RWC QF Preview - Reinach and Dupont start, POM v Cane, Marcus Smith at 15? (RugbyBits n Pieces)

RugbyBits

Jared, Shaun and Thala preview the weekend's Rugby World Cup quarterfinals now that all the teams have been announced.

We start with Wales v Argentina by asking who is the bigger loss between Taulupe Faletau and Pablo Matera. Jared ponders how Argentina's high possession game plan will go against Wales being happy to defend. We pick out players to watch including Jac Morgan, Juan Martin Gonzalez and Tommy Reffell.

We then look at Ireland v New Zealand and discuss how much can be taken from the last 3 All Blacks games and what weaknesses Ireland can exploit. Jared thinks the All Blacks have one more big game in them. Thala is looking forward to the battle of chirps between the War God and Sam Cane.

We then preview England v Fiji and lament Fiji missing Teti Tela at flyhalf and try to figure out why Marcus Smith is playing at fullback. Jared talks about how England can stumble through the kncokout games into a final. Shaun hypes up Joe Marchant. We all ponder if Levani Botia can win this game by himself.

Finally, Shaun and Thala break down the France v South Africa game now that the teams are out. We try to work out what the Boks approach will be with Reinach and Libbok starting. We look forward to more rolling mauls with Duane Vermeulen starting. We talk about the importance of a good start and scoreboard pressure, as both teams don't want to be chasing this game.

Listen to this pod as we look forward to a massive quarterfinal weekend!