The top two teams battle in the Pool Stages

On a cool Saturday night in Paris, Ireland and South Africa met in a thrilling Pool B match that might, just might be repeated in the Final.

The number 1 and number 2-ranked teams in the world put on a nail-biting display of force and speed that yielded few points and could have gone either way until the last 5 minutes of the encounter. True, Ireland seemed to have the majority of the possession and were constantly pressuring the Sopringboks close to their line. But the 13-8 score will be disappointing to the South Africans given they left 11 points on the field through a missed conversion and three penalties. So, should they meet again, it promises to be a mouth-watering encounter.

For sheer volume and general enthusiasm, can anyone beat the Irish fans? It was difficult to tell relative numbers at the stadium given the Springboks wear green too (and changed to white for this encounter), but what an atmosphere! The opening ceremony and game between France and New Zealand on September 8 was dominated by an amazing French crowd but if, as expected, the Irish continue to march through this tournament, their fans will provide a 16th man - where are we? Dublin?