The draw for the imminently pending Rugby World Cup is very interesting beyond the pool play. If everything goes to plan in the pools (and it might not, Pool D is far from certain) we could have the following situation in the knock out stages:

• QF1 - Australia wins Pool B and meets England in Marseille
• QF2 - New Zealand top Pool C and face Ireland in Cardiff
• QF3 - South Africa prevails over England to top Pool A and play Wales in Marseille (Note: there is no way Wales could play the quarterfinal in Cardiff)
• QF4 - France wins Pool D and faces Scotland in Saint Denis

These quarterfinals may have been certainties in past years but are very much up in the air at the moment.

• Pool A: South Africa is looking good but maybe England will beat them. Has Samoa finally got the edge on England?
• Pool B: Will Wales be able to hold off Fiji, Japan and Canada?
• Pool C: Can Italy beat Scotland and vice versa.
• Pool D: France, Ireland and Argentina – which top-ten nation is going home disappointed?

But let’s say for argument that the quarterfinals listed above actually take place, then, if everything goes as it should:

• SF1 - Australia scrape a victory out in one 2003 rematch only to face another in the All Blacks (a result that causes every rugby fan in NZ to start praying).
• SF2 – South Africa ease past Wales and meet and equally cruising France.

Semifinal #2 is very interesting as France and South Africa are the two teams other than the All Blacks that have been seen as possible winners of the Cup.

This is as far as our crystal ball can see at the moment (despite everything Fishboy claims to know). But we can say that some big name teams will taking early flights home (bags stuffed full of duty-free booze).