Antoine Dupont sank to one knee and covered his face with his hand as the disappointment of France’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss to South Africa sank in yesterday. The French came up just a solitary point short of reaching the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2011 at their home tournament.
That came after the Flying Fijians’ World Cup ride ended at the hands of England, after English hopes of a second world title were written off six weeks ago following a lacklustere first-ever loss to Fiji at Twickenham. Owen Farrell and his men turned around to make the semifinals in relative comfort.
A day previously and it was Irish hearts that were shattered. Johnny Sexton and the world’s top-ranked team were beaten by a New Zealand side unrecognisable from their opening-match defeat, in one of the greatest matches in World Cup history.
Argentina came from behind twice to beat Wales and reach their third Rugby World Cup semifinal earlier that morning and with those semifinals now set.
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