Ireland will have been watching Romania, Tonga, South Africa, and Scotland closely.
FEW SIDES CAME through unscathed, some teams’ World Cup campaigns already look like they’re in trouble, while others have reminded us of their class.
The Romanians conceded 17 tries in those two games against the Georgians and Italians, while giving up a staggering 30 linebreaks and making just four themselves. Some of their defensive effort wasn’t up to Test standard and there must be serious concerns now about taking on attacks as good as Ireland, South Africa, and Scotland’s.
The Tongans made a fine start to their pre-season when they beat Australia A, with Piutau at the heart of their strong performance, but they were well beaten by Fiji in their next game. The Tongans subsequently came close to a stirring win away to Japan, but then dropped off notably for a 34-9 defeat to Samoa.
The Boks wrapped up their Rugby Championship campaign with an error-strewn 22-21 win over Argentina, then showed a bit more of their class in a return game against the Pumas. Pollard was not named in the World Cup squad due to injury, as applied with centre Lukhanyo Am and lock Lood de Jager. Many people expect the Boks to call on at least one of those experienced figures at some point as injury replacements. Pollard is now back in training but that trio remain outside the official 33-man squad for now.
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