The tournament enters a week in which some of the top sides, including the Springboks, can’t afford any slipups against lesser fancied opponents.
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In the last match of this round the Springboks face Tonga in Marseille on Sunday night (Pool B, kick-off 21:00) and must win to stay on track to reach the playoffs.
This week’s action starts on Wednesday when Namibia and Uruguay, both looking for a first win at the tournament in Pool A, clash.
Japan and Samoa are involved in a key fixture on Thursday in Pool D. Both teams are in the running for a playoff berth but a loss will make it very difficult to progress.
New Zealand can’t afford to slip up against Italy (Pool A) in the Friday night match if the All Blacks want to make sure they qualify for the quarter finals.
Argentina should stay in contention in Pool D when they meet Chile in the first of Saturday’s three matches.
Fiji is in a very good position to qualify, along with Wales, from Pool C and should be too strong for Georgia in Saturday’s second match.
Scotland must beat Romania (Pool B) with a huge points margin in Saturday’s last match to keep their outside chance of qualifying for the quarters alive.
The struggling Australia should beat Portugal (Pool C) in Sunday’s first match but that won’t be enough to reach the playoffs.
It will be interesting to see what tactics South Africa come up with against Tonga after the weekend’s brutal clash with Ireland.
Ireland beat the Boks 13-8 and the two sides might see each other again in the final for a rematch. Ireland should end on top of Pool B with this victory.
The other match that had a significant influence on the standings was the last of the weekend when Wales beat Australia 40-6.
Wales will end on top of Pool C and is through to the quarters. Fiji should be the other team to progress from this Pool after Australia’s disastrous campaign.
