KEY POINTS:
Francois Steyn, South Africa
Francois Philippus Lodewyk Steyn's next big rugby challenge is to establish himself as more than the fill-in guy for the Springboks.
There's no disputing the 21-year-old's rich talent.
But coach Jake White's dilemma is where to best use him. He can be fullback,
wing, first five-eighths and second five-eighths.
It was Steyn who boomed over a huge dropped goal for the Sharks in their win in the rain at North Harbour Stadium against the Blues during the Super 14.
He then put two more over to win the Tri-Nations test against Australia in Cape Town this season.
Steyn makes line breaks and, if his defence is occasionally dodgy, along with the equally gifted Ruan Pienaar he is clearly one of two men around whom South Africa will plan their backline in the years ahead.
Steyn is from country stock in Aliwal North on the edge of Free State, attended Greys College in Bloemfontein, the closest school South Africa has to a rugby academy, and is not short on confidence.
"When it comes to the pressure of playing rugby, and pre-match nerves, I don't really suffer," he said.
"During the week, I train as well as possible and take no short cuts with preparation, and then I leave the match in the hands of the Lord. Whatever happens in the game, good or bad, is of His creation and part of His plan for me."
If there is a touch of naivety about the strongly-built Steyn, a big chunk of that will have been rubbed off by the end of the cup.
When he was initially fingered over the biting allegation by Tongan wing Joe Vaka during the thrilling pool game in Lens. Although the charge was dismissed, Steyn took it hard.
"Because of this incident there will always be people who believe I am a dirty player and that annoys me, because while I play the game hard, I am also extremely fair."
He's learning fast, and for all the good moments this year, he also missed a vital, basic conversion late in the Super 14 final, which cost the Sharks the title. Shortly after, Bryan Habana's late try pinched the title for the Bulls.
"This whole year has been one massive education for me. You could say this year has been a very good learning curve about the reality of international rugby."
Certainly the Springboks will benefit just as massively in the years to come. - David Leggat
Lote Tuqiri, Australia
When Lote Tuqiri arrived at the World Cup, he'd bagged 27 tries in 53 tests. After four pool games, he's bumped that tally up to, er, 27.
Just as soccer strikers stand or fall by their ability to bang the ball into the net, so rugby's glamour boys are expected to score tries.
But Tuqiri is relaxed over his cup drought on the eve of tackling England in their quarter-final at Marseille's Stade Velodrome early tomorrow.
"If we go through and win without me scoring during the whole tournament, so be it. I'll be very happy," he said yesterday.
"If I can contribute to the game positively, I'm sweet."
As always, Tuqiri will wear No 11 tomorrow, the usual left wing number, but he will line up on the right wing. Is that a superstition?
"No, not really. I've just always worn it, I love to wear it. That's about it really and it doesn't matter where I play."
Anyway he rubbished talk of a comfortable Wallaby win. "They're playing their best not to let themselves or their country down. We won't either."
Tuqiri, 28, has had an up-and-down year. There was the contract issue where he seemed to be playing rugby off against a possible return to league but, when he's hot, there is no question he is among the elite wingmen of the game.
The former Brisbane Bronco, who scored Australia's only try in the 2003 final against England in Sydney, is a sharp runner with an eye for an awkward angle and capable of rugged defending, as his piledriving crunch on Richie McCaw at Eden Park last year illustrated.
There have been plenty of verbal jabs from Australians in the lead-up, although noticeably not from the players, who have been told to zip up from the likes of Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill.
"We've done all our talking off the field. Now it's 80 minutes on Saturday where the game is won and lost," Tuqiri added. Ain't that the truth. - David Leggat
Vilimoni Delasau, Fiji
Former Canterbury flyer Vilimoni Delasau probably opens a window into the world of Fijian rugby, good and bad, better than anybody else.
Against Wales last weekend the three-quarter was devastating, making breaks at will, handling assuredly and showcasing a mixture of strength and skill that most Welshman can only dream about.
Four days later, faced with an early 8am press call, Delasau was unable to be roused. It's fair to say this most talented, well travelled of players, is not one of the game's great professionals.
In 2005 he was warned, reprimanded and fined $500 by a New Zealand Rugby Union judicial committee after failing a drug test.
The then-Canterbury and Crusaders winger had to provide a sample for the New Zealand Sports Drug Agency following Fiji's test match against the All Blacks in Albany. It contained cannabis.
Delasau, 30, who now plays with Clermont Auvergne in France, has the added responsibility of trying to keep tabs on Bryan Habana, the man many rate as the game's No 1 wing.
Yesterday, at a press call in Marseille, Delasau talked about Monday's task. "He [Habana] is a very aggressive player, small but aggressive for his size and I am looking forward to the challenge," he said.
Habana has already scored six tries this tournament but Delasau is confident he has the wherewithal to stay with the flyer. "Yes, I have to back myself. I can't give him too much room though as he is very quick at taking off," he said.
It won't be a comfortable afternoon for Delasau, but then again it won't be for Habana either. If Delasau can win his battle then maybe, just maybe, it means that Fiji win the war. - Dylan Cleaver
Jonny Wilkinson, England
Slice it whichever way you like.
England's pack must match Australia's; the backs must defend ferociously and find chinks in the Wallaby line, but if Jonny Wilkinson is off key the defending World Cup champions will be gone by early tomorrow morning.
So nothing's changed really. Four years on from English rugby's greatest triumph against Australia, Wilkinson remains the bloke whose say in the outcome could be greater than any of his white-clad teammates.
Injury has seen to his ambitions to move onwards and up since the 2003 final in Sydney, where he gained eternal fame for his match-winning extra-time drop-goal.
For a time it seemed his final international moment would be that free-framed image of the ball leaving his boot on its unerring path between the posts that night.
Having returned to full health, he then missed England's first two pool games with a foot injury before having a significant influence on the wins over Samoa and Tonga.
Wilkinson, 28, said yesterday he had hoped to have done his learning on the pitch, rather than off it in the last four years.
"I think I'm definitely a different player ... but I have done my learning down a different route," he said.
Long absences from the field have meant he treasures the big days more than he might have.
"You have a deeper respect for these games, not take it for granted."
Speaking of deep, Wilkinson has retained a knack for dropping into deep and meaningful mode when talking of himself and rugby.
Here he is on the topic of pressure:
"I don't tend to buy into it because you can't control it.
"At the end of the game you close the door, look into the hotel mirror and say, 'Did I stand up and do everything I could do? Is it [the result] a fair reflection of me?"'
Whew. Still, he has the priceless gift of being a matchwinner. If Australia infringe anywhere from 40m out he's the man. The radar has wobbled once or twice so far in the Cup, but you have the feeling when it really matters Wilkinson will do the business, as he has so often for England. - David Leggat
