Allan Massie: Tension a given but final four all look to play with adventure

IT WASN’T referee Bryce Lawrence who cost South Africa their quarter-final game against Australia. It was their own bone-headed tactics.

It’s difficult to believe that a team has been refereed out of the game if it enjoys some 80 per cent of territory and more than 70 per cent of possession. But what did the Springboks do with all that possession? They passed to a big man who ran into a big man, then recycled the ball which was passed to another big man who ran into a big man. And they kept on doing this again and again. There was one spell when they went through some 20 single-pass phases and failed to advance more than a dozen yards. Stupidity is repeating the same action and expecting a different outcome.

The semi-finals may be edgy or cagey affairs. They often are. You are so near to a World Cup final that fear of making mistakes can take over. But at least the four teams who have got this far are capable of playing adventurous rugby and usually try to do so. Defence, as often remarked, wins matches, but a defensive outlook can lose them. Against England, France played much better in the first half than the second, partly, I suspect, because, 16-0 up at the break, they started subconsciously to protect their lead, rather than going out to extend it.

There is no point us crowing about England’s failure. Apart from it being unseemly to take pleasure in another’s misfortune, we should remember that, poor and disorganised as they were, they nevertheless came back from 3-12 down to beat us. They had to come from behind to beat Argentina, too, and won the second half against France by nine points. They may have been a shambles on and off the field, but they played with a deal of spirit and resilience. We can look forward to getting our revenge at Murrayfield in the first match of the Six Nations, but we shouldn’t expect them to play as badly again.

The English press were pretty critical of their team’s tackling, or lack of it, in the two French tries. This is natural enough. When you concede tries, the tackling’s weak; when you score them, the running’s brilliant. Credit should be given to the French, to Vincent Clerc’s lightness of foot, which took him away from Jonny Wilkinson’s tackle, and to Morgan Parra’s beautifully-executed loop movement and Alexis Palisson’s inside pass, delivered under extreme pressure, which put Maxime Medard over.

Clerc has long been one of my favourite players, a wing who relies on skilful running rather than brute force. In these days of bullocking wingers, it’s good to see one who goes past an opponent rather than trying to run through him. There should always be a place for the runner with dancing feet.

Anyone lucky enough to see the try that Lee Jones scored for Edinburgh against the Scarlets last week got a lovely example of how a wing can bamboozle defenders by threatening a light-footed change of direction. “Is he going in – is he going out?”, the defender asks, and, before he finds the answer, he’s been left stranded, and looking foolish. Edinburgh’s other wing, Tim Visser, is a big strong fellow, but he, too, is light on his feet, and can beat a defender on either side. If only he had come to Scotland a year earlier and been qualified in time for the World Cup, we might not have emerged from three matches without scoring a try. Give Visser and Jones only a little space, and Edinburgh will win matches, but for this to happen they need to get their international forwards back on the field.

As to the semi-finals, France probably reckon that if they can stop Jamie Roberts in his tracks short of the gain line, they are capable of winning. The Welsh back-row were terrific against Ireland, especially the captain Sam Warburton, but one reason why they outshone the excellent Irish back-row was that they were so often running forward to the breakdown, rather than sideways or back. If the French deny them that forward momentum, then I can see the master strategist Dimitri Yachvili controlling the game. As for the southern hemisphere clash, I picked Australia to win the World Cup weeks ago. Then they got so many injuries that I changed my mind. Now I don’t know. One thing, however, is certain: if the All Blacks go all the way without Dan Carter and with Richie McCaw half-crippled, they will put the “chokers” cry to rest for ever.

Finally, Wales have their best chance ever of World Cup glory, and for this they should maybe thank Wayne Barnes and the two touch-judges who ruled that James Hook’s kick against South Africa had gone wide, or indeed their own fly-half Rhys Priestland for missing that drop-goal that would have enabled them to beat the Springboks. If they had done so instead of losing by a single point, they would have topped their group, and played Australia in the quarter-final – which might have ended their run. Who knows? It’s all glorious uncertainty, which is just as it should be.