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The 2015 Rugby World Cup is enjoying a cessation of hostilities for five days now that all the matches of the pool stage have been completed. The action resumes this Saturday with the quarterfinals kicking off, but until then let’s relive some of the action from the group stages.There were quite a few teams that surprised viewers and opponents alike with their performances. Here we have a look at five teams that caught everyone off guard.
#5 Scotland
South Africa were the big boys in the group, Japan were the young upstarts having beaten the big boys and caused a stir, yet it was Scotland who along with South Africa qualified from Pool B.
Quietly going about their business, the Scots managed to creep up and usurp Japan to grab the second qualification spot behind South Africa. What’s worth special mention is their performance in their last game against Samoa where they managed a come-from-behind 36-33 win in a game that went back-and-forth and ended up being the second highest scoring game of the tournament in what was an amazing game at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, definitely a contender for match of the tournament.
Some of their key players are suspended for their quarterfinal clash against Australia, but as always the other players have promised to do them proud by putting in a performance worth remembering.
#4 Wales
The bodies just kept piling up for Wales, before the tournament even started and through it as well. The Welsh have often resembled a bunch of the walking wounded if not entirely crippled. Liam Williams became the latest casualty after he limped off during the game against Australia at the weekend with a damaged foot and was ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
He is the tenth back-line casualty for Warren Gatland joining Jonathan Davies, Rhys Webb, Leigh Halfpenny, Scott Williams, Cory Allen, Hallam Amos, Eli Walker, Tom James and Jack Dixon, who all got injured either before or during the tournament.
In the backdrop of those circumstances, they have performed admirably to emerge from their ‘Pool of Death’ also featuring the Aussies and the English and a tricky Fiji. They dealt a body blow to the hopes of the host nation in making it to the quarterfinals with a come-from-behind victory inspired by Dan Biggar. And competed gamely with the Aussies before losing out in the end to a superior team. Gatland though has at his command a team full of heart and one that is willing to leave everything out there despite their thin resources.
#3 Georgia
The Georgians became a favourite at the World cup with their lion-hearted showings through the pool stage. The Lelos won two games in a world cup for the very first time and in doing so they finished third in their group and punched their ticket to the next edition, to be held in Japan.
Georgia, as a team, just looked to enjoy every game at the World cup and managed to make it as tough as they could for their opponents. The world cup also marked a special moment for them as a number of senior players were playing their last major tournament.
One such person, prop Davit Zirakashvili had this to say after their last game – "Georgia came along to the World Cup for the first time in 2003, and now in 2015 we're in the top 12 teams at the World Cup. It's really something beautiful for a small country like Georgia. I hope in the coming years that we will climb into the top 12, top 10 or top eight."
#2 Argentina
Argentina’s World Cup campaign began with a loss, against defending champions New Zealand. The Pumas led for much of the match but were turned over by the All Blacks in the end as they put in a late surge. However, they made New Zealand really dig deep for that win with the champions looking worried for a good portion of the match.
Playing with the big three of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as part of The Rugby Championship has definitely improved Argentina’s rugby, but nobody expected them to put up the displays they did.
Despite that opening loss, they went on to crush every other team in the group in their remaining games beating Georgia 54-9, Tonga 45-16 and finally Namibia 64-19. Nicolas Sanchez and Juan Imhoff have led the way for the Argentines with their performances and the Pumas have looked so strong that despite New Zealand remaining perfect and topping the group, it is they and not the All Blacks who’ve looked the more impressive.
#1 Japan
Undoubtedly the shock of the tournament came in the Pool B opener between South Africa and Japan at the Brighton Community Stadium. The Cherry Blossoms stunned the heavyweight Springboks by snatching a last-gasp winner through a remarkable try as an entire country went into mourning thanks to their giant-killing act. In a match that will go down as one of the most dramatic ever, Japan scored a last-gasp winner to stun South Africa in an absolute thriller of a contest.
Karne Hesketh scored the game-winning try well past the 80-minute mark as they prevailed 34-32 over their more fancied rivals. Neutrals and even South African fans were in full praise of the team’s spirit especially for their courageous decision to go for the try and in turn the win as opposed to take the penalty kick and look to tie the score.
It wasn’t just this win though that saw them grab headlines as in the end they failed to qualify from the pool after such an impressive start. They fell to Scotland in their very next game and despite winning their remaining two games, were pipped by the Scots. Japan became the first team to have won three pool games and exited the Rugby World Cup in the pool stage.
Regardless of their exit though, they enthralled fans with their fearless approach and their defeat of the Springboks will go down in folklore. The in saw Japanese fans delirious with joy as they could not quite believe what they’d just witnessed with many of them bursting into tears in sheer joy.
