With the pool phase of the competition done and dusted, the Rugby World Cup is only truly kicking into action this coming weekend.
So far we’ve seen some on-field magic, an upset or two, teams that have disappointed and, yes, some controversy.
This is what we’ve learned from Japan 2019 thus far:
Hero of tournament to date:
Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe has undoubtedly been the star of the show to date.
The little flyer has taken the world by storm, not only with ball in hand, but in the air and on defence as well.
He suffered an injury towards the end of their crunch Pool A clash against Italy and is still battling to shake it off.
If South Africa want to make an impact on the playoffs, they need a fit Kolbe.
Another player that made a name for himself is Pretoria-born Japan “Ferrari”, Kotaro Matsushima.
Quickest hattrick:
Springboks scrumhalf Cobus Reinach also recorded the fastest hattrick at a World Cup when he scored three tries in 11 minutes against Canada in their final pool match.
Hosts:
The Japanese people have been tremendous hosts.
From the word go, they have bought into welcoming the world to their shores and have treated teams and even opponents with the utmost respect.
From learning other countries’ national anthems to treating them like stars off the field, you won’t find anyone that will slam the country for not being welcoming enough.
On top of that, the stadiums have been packed, even the dead rubber between the US and Tonga on Sunday.
LOCAL GODS: Japan beat Ireland. Picture: EPA.
Cancelled games
Ex-Boks coach Allister Coetzee always liked to say “you can only control the controllables”.
Unfortunately for World Rugby, they can’t control the weather and for the first time in the World Cup we’ve seen two matches end 0-0 after being cancelled because of the typhoon that hit last week.
If you ask any Italian rugby fan, they will tell you that this is the worst World Cup ever.
The Italians had their must-win Pool B match against the All Blacks cancelled, meaning they missed out on the opportunity of perhaps knocking out the defending champions and booking their place in the quarters on Saturday.
In total, three games were cancelled, the other being the matches between France and England as well as Sunday’s encounter between Namibia and Canada.
Anticlimax
For Namibia it was a bit of an anticlimax to see their match washed out.
Earlier in the week, one of their players spoke at length of the impact a win over Canada could have on the country’s rugby.
Not having won a World Cup match ever, Namibia targeted this one to properly launch professional rugby in the country.
Typhoon Hagibis had other ideas.
Thanks for coming
As for Canada, their rugby is in reverse.
Much stronger back in the day, the Canucks had the worst points difference in the tournament, finishing on 163.
But given the fact that they played against South Africa and New Zealand, you can forgive them.
Therefore, this award goes to Russia.
Despite scoring the tournament’s first try, when they dotted down against Japan in the opener, the Russians looked like a team that won a free ticket to the tournament and ended with a points difference of -141 in their four Pool A games. You can’t blame them, they only qualified for the tournament after Romania was disqualified.
DISAPPOINTMENTS: Argentina. Picture: Eugene Hoshiko/AP.
Most disappointing
Argentina, though, was the team that disappointed most.
After the Jaguares’ heroics in this year’s Super Rugby tournament where they reached the final, a lot was expected of national team Los Pumas.
But the warning signs of a team that was perhaps not ready to make the playoffs of the tournament were there already during the Rugby Championship.
And unfortunately, it continued into the World Cup.
Classic match
The match Argentina had to win to make it to the quarterfinal was of course the clash against France.
And what an encounter it turned out to be.
Trailing 20-3 after France stunned them in the first half, Argentina bounced back in style to take a one-point 21-20 lead in the final quarter.
Camille Lopez then landed a drop-goal to regain the lead for France 10 minutes from time.
The drama wasn’t over as Argentina’s Emiliano Boffelli then lined up for a shot at goal with the final kick of the game. It was a 50m attempt and he sliced it, with France winning what was effectively a knockout game. Then there was the Japan/Scotland match.
TOP QUALITY: Champs All Blacks. Picture: Matthew Childs/Reuters.
Biggest upset
Japan's victory over Ireland stunned the rugby world.
Having beaten the Springboks in England four years ago, the Japanese were hungry to make a big impact once again - this time in front of their own fans.
And they did, beating a team that was ranked first in the world in the build-up to the tournament 19-12.
Favourites
New Zealand, England, South Africa, Wales and Ireland are all strong contenders for the title.
But having played only three matches and having set records in two of them, defending champions NZ should be favourites.
After beating SA 23-13, they then bagged the biggest victory of the tournament (63-0) against Canada and also claimed the highest points-total at the tournament when they beat Namibia 71-9.