David Kirk: The going is about to get tougher

We have learned a lot about four of the five World Cup contenders in the last week.

France remain the enigma. As they have been at all previous cups. Brilliant one minute, bumbling Inspector Clouseaus the next.

They were truly appalling against Japan in Townsville, but all of us believe they will solve the riddle of their own inconsistency at some point in the tournament.

Journalists travelling with the French team believe that this is a much stronger side than the one who beat the All Blacks in the semifinal in 1999. Then, France were the team of youngsters having a go. Now they believe they are a disciplined, structured team of hardened professionals. We will see.

The England-South Africa match yesterday was the big one of the tournament so far and we learned a great deal about both teams. It is now clear that if the All Blacks are to win this tournament they will have to beat South Africa, Australia and England in consecutive weeks.

That is a tough assignment, far tougher than the run any previous All Black team has had to the final.

The odds on England's winning the cup must have shortened after yesterday's match. France in a semifinal will hold no real worries for England. They have had the psychological edge on the French for a couple for years now and their suffocating style of play is tailor-made for wearing down a team who rely on passion and inspiration.

The only risk is that Superman, not Clark Kent, turns up in a French jersey on November 16.

We need to face the facts squarely: England were very good in Perth against South Africa.

They soaked up 60 minutes of Springbok fervour, a fervour that, as we know in New Zealand better than most, comes from a deep and hungry reservoir of rugby tradition and history. It meant everything to the Springboks to win that match, absolutely everything, and they threw everything at it.



The English lineout was efficient and muscular, but the scrums were surprisingly inconsistent. I think this sent more of a warning sign about the quality of the Springbok scrum than a hint that the All Blacks might find a weakness to exploit.

In any event, should the All Blacks play England in the final, they will not want to engage in an energy-sapping set-piece battle.

What was most impressive about England, besides their composure and Jonny Wilkinson's kicking for goal, was their outstanding defence.

It takes a number of forms. First, they are rock-solid around the rucks and mauls. The communication and organisation is clear and their physical presence is enormous.

They go forward, with monster ball-carriers invariably slowing the release as they "roll away" with the urgency of a sloth on holiday.

I have always thought that Neil Back was too old and not skilful enough to be a world-class No 7, but in the style of play that England have developed, he is a huge contributor.

The English midfield defence is also very tight, but it is the swarming, suffocating defence from broken play that really sets them apart. Every player is a good defender, they all go forward to make tackles, and the second tackler arrives quickly.

Most importantly, all the players seem to read the defensive lines well. They make the right decisions early and press up and in. This is a team who have played together for a long time and their defence shows it.

Australia and New Zealand both had easy games at the weekend. Australia gained a lot more from their 90-8 win over Romania than New Zealand did in their 68-6 win over Canada.

Australia really needed the performance they put together. Thirteen tries, 11 by backs, Larkham ghosting into gaps and off-loading hard and flat, Rogers hitting the line square, sure hands, quick interchanges, changes of direction, lots of support for the ball-carrier. It is a long time since we have seen that from a Wallaby team.

They started the tournament a long way from where they needed to be to win it. Their only hope is to build through each match and steadily improve, gaining confidence, precision and settled combinations as they go.

The win against Romania will have given the team, and especially the backs, the confidence to play the only style of rugby they can play and hope to retain their crown.

The All Blacks were effective in putting Canada to the sword. But it was not a match that particularly took the team anywhere. It was just another match against a weak team. When they had to, the All Blacks went up a few gears.



In the big ones they will not have the luxury of a quick change-up when they need it. They will need to play with the foot to the floor from the first minute.

The pool match against Wales has a lot more significance than a predictable win. In this match the All Blacks will have to play well enough so they can go on to beat South Africa and Australia, for they will need the confidence and precision to do that.

And as for the final against England - if the All Blacks make it that far, which I believe they will - they will need another box of tricks altogether.