Ten talking points from the first two Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
Has "British rugby expert" been proven this week to be as big an oxymoron as "a skinny sumo wrestler"?
Headlines during the week leading into the 46-14 demolishing of Ireland in the quarter-final have described as "experts" a motley bunch
of commentators from Britain and Ireland, who claimed the All Blacks had lost their mojo, nobody was spooked by them anymore, and that basically New Zealand was ripe to be tipped over. There are hopefully two massive games to go for the All Blacks, but if that was a side on the brink of imploding at Tokyo Stadium then you can't buy Guinness in Dublin, they don't love the Brave Blossoms in Japan, and Boris Johnson has a great hairdresser.
Thankfully he knows all the dangers of counting chickens
On the darkest night of All Blacks' World Cup history, the 20-18 loss in a quarter-final with France in Cardiff in 2007, the current coach of the All Blacks, Steve Hansen was the assistant to head coach Graham Henry. Years later Hansen would suggest the All Blacks might have "rocked up a little arrogantly" in Cardiff. After England's convincing 40-16 win over Australia at Oita Stadium, punt on a snowball staying frozen in hell before the '19 All