First a hint. The winners were England, France, South Africa and Argentina, OK?

So here’s the challenge: See if you can fit the following game-plans to the winning teams. (No prizes for four correct answers.)

1. Who needs a game-plan? Let’s do what we always do.

2. We’ll play stupid in the first half to lull them into a false sense of security. In the second half, we’ll score just enough points to get ahead and then close out the game.

3. Let’s not worry about their backs, they won’t use them anyway; we’ll just demolish their forwards and kick our points. That’ll be enough.

4. Let’s not do anything really exciting. In fact let’s not do much of anything and just get the game over with.

First, of course, is Argentina’s plan. No surprises there. It has to be said tho’ that in carrying it out there was a decided lack of snap and crackle, never mind pop. And Scotland were close, very, very close. Ten more minutes they said and they’d have won. Well, maybe but that’s the trick of it all. You have to win inside the distance. However, can this Argentinian team recover it’s gusto in time for the Springbok monolith? It’ll take everything the magician and his cohorts can muster.

Second: France. This wasn’t their game-plan but it might have been! I will admit that I believe I detected faint, very, very, faint, stirrings of France’s ambition during their dire first half and had a feeling of, if not confidence, at least anticipation at the half-time whistle. Having said that their second half display and the capitulation of the All Blacks to muddle headedness in the second half came as a total surprise.

Third was England’s plan - apparently. Or at least it could have been. If it was they carried it out to the letter and if it wasn’t Australia have a lot to be ashamed of. Quite apart from their scrum/breakdown disasters how Australia could make so many breaks and fail to capitalize is a total mystery. Error-strewn seems hardly the word for it but it’s still difficult to understand how such a narrow game plan could succeed at this level.

And finally the Springboks‘ apparent absence of plan. With Fiji running rings around them for two thirds of the match they succeeded in simply playing what was in front of them without much sign of either gusto or satisfaction. Neither were they apparently fazed by Fiji’s stunning two-try blitz to level the scores. Far from it. They simply kicked off and continued down the path offered to them. This speaks volumes either of immense inner confidence and absolute faith in their ability to overcome all adversity - or a complete lack of imagination. Argentina had better pray it’s the latter.

Players left to watch!

Sébastien Chabal +1, +1, 0, 0, +3
Brian Habana +3, +1, 0, +1, 0
Frédéric Michalak 0, +3, +2, 0, +2
Daniel Carter +1,+2, +1, 0, +1
Victor Matfield +2, 0, +2, 0, +2
Juan Martín Hernández +1, +2, 0, +5, +2