Monday 12 October 2015 17:42, UK
We pick our team of the week from the final games of the Rugby World Cup group stages as we gear up for the quarter-finals...
A bit of licence here as the Hurricanes superstar played on the wing for New Zealand against Tonga but such was his influence that we've slotted him in at full-back. Milner-Skudder carried the ball 12 times for 134 metres, at an average of 11.2 metres per carry. He scored two tries but also set up the final try. He took the ball in open space and ran into the gap to set up the legendary Ma'a Nonu for a try in his 100th Test. A polished performance from one of the younger members of the squad.
A hat-trick against the US for South Africa's most prolific try-scorer in their history. Not only did Habana stretch his lead in the try-scoring charts for his country, but the Toulon flyer also equalled Jonah Lomu's record for tries scored across all World Cups. In rounding off his hat-trick Habana moved to 14 World Cup tries. All-round it wasn't Habana's most influential game, but he showed his try-scoring pedigree when given the ball in space.
Ireland's Henshaw made seven tackles in the midfield as he shored up the channel France promised to exploit, but it was with ball in hand that he did the most damage, racking up 17 carries on the day - second only to Sean O'Brien in the Irish team, and he beat four defenders as well as making two offloads.
Though the Americans may not have been the sternest of opposition after resting their front-line players, it was still impressive to see the Springboks' De Allende cut through the midfield as effectively as he did. Bryan Habana may have been the try-scoring machine, but it was the midfield work of his former team-mate at the Stormers that allowed for the space out wide to be exploited. De Allende had eight carries, eight defenders beaten and four offloads on the day, and rounded it off by opening the scoring for South Africa.
Three tries from the Exeter winger in Manchester in what was a game that looked to offer very few positive points for England. Nowell made the most carries of all the backline players in white, and beat five defenders in total. It wasn't a tournament of much opportunity for Nowell, but when his chance came he took it, running the Uruguay defence ragged in the final game.
Against England Foley was ruthless, expansive and outrageous, while against Wales the Australia pivot was practical, territorial and sturdy.
Foley pulled the strings and marshalled the defence even when there were 13 players on the field, and slotted the kicks that took the Wallabies to the top of the pool and sent them on their way to an 'easier' route to the final.
There were times when Wales threatened to come back into it, but they were kept from scoring, and Foley cleared the lines for his side where needed.
It was not a great all-round game for the Scots but superb leadership from Laidlaw steered his side into the quarter-finals when they looked to be losing touch against Samoa.
Laidlaw's try at the end - seven minutes from full-time - was what carried Vern Cotter's side into the play-offs. A scrum on the opposition five-metre line handed Scotland the penalty advantage, but the skipper dummied his opposite number and dived over for the match-winning score. Samoa did score one more try to make things close at the end, but Scotland were able to hold out and book a quarter-final showdown with Australia. Add to that eight successful kicks from the tee and it was a heavy contribution from the half-back.
Healy's solid performance in the scrum helped Ireland at a time when the absence of key players tested their resolve. A good shift from the loosehead kept the side energised in the loose and held the French pack at bay in the set piece.
A quarter-final against Argentina will be a greater challenge for the Leinsterman, and Joe Schmidt will hope for a similar or better performance from Healy.
There were some incredible stats produced by the Argentina hooker, who carried the ball 11 times and made 50 metres while making two offloads and beating no fewer than nine defenders against Namibia.
The front rower also managed six out of six with his lineout throws, and contributed on the scoreboard with a five-pointer when he took the ball in the midfield late in the game as a reward for the hard work he'd put in throughout the game.
Australia clearly held back-to-back scrum clinics on the flight from Sydney to London. Normally a side happy to keep the ball away from the front five, the Wallabies met England head-to-head in the scrum before doing the same to Wales a week later. Tighthead prop Kepu has aided his side in becoming an all-round unit, capable of playing a loose game without losing anything in the set piece. A scary prospect for the other seven nations in the quarter finals.
The whole of Ireland's support base winced along with Paul O'Connell when the talismanic leader was carried of the Millennium Stadium, but one person determined to prove that Ireland can still do the business without him was Toner. The rangy second rower played havoc with the French lineout, ensuring that the Frenchmen were unable to settle into the game. In the end three lineouts were lost by Les Bleus, but the implications reached further than that.
With Victor Matfield nursing a series of injuries in 2015, the concern for his long-term prospects in the green and gold have waned with the emergence of De Jager in the second row. Against USA he was the most utilised in South Africa's towering lineout, and made more tackles than any other Bok player at the Olympic Stadium. The 22-year-old has been collecting man of the match awards all around England during the group stages, and a possible showdown between him and Alun Wyn Jones is a mouth-watering prospect.
The Australian back row has won plaudits throughout the World Cup for the ability of the fetchers in the side, but it's the hard work done by Fardy in the less glamorous of tasks for the Wallabies that allows the other back rowers to roam as much as they do. Against Wales it was Australia's defence that gave them the win, tackling ferociously on their own line, and it was Fardy who put in the second-most tackles behind Kane Douglas. Fardy knocked back 13 Welsh ball carriers, while carrying the ball more than any other forward when the Wallabies were in possession.
The Leinsterman stole the ball twice in a dogged day from the Irish back row after all the disruption. The flanker also carried the ball 21 times during the game - more than any other team mate - as well as making it into the top five for tackles made by an Irishman on the day. If he's to be cited for striking Pape, the Irish will hope they can beat Argentina without him, but more so will be hoping for a one-week sentence at most, so he is fit for a potential semi-final showdown with the Australian back row.
For many the Uruguay game was a chance for the youth to be showcased in the name of the future of England rugby, but if that was the plan, Nick Easter bulldozed over it with ball in hand. The Harlequins No 8 carried the ball 31 times during the game in Manchester, almost double the amount of second-place Jack Nowell with 17 carries. He offloaded 10 times in total, and beat five defenders. Easter also contributed without the ball, tied with Jamie George at second in the England tackle count standings. As far as the stats go, it was a near-perfect shift from the 37-year-old loose forward. And he crossed the whitewash three times.
