We're at the halfway stage of the pool matches in this World Cup (or at least we will be after tomorrow's game between Scotland and Romania). So New Zealand are brilliant, Australia and South Africa are pretty good, England are awful and France are France. But what have we learnt that we didn't know?
Minnows are small but they're never pointless
There was a lot of doom-mongering before the tournament began about the grisly fate that awaited the 'minnows' when they came up against the big boys. But no matter how small the team, no matter how hopelessly out-classed, no matter how bereft of preparation, talent or ideas, minnows have proved that they are never, ever so bad as to be beaten to nil.
England are embarrassing, but Ireland are a disgrace
OK, so I've just quickly scanned the archives - there have been some nilled minnows, after all: Canada, the Ivory Coast, Spain and Namibia. Oh, and England this year. Which is pretty embarrassing, really. For world champions, at any rate. But at least England are knackered, washed up and desperately waiting for the new generation to replace them. Ireland are a team of superstars at the height of their powers with no club-versus-country dispute to disrupt their pampered preparation. Ireland's 15-point win over Namibia (No24 in the world) and four-point win over the second XV of Georgia (No17) make England's 18-point winning margin over the US (No15) look like a romp.
The gap is closing, but that's not necessarily a good sign
None of the minnows have disgraced themselves. In fact they have all played a full part so far. Established nations are having to fight to the end just to beat them, let alone gain a bonus point. There is no doubt the gap is closing ... hmm, but then again, looking more closely at some of these results: New Zealand 76 Italy 14; New Zealand 108 Portugal 13; Australia 91 Japan 3; South Africa 36 England 0. The gap may be closing between the Six Nations and the minnows, but only because the Six Nations are turning into minnows themselves. The gap between the Tri-Nations and everyone else has never been more yawningly massive.
The minnows continue to get nothing in the way of help from the officials
The traditional minnows, that is, not the newly qualified ones such as England and Ireland. The scheduling is still a shameful exercise in jobs for the boys. There are only eight teams at this World Cup who are not required to play a game four days after the previous one. No prizes for guessing which they are - the big boys from the Tri-Nations and the original Five Nations, ie the very teams who have the squads to handle such a schedule.
Also, the minnows get no help on the field from condescending referees who seem to concentrate on their indiscretions even more than they do on those of other teams, as if they are worried that the minnows don't know the rules. Alain Rolland's appallingly heavy-handed decision to send off a Namibia player on Sunday night for a standard high tackle on France's Sébastian Chabal (one man who can take that kind of thing) was just the latest case in point. None of us would mind if the referees actually let the minnows off some things. They are at enough of an unfair disadvantage as it is when they take on players who are paid a fortune to concentrate on nothing but rugby.
France, what were you doing giving fixtures to the Brits?
Forget the 'betrayal' of their defeat to Argentina, France's most scandalous treachery was giving fixtures to Cardiff and Edinburgh. We have revelled in the full stadiums in France and the beautiful efficiency of the rail networks linking them. And then some of us were left at the mercy of British Rail, or whoever runs the trains these days, on Saturday as we tried to get to Cardiff. I'm already weeping at the prospect of the quarter-final down there (kick-off 8pm). It'll be carnage. Unless I can incapacitate my Observer colleagues Eddie Butler or Kevin Mitchell and get the Marseille gig ...
Despite it all, it's the best World Cup we've ever seen
At this stage four years ago we were still waiting for the World Cup to get going. The mismatches were ugly, and the rugby was awful. This time the mismatches have been far fewer, and even the worst of them have generated their own beautiful spirit. We've had a major upset and several close shaves. Most of the rugby has been great, and when it hasn't it has been morbidly fascinating to watch the labouring sides labour. All we need now is for someone to bring the Tri-Nations boys crashing to earth. If it could be an outsider like Argentina, this World Cup would become legendary.
