7 October 2007
The Rugby World Cup really came alive over the weekend with four matches which could have all gone either way in the final few minutes even the Fijians were still in it with 10 minutes to go as they clawed their way back to 20 all against South Africa. 

England started the ball rolling with a dramatic win over the Australians at the Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday afternoon coming through to win 12-10 in an epic battle against all the odds.

There might only have had one try but the match kept everyone on the edge of their seats even though England dominated at times they could not break through the Australian defence and it was four Jonny Wilkinson penalty goals which carried them to victory after some heroic performances in the pack.

Later in the day in Paris, France overcame a 13-3 half time deficit against the competitions favourites New Zealand to come through and triumph 20-18 and set up a semi final with England, What odds you would have got on an all Northern Hemisphere semi final on Saturday morning!!

On Sunday the South Africans took on Fiji in Marseille in what on paper looked the clearest cut result of the weekend but after falling 20-6 down the Fijians staged a dramatic recovery. They got it back to 20 all going into the final quarter after tries from wingers Delasau and Bobo in the space of a minute and Bai added the conversions.

The South Africans went back in front with a penalty from Percy Montgomery before two late tries sealed the win for then but not before they were give a real scare by the South Sea islanders.

On Sunday night in Paris the Argentine dream continued as they overcame Scotland but again the match was in the balance right up until the final whistle.     

In the first half the Pumas built up a 13-6 lead but a try from replacement scrum half Chris Cusiter on 63 minutes brought it back to 19-13 and set up a tense last 17 minutes. Argentina looked nervous but the Scots could not take advantage and Argentina set up a match against the South Africans next Sunday evening in Paris as they progressed to the semi finals for the first time ever.    

For full details of the matches click on the links below

Quarter Final Results:

Australia 10 England 12

France 20 New Zealand 18

South Africa 37 Fiji 20

Argentina 19 Scotland 13