twilight days, he was sublime.
Biggest flop
France. England had Pool A; France had no excuse for a lamentable contribution.
Funniest moment
The pictures of Georgia’s Mamuka Gorgodze as he learned he’d been voted man of the match against New Zealand. Not funny ha-ha; funny lovely.
What I’d change for 2019
Base world rankings on competition results only (ie not include November internationals or summer tours) and make the draw later.
